Nanny interview tomorrow, need some advice!

[confuseddotcodotuk]

Ignore my previous thread about contacting the agency, I was just typing up an email when she called! (Talk about timing!)

I have an interview with the family tomorrow evening. What sort of questions do you feel nannies should be asking?

I know about the wage and will want to confirm that that is the wage and that they will be going through a taxing agency or similar, how do I bring this up without sounding like a muppet and/or crass? I don't want to get screwed over without my tax and NI being paid for and am unsure if they know about this.

I want to ask about if there will be a chance to have some settling in sessions with the current childcarer so I have a chance to get the kids used to me.

Ask about petrol costs as they live in the middle of nowhere

Contract things (what should I look for in the contract?)

The kids, any allergies, things they play up about, likes/dislikes/etc

How the shifts work, like knowing when I'll have time off and whatnot (different days each week).

Is there anything you'd expect me to ask about that I've forgotten?

Why did last nanny leave?
Can I have some references from previous nanny(ies)?

If the children will be at the interview, you should have some questions for them too, based on their interests/activities. I assume you already know a bit about them.

I know why the last nanny is leaving already, she's a neighbour of theirs who said she could cope and then realised she couldn't. Very young apparently. Though I don't know the history before that (all I know is that they've recently moved to the area) so will ask about nannies in the past.

The children are only 1 and 2, so I may be able to 'chat' with the 2 year old to an extent, but not much

Thank you though :) Will definately ask about previous nannies.

I thought up loads of Q's in the shower but spent so long in there I have forgotten them all!

What kind of food kids will eat, what expectations parents have re variety, standard, complexity

Just talk about tax and NI with confidence. If you want them to pay it, do your research and know what they have to do and what to pay you. Any half decent employer who is willing to pay your tax should appreciate openness.

Ofsted registering.

Will they be working from home?

I'm a Mum and we took on our nanny after she asked lots of questions about our kids, she just genuinely seemed interested in them, and not just the job. It was lovely (and she is lovely too).

LittleOne: I'm interested, especially because of their ages, but don't want to sound OTT! Would be going too far to ask things about their development (like how they are with talking, socially, walking, potty training, etc) at the interview or would that be seen as a sensible/trying to know before you start type thing? I'm not sure how far to take the questons tomorrow iyswim?

I suppose I'll just see how they are tomorrow and work out from how they are reacting with how much to ask. I haven't had a sole charge position with kids these ages before so I'm a little nervous and whilst I know how to do things like changing nappies, providing healthy meals, little games and techniques to stamp out bad behaviour (I don't know much about potty training though, but from what I understand it's very child-led), I'm nervous and don't want them to see me as being too questioning as they know I haven't had this experience before and I don't want them to be put off iyswim?

Do you think asking about what discipline techniques they use (naughty step, no dessert and whatnot) would be going too far? I'm always happy to work with parents on discipline obviously but remember the one time I disciplined my last charge and sent him to his room his father let him out straight away which I don't want to have to deal with again?

Their ad made it very clear that kids come first so I'm hoping that they see how much I agree with this and hire me on the spot

I'm excited and nervous and have a friend coming round to calm me down for a few hours I never thought I'd be able to get into actual nannying so it's such a joy to know I will possibly be able to work with kids again and be a part of their growing up and teach them something I was planning on going travelling this time next year but will happily push it back another year or so if I get this job and it works out! I miss being around kids so much! :(

I wouldn't mention anything about reimbursing petrol for to/from work travel... mainly because if you had a job at ASDA, you wouldn't ask them to pay for your petrol to and from work... that is your responsibility.

You might, however, mention reimbursement for travel for childrens' outings at time of drawing up a contract, and it will probably be at like 20p per mile. So get used to writing all of your travel down. On the way there tomorrow, reset your odometer and work out how much it will cost you to get there everyday and then that may help you negotiate your hourly wage.

HTH

Commuting petrol isn't paid, travel whilst working should be reimbursed at the AA recommended rate.

I ask whether children are meeting their milestones and for a brief rundown of what they can do. I'll PM you my megalist once I get home later if you want? There will be lots you don't need but it might give you some ideas.

