Questions to ask nannies at interview

Even if you’re an experienced recruiter thinking up questions to ask a potential nanny can be tricky. Here’s a list of useful questions for you!

 

Professional training and experience

What qualifications do you have? Why did you choose to study those?

Did you qualifications involve placements? How long did you spend on placement? What kind of setting were the placements?

What course/part of the course did you enjoy most? Why?

How long have you been working with children? How long have you been nannying?

What’s your experience with weaning/potty training/babies/toddlers/school aged children?

Tell me what you did with X family (look at their CV).

When did you last update your First Aid certificate? Have you ever needed to use your First Aid knowledge?

Why are you leaving your current job? Why did you leave your previous jobs?

 

Job satisfaction

Why did you decide to become a nanny?

What do you enjoy most about the job? And least?

What makes a job good for you?

What are your deal-breakers in a job?

 

Childcare style

How do you deal with temper tantrums?

What kind of meals do you cook for children? What kind of snacks would you feed the children?

What activities would you suggest for our children now? How would you encourage their future development?

What kind of books do you like to read children?

What are your views on TV for children? What are your views on electronic devices (iPad etc)?

What does a typical day look like for you?

How often do you like to go out? Attend groups? Organise playdates?

What do you consider is important for children to learn from a young age?

How do you encourage children to have good manners?

How would you react in an emergency? (Try to give a couple of scenarios e.g. choking, parent not arriving home)

 

Living in

Would you want to have guests to stay from time to time?

Are you a morning or an evening person?

What kind of food do you like to eat? Do you prefer to eat your evening meal with the children or later on?

Do you have any evening commitments? Do you plan to go to the gym/evening classes?

What do you like to do at weekends?

 

Living out

How far away do you live? How do you plan to get to work?

What would you do if we were delayed on the way home and you had to stay longer at work?

Are you occasionally able to start early or finish late?

Snow plans for families

Bad weather is going to hit most of the UK this month, and as we all know that can cause disruption to all sorts of arrangements. Planning ahead is key to minimising impact on you and your family. If you’re a nanny check out snow plans for nannies!

  • Prepare for schools to be closed. Most will take a safe rather than sorry approach. If you usually have a nanny before and after school check whether they’re free to work the whole day for extra pay.
  • Try to leave work early or at least on time. Remember that your nanny needs to get home too and it will be darker and colder by the time she leaves.
  • Offer your nanny a bed for the night if it’s looking risky. They may not take you up on it but if they do
  • Make sure you’ve got enough food, supplies and blankets. We don’t think you’ll be snowed in for days or that your heating will break down at the most inconvenient time but it’s better safe than sorry. There’s nothing worse than having to go out for milk or a pack of nappies in snow when it could have been prevented.