Interviewing nannies - what does a nanny want to know/hear?

[Hadeda]

We are interviewing our first potential nannies this weekend. We've given a lot of thought to the questions we want to ask, but I thought it would also be useful to know what nannies want to hear or know at an interview. I'm looking for the more unusual or "touchy feely" things - we will obviously be giving info on the hours, duties, holidays etc.

For example, I think it might be an idea to tell nannies a bit about us. What we do, where we come from (as not from UK), what childcare we've had until now (a nursery), why we're changing to having a nanny, what we like about nursery and want to replicate etc. DH thinks this is (a) far too much "chitter chatter" (his words!) and (b) we should be asking the nanny questions and seeing what her answer is rather than giving her an "in" to give the "right" answer. He interviews a lot at work so is more experienced at this than me, so he may well be right. But I think it's a personal relationship as well as a professional one so the "touchy feely" stuff is relevant.

Also, would you expect to discuss salary at the first interview? The agency has told us what each nanny expects. But I think it's probably not worth going into this until we are more set on hiring someone (beyond, perhaps, acknowledging that we kow what they are expecting).

Anyway, any thoughts/opinions would be useful.

Thank you!

I believe that you should say a little bit about yourself, but not to much from the first interview.Regarding the salary I know that I would like to know how much I will be paid , otherwise you might chose a nanny and when it comes about the wage she will not agree.You can say why are you changing the type of childcare , what are your expectations.I will let other nannies give you more advice , as I am not the most experienced around here.
Good luck in finding the right person and when you are interviewing ask as many questions as necessary

Sorry I disagree with your DH. I have just taken a new nanny job and the interviews that interested me most were the ones where I had a good chat with the parents and got to know a bit about them and their family/lifestyle/approach to childcare. What he may not be considering is that this is someone who will be working in your home, with your child, and will be helping to bring up your child. IMHO this means you've got to click, and have an amicable relationship. You don't need to tell prospective nannies how muh you weighed when you were born or what your favourite cereal is, but I think a good getting-to-know you chat definitely helps you see if this is the person you want to spend time with your child. I also like to chat about what parents expect from a nanny, talk abou my typical day, etc, and see how it fits in with their expectation of what their nanny will do. Eg I am very active and quite social, I like to go to playgroups, parks, meet up with other nannies and their charges, etc. Some parents prefer the nanny to stick a little closer to home.

Salary wise, I think it's worth discussing at the first interview. If you have a max budget of X and nannny will accept no less than Y, is it worth you doing second /third interviews before discussing it with them?

Hope this helps!

"He interviews a lot at work so is more experienced at this than me, so he may well be right. But I think it's a personal relationship as well as a professional one so the "touchy feely" stuff is relevant."

You are right. A nanny is entirely different kind of employee and is (uauall)successfully managed very differently than an office employee. One thing nanny will probably want to know is that she is going to feel at home in your home. A cold business like interview approach is probably not going to give her a warm fuzzy feeling.

An introductory chat is useful I think - not too long, and then she can ask more questions of oyu as the interview goes on. . It will help her answer the questions. When you ask questions of her you should ask "open" questions though, not ones with a yes/no answer.

For example "we use a naughty step, would you?" is closed. Try "how do you enforce good methods of behaviour?" and see what she says. You can follow that up with a specific question about the naughty step depending on her answer. This approach will give you a better feel for the nanny and how she wull tackle things.

I have always found a first aid question to be a good way to differentiate between nannies. You can ask the question here first, and the experts will tell you the answer!

I also like to have about 10 questions which I ask all candidates. I use a checklist rather than a script. This is quite a work-based approach, but it's useful when the DCs are going all over the place and also helps to compare between candidates afterwards.

agree with others. getting to know the parents and to click with them is important.

Have a look here www.nanny-nanny.co.uk/nanny-job-interview.htm , it may help you.

It can be hard to research the parents, unlike doing research into a company. Therefore telling nannies more about what you do work wise I feel is useful.
I would have expected to know likely salary prior to applying, so if you have not given any salary indication I feel you must discuss that at the interview. Have you indicated a salary range, or are applicants coming not having any idea what you are offerring. Remember with salaries some nannies want it discussed as Gross, others as Net.
I like to know why parents are considering a nanny, rather than other childcare options. It can help show what things the parents consider important, such as lots of outdoor walks/play.

What your child/children like and dislike including phobias such as a big dislike of swimming/baths, spiders, dogs, dragons.

Your views/aprehensions about changing from BF to bottle and current progress with introducing bottle. Your views regarding routines, as I find that routines that exist can get disrupted and a new routine may be needed, or it may be better to just go with the flow.
Your views on food... what sort of thing you would cook for your children, thus would like nanny to cook. Your views with regard to if children should finish all food they are given, or if it's ok for them to eat as much as they like. Good opportunity to discuss BLW if you do that.

I also like a bit of an insight into parents. I know they're assessing me but to be honest I'm interviewing the parents almost as much. If your views don't coincide then there's no point proceeding and your nanny needs information available to her in order to make that decision.

A nanny who is quite decided (and therefore likely to be consistent in their approach to children) is unlikely to be swayed by any amount of 'ins' that you give them.

Information such as what childcare you're changing from and why is good to know and is something I often ask. I would also expect salary to be discussed in a matter of fact way with hours and duties. You can always take the 'remind me what salary you expect' route to check against what the agency said. If they quote lower you save money, if they quote higher you say the agency told you lower. Win win for you.

Good luck!

I also interview a lot at work; this is very different. Fortunately a number of colleagues warned me as such as I would prob have put nannies off.