I'd be live in, I meant petrol to get to/from town and to meet ups and things as they're keen for their kids to go out. Sorry I didn't make that clear!

frak: please do! That'd be good for me :) I wasn't sure about mentioning milestones as I know some people can be sensitive on them when their child isn't meeting them. Not that it bothers me, I just want an idea of where they are so I can complement what their parents are doing to help them acheive more milestones.

Thank you all for the help by the way. It will be my first proper nanny interview and if I get the job, my first proper nannying job. The agency were great at the interview in reagrds to my questions and things but I know I forgot to ask about some things so I'm hoping things go well tomorrow.

Novstar, sorry I didn't reply earlier, I think I'll mention it but leave them to bring it up first and then discuss it. I really don't want the focus to be taken away from the job itself too much but will bring it up if they don't. I will be contacting the agency tomorrow just to see if they gave an example contract and know if the family intend to do the tax thing.

This agency seem good and the interviewer made it clear to me that things like Ofsted payments weren't nannies responsibility and whatnot so I assume she would have explained nanny tax to the family, especially as she was the one who convinced them that because of the hours (early starts) they'd be better with a live-in. She's sold me as a part-time-live-in nanny which is nice for me and them. It means I can go home freely on my days off (my parents live an hour away whilst my sister is not even half hour away!) and that they get their family time without the nanny about. She also made it clear that I intend to study whilst with them and they seemed to like that very much too. I can't wait to meet them! :)

Take a deep breath!

It's lovely that you are so excited

You are going through an agency, one of the joys of that is not having to discuss wages/NI/tax with the family - the agency can do that.

Really, you just need to be yourself. If it works out you are going to be living with them, it's as much about making sure you all get on as it is about anything else.

I wouldn't grill them too much on the 'milestones' jut give them the odd opening to talk about the children - most parents don't need too much encouragement :)

Don't bring up 'discipline' unless they do - the are only 1 & 2. If they bring it up you can say that with the children being so young you think blah blah blah but are more than happy to go along with anything they already have in place.

Look up the AA site tonight, so that you know what their allowance for your car is. If you have any idea of how much your car costs in fuel per month you should know if this is going to cover it with something towards wear & tear or not. Then you are armed with a 'per mile' rate when you talk to them, but once again, I wouldn't bring it up unless they do. Go through the agency or discuss it at the second interview (or if there isn't a second interview it will be in your contract).

Be yourself :) & good luck!!

Thank you ChippingIn! There are quite a few other bits and pieces I want to do now I'm finally back home for a while and if I get this job it means I get to do those as well, so hopefully they find encouragement out of the fact that the nanny won't be home often in her free time to be in the way of family time

Thank you for the encouragement and help, I'll post back and let you all know how it goes tomorrow :)

I hope it went well - can't wait to hear all about it!!

i hope it went well too! I was there for over an hour, the kids are delightful, the parents quite chilled and relaxed, me and the Mum went for a walk and the Dad kept asking me if I had questions for them but everything I wanted to know I asked or they answered before I could! I even got out my list and they'd mentioned everything on it so I felt a bit silly after that! The kids have quite a chilled life really which suits me to a tee so I'm hoping that I get the job! I have to wait until tomorrow at least, they'll contact the agency then apparently.

OOh - it sounds like it went well!!

Fingers crossed for good news soon.... will be waiting to hear!

What I did find funny was that the little girl puts herself on the naughty step because she likes it so much

Thank you, no doubt this will be the first place I come too!

The most annoying thing is when the bigger one whacks the smaller one so you put the older one on the naughty step - then the little one stops howling and goes to sit on the naughty step as well in a show of solidarity!! You think... why did I bother?

That doesn't surprise me really! I love how kids can be ruthless to one another, yet they still stand up and laugh when the other whacks them on the head with a spade or pushes them off of a slide or something.

They're lovely ages to start a job (1 & 2)... I really hope you get it :)

I won't find out until Monday now! They liked me but want to interview other nannies first apparently That makes me worried as I'm not qualified, I'm young and I haven't done this age group before so pretty much any other nanny would be better. Shit lol Job hunt continues

Confused - of course they want to interview other nannies - they'd be barking to only interview one, no matter how lovely :0) I assumed you were the last of the ones they were interviewing, not the first!

