Interviewing nannies

[Dev9aug]

Hi,

I posted this thread some time ago whether to hire a sn nanny. We have decided to go down the sn nanny route and have a few candidates details and will be interviewing soon.

I was wondering if any of you had some tips/guidance for us for the interview process. I would be very grateful if you could share them with me.

TIA.

I remember your last thread...did you go with SNAP in the end?

What did you decide re. hours / sole and shared charge / live in or live out?

In terms of questions, obviously you can ask all the normal questions you'd ask if you were interviewing any nanny, and then also include some specific questions, relating to your children and their needs.

If you do a google search there are pages and pages of general interview questions to ask nannies, but in your situation I would also ask...

• How would you balance the needs of both the children during the day?
• What special needs have you come across in your previous nanny jobs (and check how much experience).
• Are you familiar using...(then list any special equipment etc that you use). Obviously, you could show the nanny what to do but might be useful if they have previous experience.
• What would you do in ........ situation? (filling in the blank with situations that arise in the day. Also ask them what they'd do in different first aid / emergency situations)
• Tell me about the strategies you use to stay calm under pressure (not the best wording!)
• Why have you got a special interest in working with children with special needs?
• Tell me about your biggest and proudest achievment in your nanny career.

I'll keep thinking....

ps I'm a nanny

stillsingingintherain thank you, that is very helpful. It is also really useful to know as you are a nanny yourself. Also what would make the position really attractive for you?

We decided to go with SNAP in the end, it is a daily position 48hrs a week.

Can I ask you another question? We are still not set on hours at the moment as the middle of the day is going to be quite light as ds1 would be at a centre for most of the week for his ABA program(30hrs a week) and ds2 would be at nursery for couple of times a week and building upto 5 sessions a week so I would like the day split into two shifts for eg. 8-1.30 and 2.30-7 for 5 days a week so we have care at the times when we need it most., is that too much to ask?

Oh and I found some really useful interview questions online but none more useful than your first and last question, I think your first question pretty much covers what we have missing in childcare so far, balance. Thank you.

An hour is not much of a gap between shifts. Nanny can't go home in that time. As a nanny I would expect to be paid 8-7 regardless of not actually having a child in my physical care 1.30-2.30
It is good to have some downtime during the day... nanny could put a wash load on, have a cup of coffee, unload the dishwasher, start making something for tea without needing to worry about the children's safety.

Have SNAP given you any guidance about interview questions, in particular things related to additional needs?

Keep in mind that you and your children need to get along well with he person, so aim to get to know them, what they like/dislike, their background, their child rearing ethos, their attitude towards mess (if you are a very tidy person, having someone who is not the same as you may drive you mad quickly). Let the agency focus on the qualifications, training, general experience, side of things - you are paying the agency to find you a good match, so make sure the agency knows what your minimum criteria is with regard to someone's training/experience.

Thanks nannynick that is useful to know, I wouldn't worry about splitting the shifts then. Hoepfully there should be plenty of time when the candidates can get their break while the children are accessing various therapies.

SNAP have been good so far, the details of the candidates I have had so far are very good, lots of relevant training and experience. They carried out a home visit to talk to us about our requirements, so the candidates do fit the profile of what we are looking for. What I haven't got from them is guidance about interview questions, which is partly my fault as I didn't ask for them.