I always find they are interested to hear a bit about you. I also find they are amazingly honest if you ask scenario based questions. Not what I find in interviewing in an office environment.

To agree with points above they are also different to manage to the office environment. Good luck and be prepared to interview plenty!

i like to know what salary before i go to an interview,as if they cant afford me/want to pay me what i want, then no point me going and wasting their and my time

i do like to get a feel of the parents and tbh i interview then as much as they interview me lol

if they dont have the same views on food/disapline etc then i cant work for them

Thank you very much for all these responses - and for the link NannyNorthLondon. We actually landed up interviewing the first one last night as her family wanted her over the weekend at the last minute. I think it went ok. She told the agency she thought it went well and was still interested in the job so I guess at least we didn't seem like complete weirdos!!

We didn't discuss salary in the end - but the advert with the agency says £8 - £10 net and the profile they sent us gives the nanny's salary expectations.

And then I went to toddler group this morning and tried to imagine my girls there with someone else and HATED the idea . You think I'd have gotten over that, I have been back to work after maternity leave once before!! It's really not easy being a working mom sometimes, I wish I could clone me and send one to work while the other stays home....

£8-£10nett makes a HUGE difference to you

for exapmle, i know we are talking nett rather than gross but if you employed a nanny for £8ph for 50hr week (5 days at 10hrs - thats £400 plus tax and ni

if you employ someone for £10 thats £500 plus tax and ni

so are you willing to pay prob nearer £200 more a week with tax and ni then if you can find someone for £8

and anyone seeing that advert is obv wanting £10 not £8 iyswim

Which agency are you using? Have you spoken to them about this at all? A good agency will advise on the differences of the candidates as well as general topics/questions that promote discussion of the 'fuzzy stuff'

Thanks Blondes, you're right. We've been regarding it as £10 throughout - agency suggested we advertise the role as £8 to £10 to increase the number of potential nannies. I couldn't see a problem with that so went along with it, but we've done our maths on the basis of £10 net.

Starberries - I've registered with 4 but only Wimbledon Nannies have come up with anyone decent. It's quite weird, they send me 2 or 3 cvs every day, and they're decent cvs. Of the others, two have sent me one cv each for someone who was completely unsuitable and the other hasn't sent me a thing. I haven't spoken to them about interviews as they sent us a brochure with suggestioned questions, but you're right they should be able to help me on the "fuzzy bits".

I'm going to give the nursery notice tomorrow and am actually quite sad about it. DD1 has been very happy there and the staff are lovely.

Wimbledon nannies are, in my experience, quite good. I registered with them recently (as a nanny) and they were VERY thorough in asking me exactly what i was looking for, possibly more so than any of the other agencies i registered with. So I guess that translates through to the CVs they send on to parents! I imagine you are probably fairly near to me then, judging by your choice of agency. Best of luck with your nanny search!

Hi there, I am interviewing a Nanny tomorrow. I am definitely hoping to see if there is rapport and whether I get a good feeling. I have already given rates and hours to help with my shortlist.

I do have an important question though...? If I use a Nanny can I still benefit from the government's child voucher scheme?

Here is the list of questions I am going to ask based on one of the sites recommended.

1. Background: Ask about the nanny?s family background ? get a sense of who this nanny is. Does the nanny have a good relationship with his/her parents?

1. Qualifications: Tell me a bit about the childcare qualification you hold ? how long was the course? What subject areas did it cover? Did you find it valuable? Why or why not?

1. Experience: How did you find your first nanny job? What did you enjoy most about it? Look to see whether the nanny has a negative or positive attitude about her experiences.

1. Attitude: Why do you enjoy your job as a nanny? Looking after children? What do you feel is the most challenging aspect of a nanny job?

1. Activities: What activities would you do with a child who is 1 year old?

1. Discipline: How would you respond if JP refused to get in his buggy? Bit / hit another child?

1. Health & Safety: What would you do if JP choked? Fell on a piece of glass at the park?

1. Food: What kind of lunch would you prepare for a 1 year old?

1. Local Knowledge: Do you know our area well? If so, what would you think was good for JP?

10. Other Duties: Aside from childcare, which nanny tasks are you happy to perform in a nanny job? Cooking? Cleaning after lunch/dinner? Babysitting?

11. About: What do you enjoy doing outside your nanny job, in your spare time?

12. Start Date: If offered this nanny job, how soon are you able to start work?

If I use a Nanny can I still benefit from the government's child voucher scheme?

If in England, then if the nanny is Ofsted Registered then yes you can part-pay their salary using childcare vouchers.
If in Scotland, then you need to recruit the nanny via a registered agency as in Scotland it is the agency that is registered (with Care Commission) rather than the nanny themselves.
Not sure on situation elsewhere.

When paying with Childcare Vouchers it is important to remember that the vouchers can take some time to be credited to the nannies bank account. Therefore it is best to pay first month's wages in full, keeping the voucher and using that to pay the next months wages... giving the voucher to the nanny mid-way through the month, so that it has cleared by the end of the month.

If I use a Nanny can I still benefit from the government's child voucher scheme?

If in England, then if the nanny is Ofsted Registered then yes you can part-pay their salary using childcare vouchers.
If in Scotland, then you need to recruit the nanny via a registered agency as in Scotland it is the agency that is registered (with Care Commission) rather than the nanny themselves.
Not sure on situation elsewhere.

When paying with Childcare Vouchers it is important to remember that the vouchers can take some time to be credited to the nannies bank account. Therefore it is best to pay first month's wages in full, keeping the voucher and using that to pay the next months wages... giving the voucher to the nanny mid-way through the month, so that it has cleared by the end of the month.