Questions to ask while interviewing a nanny

Should you hire a nanny?

Your children are the most precious creatures you won’t trade for the entire world. Since the moment they’re born, they become your first concern and priority. You fall in love with them instantly and their health, happiness and well-being become the things you want to ensure no matter what. You’re never ready to leave them, as having your little ones by your side and being able to take care of them on your own constitute your happiness and calmness. Although once you have children, you’ll never be able to rest easy anymore. Kids are our greatest gift, but they’re also our utmost responsibility, as parents are those people, who’re supposed to provide for their children, give them proper education and keep them alive in general. And, there’s no greater responsibility than responsibility for someone’s life, a person, who cannot exist without your care and attention.

However, most of parents don’t get to be around their children 24/7. Long working ours don’t allow them to spend enough quality time with kids, not mentioning the fact that parents have to leave their children with someone or take them to kindergarten for the time of their absence. Even if one or both parents work from home, they need some time to concentrate and do their job. And, that is almost impossible to do with children running around you, requiring your attention and causing trouble while you’re actually trying to earn some money. In such moments, people’re almost ready to beg for someone’s help. Relying on daycare, kindergarten or relatives might not work all the time, as there will be some cases when you have to stay at work for a little bit longer, but it’s time to pick up a child from a kindergarten or something like that. Besides, your relatives won’t be available any time you’ll need their assistance, as they have their own life and things to do.
Consequently, hiring a nanny to have your back in such cases or even to ensure the professional care of the child throughout the entire period of your absence is quite wise and reasonable decision.

Nevertheless, you have to make sure that your nanny is fairly reliable, responsible and caring person to leave your kids with without a second thought. So, you have to be really careful and meticulous while choosing a nanny, as your child has to be completely safe and happy around that person. She has to be able to arrange entertaining and educational activities, satisfy all needs and apply such upbringing methods you’re comfortable with.

That’s why you can’t ask too many questions while interviewing the potential candidates. Just be polite and find out all necessary information about a nanny to be comfortable and confident in your choice. Here are some questions you might use while meeting and interviewing nannies.

What to ask when talking on the phone

It’s necessary to ask some references from your friends or family members and contact the nannies they might recommend. You may also find quite a lot of nannies ads on HireRush.com and pick the ones, who provide their services within your local area. Then, contact the candidates on the phone and ask some basic questions to narrow down your list before the personal meetings. Those questions are:

• Do you work on (…) hours or days?
• Do you have any experience of working as a nanny/babysitter?
• Do you personally have children? How old are they? (It’s quite important, as if a nanny has a child of her own, she might be unavailable while her kid is sick or if something happens to him/her).
• Have you gone through some kind of professional training/courses?
• What working conditions you won’t agree on?
• Do you have any bad habits (like smoking)?
• What’s your desired salary (considering the amount of work you might have to do)?
• Do you work with multiple children at once? (of course, if you have more than one)
• Are you currently working with other families and will you be able to divide your time between your clients?

If you’re satisfied with the candidate’s answers, if she made good first impression, then schedule the interview. Bear in mind that it’s better to talk to several babysitters (nannies) to have some options to choose from.

So, if a candidate went through the first stage, then ask her these questions before you introduce her to your kid and let them interact with each other.

General information and lifestyle peculiarities

• Ask a candidate to tell you her full name, address and age
• Why have you chosen to become a nanny? Do you enjoy your profession?
  That should show you the nanny’s personal attitude to her job. You’ll be able to tell if she likes kids or not so much and whether she’s devoted to her profession or does it just to earn money and is waiting for better opportunities.  No one says that it’s bad to strive for something better, but you definitely don’t want to hire a person that won’t care about kids at all.
• Why are you looking for a job right now?
• Who did you work with before?
• Will you consider a live-in option?
• How close to our place do you live and how are you going to get to work?
• What professional training did you complete? Did you go through any first aid courses? Do you know how to calm down a child and provide the first medical aid if he/she gets hurt?
  Now, this is extremely important, as kids always run around and do crazy stuff, so they might get injured. And, professional nanny should always know how to cope with these situations and prevent them without panicking.
• What is the age of children you’ve previously babysat?
• Are you aware of how to take care of children with special medical conditions?
  If a child has special needs, allergies and chronic diseases or has to go through some treatment, then you have to make sure that nanny is ready to work with your kid, knows what’s permitted or prohibited and how to look after such children.
• Do you have a car and driver’s license? Have you ever had any car accidents? Was it your fault?
• Will you be able to stay with kids a little bit longer if I can’t get home in time?
  Sometimes you just can’t finish work and get out of the office when you should to. Bad traffic, unexpected situations and urgent matters may also make you come home late. So, it’s good if your nanny can do you a favor and work extra hours (not for free, of course).
• Do you have any health issues that might influence your work?
  Be really careful and try not to offend a person by asking this question. But still do it, as your child will stay along with nanny for quite a while, and he/she has to be completely safe during that time.
• Are there any future plans of yours that might influence how long you’ll stick to this job?
  It’s better to hire a person you may rely on in the long run, as it’s too difficult to find a nanny to repeat this process over and over again.

Professional issues and experience

• Can you describe your previous experiences and tell, why did you quit your last job?
• Can you give me some references from your previous employers or even their contacts, so that I could call them and ask to give me their own impression and recommendations?
• What’s necessary to do to ensure the proper development of a kid of this or that age?
• What will your typical day with my child look like?
• Will you be able to take and pick up kids from school/other activities?
• How do you discipline children? Can you follow my rules considering this matter to ensure consistency in upbringing?
• What educational or entertaining activities for children like mine you know?
• Will you be able to come on weekends or go on vacations with the whole family if needed?
• Can you help kids with their homework and review it afterwards?
• Can you prepare meals? If yes, what foods and snacks will you give children to eat?
• Do you do naps and bedtimes?
• What will you do while the kids are asleep or at school?
• What TV shows or cartoons will you allow a kid of this age to watch?
• How would you handle misbehavior or tantrums?
• Could you take kids for a walk to the park or go to the soft play/cinema/etc. with them?
• What would you do if my child suddenly felt sick or had a fever?

Deeper questions

• What are your general thoughts about disciplining? What measures are appropriate for different ages?
• Can you describe in few words your upbringing philosophy?
• What would you do if my kid hit someone or got beaten up?
• How do you deal with cases when a child asks for their parents or doesn’t want to listen just because you’re a nanny?
• How do you bond with kids?
• Why would you like to work with my kid(s)?
• What’s the hardest thing about your job?

If you think that nanny shouldn’t do some activities with you children (like watching TV or hanging out with other kids), then you should tell a candidate about it as well and see her reaction. Give each nanny an opportunity to speak out and ask you some questions as well.

When you feel comfortable enough, invite your child into the room to see how he/she likes a candidate and how they communicate with each other. This should be your key point for decision-making.

Find a nanny for your child