Even if you’re an experienced recruiter thinking up questions to ask a potential nanny can be tricky. Here’s a list of useful questions for you!
Professional training and experience
What qualifications do you have? Why did you choose to study those?
Did you qualifications involve placements? How long did you spend on placement? What kind of setting were the placements?
What course/part of the course did you enjoy most? Why?
How long have you been working with children? How long have you been nannying?
What’s your experience with weaning/potty training/babies/toddlers/school aged children?
Tell me what you did with X family (look at their CV).
When did you last update your First Aid certificate? Have you ever needed to use your First Aid knowledge?
Why are you leaving your current job? Why did you leave your previous jobs?
Job satisfaction
Why did you decide to become a nanny?
What do you enjoy most about the job? And least?
What makes a job good for you?
What are your deal-breakers in a job?
Childcare style
How do you deal with temper tantrums?
What kind of meals do you cook for children? What kind of snacks would you feed the children?
What activities would you suggest for our children now? How would you encourage their future development?
What kind of books do you like to read children?
What are your views on TV for children? What are your views on electronic devices (iPad etc)?
What does a typical day look like for you?
How often do you like to go out? Attend groups? Organise playdates?
What do you consider is important for children to learn from a young age?
How do you encourage children to have good manners?
How would you react in an emergency? (Try to give a couple of scenarios e.g. choking, parent not arriving home)
Living in
Would you want to have guests to stay from time to time?
Are you a morning or an evening person?
What kind of food do you like to eat? Do you prefer to eat your evening meal with the children or later on?
Do you have any evening commitments? Do you plan to go to the gym/evening classes?
What do you like to do at weekends?
Living out
How far away do you live? How do you plan to get to work?
What would you do if we were delayed on the way home and you had to stay longer at work?
Are you occasionally able to start early or finish late?