Interview feedback - what would you want / expect?

[Newrowsees]

I've interviewed a few prospective nannies over the last few days and would like to get back to the unsuccessful ones. I've chickened out of calling, and am going to email instead.

How honest should I be though? As a nanny, would you want the absolute truth? Mostly they were good, just not for us personality-wise, or they were charging well above what we could afford? (We put a salary range in the ad).

Do you find interview feedback useful? Especially if its e.g. "There were other candidates who demonstrated a stronger rapport with the children". I don't want to be hurtful, but at the same time I would want to know, so I could improve for next time.

Can't you just say they were out of your salary range?? Seems a bit power trippy to me to want to email someone a list of all their negative attributes personally....

I am not a nanny but.

I would want to know the truth but dressed up in a way that didn't make me look bad.

For example, did the nanny have a particular ethos, skill, USP that you wanted or were sold by the idea?

The ones that were too dear, well just say unfortunately you specified your price and nanny x was able to do it at that fee.

What was particularly beneficial to you that you found in the person you hired.

In other words do a reversal of what you were looking for and how nanny x has met the criteria. Then the other candidates can work out for themselves where they weren't suitable.

personally I would say you were not successful and say if you want any feedback to let you know

BTW.

I think it is very creditable for you to offer feedback, you must be busy as you need a nanny. Taking time to help them offer a better service in the future is very commendable. Too many people don't bother, especially the very large companies. It must be soul destroying to those seeking work.

ReetPetit, I wouldn't expect us to be on the same wavelength, so no worries.

MsDeerHeart, I think I'll go with your plan for the ones who were a poor fit. However there were two ladies that I thought we got on well with, but just weren't as good a fit as the nanny we ultimately chose. I can imagine they'd be disappointed after the interviews went well, so I'd want to give some more specific information.

And thank you, potatoprints! We got close to 300 applications, and some of those we saw had been looking for a very long while, so it's probably a worrying time for out of work nannies at the moment. In London anyway.

Yes, feedback I feel is helpful.

Not sure why you interviewed those who were outside price range stated in the ad... Did they apply then demand more salary at interview?

Your chosen nanny may fall through, so you may want to keep your options open for a while, so you do not want to be too negative in feedback, esp to a candidate who you may later contact to ask if they are still interested in the position.

I think if the problem is 'not a good fit' or 'found someone who was a better fit' then any feedback is not really helpful because whilst they may not be a good fit for you, they may be perfect for another family. Telling them in detail what you didn't like isn't really going to be helpful if it's just a 'fit' issue. They could change to 'fit' you, but what's the point as you've already got a nanny and the next family they interview with may be completely different to you.

If it's objective things like was late for interview/didn't interact with the children/couldn't answer xyz questions etc then that is useful feedback.

Agreed - poor fit being subjective, I wouldn't have anything constructive to offer.

The salary issue was a bit frustrating - we gave a range, expressed as both gross and net (approx.), and in weekly, annually and hourly terms. I also asked during the telephone pre-screening whether they were happy with the salary stated in the ad.

I imagine people were simply applying for every job going, and hoping we'd be so bowled over by their brilliance at interview that we'd forget about not being able to afford them. I certainly don't begrudge them trying, but in some cases the difference was huge.

I agree with Leeds. I'd only want feedback if it was objectively something that most/all families would be turned off by, like being late or not interacting with the kids. If we just weren't the right fit, I'd prefer you just say that (or mention the salary issue) than offer a critique of my personal presentation.

I sent a brief note saying we'd chosen someone else but best of luck with the search. They've all replied to say thanks for letting them know. One asked for further feedback which I've given (she didn't really play with either baby). I wouldn't want to be unpleasant, I just know that when I've been to interviews in the past I like to know what I can do better next time. Thanks for your help all.

300 applicants, now that is a lot to wade through! Had you placed an ad on Gumtree or similar?

I used both nannyjob and gumtree. I actually didn't end up interviewing anyone who applied via gumtree (face to face anyway), and removed the ad after a couple of days. Nannyjob seems to be much better for reaching qualified nannies.

I also had a profile on childcare.co.uk but didn't really get the hang of how to use the site without it taking a huge amount of time.