You are young, you have no experience with this age group and you aren't qualified.... OK, but there must be a reason the agency put you forward? What were their reasons? Also, bear in mind (especially with live in) it's personality as much as anything else and you will be cheaper than a nanny who does have age/qualifications/experience on her side... it's all swings and roundabouts and you have no idea what the parents will choose.

It's going to be a long weekend isn't it!! :(

Keep looking though, you might even find a job you like the look of more!

Chipping I know! But I was hoping they'd go "Sure, we'll take her!" I thought I was the last too I must admit! Whcih is why I thought they must like me a bit if they're willing to look past lack of qualies and experience!

It is swings and roundabouts I'm afraid very long weekend but I'll get friends to distract me!

I think one of the main reasons they put me forward was because they weren't keen on a live-in nanny and I'm only an hour away from home there and my sister is half hour away, so I can bugger off if need be!

The wage is set already, quite high actually, about 30p an hour more than I'd ask for net so that's nice, and I don't think they'd get somebody overly qualified for that iyswim? But a nice young woman with a qualie and experience in sole charge of this age would fit better.

I do wish that I'd never listened to my tutors at school who told me to go for science at A level! I'd be in a compleely different boat now if I hadn't!

I've got to stop using the exclamation mark...

If the parents aren't keen on a live-in nanny, why are the agency pushing it/you? (Or have I misunderstood) That seems like a daft way of getting your hopes up only to have them dashed by the parents saying 'She's lovely but we want a live-out nanny'. ??

Well, I suppose it depends what they can 'get' for their money and who they like best - it's a tough decision.

I'm confused... why did they tell you to go for Science at A level and what do you wish you'd done instead??

Will this be your first nanny job or your first job ever or do you have some experience? What experience/knowledge do you have that would make you a good choice?

Because of the hours, very early starts, a middle-of-nowhere location, very unpredictable what days would be working and so on. It does make more sense to have somebody living in for this job and the parents have a lot of space in the house. I think they don't mind, but would prefer live-out iyswim? I can't see many people agreeing to live-out in those circumstances though, only because it'd be more hassle to get there on time, it'd mean people having to leave home before 6:30am and not getting home until twelve hours later...

Oh, my school/college were twats. I was a student who done well in school without much effort. They only cared about their rankings and when I expressed a mild interest in environmental science they pushed me into science for A Level instead of listening to me when I said I wanted to work with children. I left college with a C and a D (General Studies and English) in the end. I was a teen who was easily led and let people tell me what to do. I then went onto the only degree-level course that would take me on (a childcare course) but it was so badly run and organised that I left after three months. I didn't want to get into loads of student debt for a degree which didn't suit my needs nor for a degree where I was teaching myself because our tutors were incompetant and unqualified. I went into seasonal work after that.

It would be my first nanny job with this age group. I've worked as a nanny before but they were 8 and 11 (I was live-in). My main experience with this age group is voluntary work in nurseries, of which there is a lot, and looking after family members of this age. I'm very passionate about allowing kids to be kids and giving them the space and helping them gain the skills to have good lives. This is also the first time since I left college that I plan on staying in one place for more than six to nine months, so if I get a nanny job I'll get the level 3 sorted and other bits and pieces so that I can look better on paper later on in life

I agree that it sounds, on paper, more sensible to have someone live in - but it's a big deal to give up your privacy (no matter how lovely the nanny). Lots of nannies leave home at 6.30 and don't return home for 12 hours - it's just part and parcel of the job. But I guess it depends how far away they are from 'civilisation' and how much flexibility they want (and you are prepared to give) also how many hours they're offering.

Well - to be honest, dropping out of the nanny course would concern me a bit (so it would be good if you could show them the plan you have to achieve your level 3) - but it would be more the 'dropping out because the course was crap' that would worry me - so I would like to know more specifics about that - did they ask you for more details? (or don't they know you dropped out? - that would actually probably be the best option!).

How old are you?

I still have my fingers crossed