You find yourself going through different CVs, shortlisted and even interviewed nannies that are interested in the job you’re offering. During your interviews, you find a couple of people who are qualified to take care of your kids. However, considering that this is a very crucial decision that you need to make, you would want to make sure that you’re making the right choice since you’ll entrust your kids to this person. To help you out, we’ve listed some tips and pointers that you can take into consideration in to help ensure the success of your nanny interviews.
We have simplified the process and put our focus on criteria, logical suggestions and even tips on asking questions. For additional insights, you may also want to check our recent blog post discussing a nanny’s point of view when it comes to interviews.
Koru Kids is a place where you can look for a nanny or a nanny share. This site helps you find an awesome family that you can share your nanny with. You can also use nanny PAYE to make paying your nanny a cinch.
Logistical Suggestions
Most probably, you’ve just given birth but is about to return for work. You’re running out of time and you need to find a nanny pronto! Upon checking your shortlist, you found out that it looks more than a longlist and that you have more in that list than you’ve anticipated making it more difficult to make a decision. What you can do is to take this time to call everyone in the list and screen the candidates – rank them from the best to the least ideal nanny so you can come up with the top 2 people for an initial interview. If you think that there are more than 2 candidates qualified for the job, keep them as warm prospects just in case it doesn’t turn out well with the first 2 candidates that you’ve interviewed.
Schedule the interview and allot approximately 45 – 60 minutes. Ask the candidates to bring with them copies of their paperwork. The majority of nannies with extensive experience would most likely show up with a folder or portfolio and are aware of what they should bring. Newer nannies may ask questions as to what paperwork is required, so please be patient with them and make sure that you provide them guidance. In general, one of the things that you need to check is that they have papers and the right to legally work in the UK. Other paperwork needed includes relevant childcare qualifications and their DBS or criminal background check.
At the start of the interview, it’s worth that you set some rules and that you give them a layout on what to expect. For example, an approach that we have found out to work best is that you discuss your family, your children in particular, what their roles are in the family before you move on to answering questions for the interview. Remember to be open to questions too – this is a two-way communication and the candidates would also want to know more about you and their work with you.
You would also want to see how the nanny would interact with the kids. As much as possible, don’t let the kids be present during the interview. Maybe you can introduce them at the end of the session, and ask the nanny if she’s doable to have another informal meeting or trial with your kids.
To close the interview, set expectations and let the candidate know the next steps, including when you’ll contact them for results or decisions. Once that interview is complete, take the time to fill up the criterial grid (we’ll discuss more on this later) and write down all the other things that you think it’s worth jotting down, such as your initial impressions. This way, you don’t mix candidates up and that you’ll be able to review and check back on your notes for their special traits and characteristics that you liked about them during the interview.
Have a Criteria and Know What You’re Looking For in a Nanny
For most parents, they’re sometimes unsure of what qualities to look for when hiring a nanny. Most of the time, they were able to describe the perfect nanny they want for the kids, but they end up hiring someone who hasn’t met their criteria because “it feels right” to hire that nanny. During this process, using both your heart and your head plays a crucial role, and you should be familiar with the things and criteria that you’re looking for in a nanny.
Write down the things that you want from the ideal nanny – prepare a grid so you can score each candidate, and leave a space where you can jot down notes. This is a great reference you can turn back to whenever you’re in the process of deliberation.
What Do You Feel About the Nanny?
Once you have a score, go with your instincts. You’ll be able to feel if that person is genuinely loving, kind, playful or gentle, especially when you see them interacting with your kids.
Leave a Reply