How do you interview a babysitter/nanny?

Toot

Tue, Aug 11 2009, 2:16 pm

I am going back to work in a few weeks, and I am looking to hire a sitter for my baby. I'm meeting a woman tomorrow, and this is the first time I've ever done this. I've already called the reference she gave me and it was flawless. So...

What kind of questions should I ask?
How long are these meetings usually?
Should I see how she is with the baby?
Should I ask her questions unrelated to babysitting?

Help me out here, totally clueless! Thanks!

ETA - If I end up going with this woman that I am interviewing tomorrow, I am also looking for someone to share with to cut the cost. If you are in NY and interested, please PM me (I don't want to post my neighborhood, so please PM.). Thanks!

Marion

Wed, Aug 12 2009, 7:11 am

1. Why did she leave the last position? (Even if you asked the reference, ask her too.)

2. What personal obligations does she have that might "interfere" with her work for you? Young children of her own? Consider whether you'd be willing to have her bring a sick child with her to work if her own child couldn't be in school that day (if appropriate). If not, how much notice does she have to give you that she can't come? Would you be comfortable having someone else come in her place if she was the person recommending & sending them?

3. Does she have a driver's license? Do you need her to?

4. Is she willing to fold/put away laundry/do dishes/sweep etc... while the baby is napping? Is it included or does she expect to be paid extra?

5. If you're late does she charge extra for "overtime"? If she's late is there a penalty?

ss321

Wed, Aug 12 2009, 7:44 am

Have you spoken to her on the phone before?
this is hard. for me, interviews with babysitters were hands on. Let her spend time with your baby (oh I guess that is your q#3) and see how it goes. see if she is warm and happy, and if she seems to know what she is doing. of course she will if you stand by the door. make it like "I am going to give you guys a chance to get aquainted, I am going to go make a phone call." and then watch from a distance.

length of the meeting can be anywhere from 1/2 hrs to 2 hrs. mine stayed for abt an hr I think. we hired her to start 1 wk from then.

questions you should ask well there are hundreds. yes you should ask her questions unrelated to babysitting
does she have a family. if she has kids how old are they (yes, sure you are "interested" but really this is a fishing question. will she have other types of obligations such as taking them to appts, leaving early if one is sick or comes home early, etc.)
is she married and if so does her Dh work (in other words, if she is and he does not work, will he be over visiting all the time. IMO, problematic if yes)
what does she like to do for fun

why did she leave her last job? (you might already know the answer from her reference, but it is imp that you hear from her)

with regard to babysitting, I dont see this as like a "quiz." ESP if she has experience. so yes, I have heard people say like ask
"what would you do if...":
baby was sick
if you couldnt get ahold of me
he was crying for 1 hr straight

etc. but like what do you think she is going to say? if he was sick I would not tell you because I would be scared youd get mad. so I think such questions are useless.

I think the meeting is more to gauge her as a person. if possible, I think it is imp that your DH be there as well. mine is a pretty good judge of character and I am so glad he was there. made me feel safer and more confident in our decision to go wit the woman we went with (who we have had now for 4 or so yrs)

also, IDK what kind of sitter you are looking for but I thin this meeting is an imp time to clarify what you are looking for ie. some babysitters will do no housework, some do everything incl cleaning toilets to changing linens. get an idea of what she will do (will she clean bottles or will she leave piles in the sink? will she clean the babys laundry? will she do your laundry too or not?) and be on the same page about that.

Mrs Bissli

Fri, Aug 14 2009, 6:48 am

No, I think it's a sound idea to have a list of questions. Though it should be more of a reminder, rather than you reading from the list and then checking each items.

All good suggestions, we also left the candidate with the children for 15-20min as SS321 suggests.
Our interviews last around 30min for the first round, then the successful candidates are called back for the second round, so that "we can get to know each other". I offer to pay costs of transportation and for their time for the second round candidates.

Depending on the age of your child(ren), you might also want to ask practical things like how she would manage if children misbehaves/won't listen to her, whether she feels comfortable supervising the children's homework. As for previous experiences, you need to see if the number and ages of children she had looked after previously are a good fit to your circumstances.

You may also want to check practical things like how long the commute would be (a good indicator of promptness), whether she is allowed to work legally or needs a visa sponsor.

And my two big questions are "what do you enjoy most looking after the children", and "what do you find the most difficult looking after the children".

Don't forget to jot down her answers/your impressions/concerns AFTERWARDS.