Interview Tips for Nannies from Nanny Agencies
Interview tip for nannies is a comprehensive suite of tips from leading UK Agencies.
Doubtless, many of you already know all of these pointers, but it’s well worth reading—especially if you are relatively new to nannying.
Interview tips for nannies: Be prepared
Get your mindset right: Interviews are just a two-way conversation to discover whether two parties are right for each other. The better prepared you are, the better the interview will go, and the more relaxed you will be.
Spend at least 30 minutes planning for each interview:
- What might the family ask that’s specific to their family dynamic?
- What activities might be relevant for the age group, and what milestones will you support?
- What areas of your experience are likely best to focus on?
- Where are the gaps in your information that you’ll need to discuss?
- What questions do you want to ask of the family?
- What are your concerns about the role?
- How does this role grow you a professional nanny?
Practice your interview techniques. Ask a friend to interview you. A practice run will help you identify the areas where you need to prep your answers better. Get feedback from your friend on how you come across. Better still, consider filming it on your mobile. Yes, things like this feel awkward initially, but that extra preparation could secure you the perfect roles.
Bring together your portfolio and keep it up to date
This should go beyond your CV and share your past roles, certificates, CPD, and references. Organising your portfolio for an interview shows professionalism, care and attention to detail.
NB: Families will likely want to see original copies of your qualifications, accreditations, eDBS, etc.
Remember to take proof of identity, such as your driving license or passport.
Keep up with industry trends: Your enthusiasm for Continuous Progressional Development (CPD) shows you are a childcare professional. It also provides impressive conversation points at the interview.
Think about your broader skillsets and what you uniquely bring to the role. For example, you may be interested in healthy food or bring musicality or dance to a role.
Set yourself up for success
Attaining developmental milestones is important to families: Considering the ages of the children who will be potentially under your care, have a suite of age-appropriate, local activities you can highlight in the interview. See what groups are available so you can make proactive suggestions at the interview.
Plan a typical day/week: What might you do on a sunny day? Equally, what kind of rainy day activities will you bring? How are the activities age-appropriate and supportive of milestones?
Dress appropriately for interviews – both online and in person: An initial online interview is just as important as a face-to-face interview as it can stop your progress early. So, making the best first impression is critical. Keep clothing (and jewellery) simple, smart and practical; after all, you are applying for a hands-on childcare role.
Have a sequence of onboarding events you’d like to follow: Families are often new to the process and may appreciate some guidance on approaching the sequence of interviews. For example, meeting one may be an online interview, followed by a meeting with one of the parents in a public place. The final stages may be in the family home with the children present and may even include a paid-for trial.
Interview logistics
If your first meeting is an online meeting:
- Check your supporting technology beforehand
- Find a quiet space with an appropriate backdrop
- Make sure the Wi-Fi connection is up to the task
- And if you’re using your mobile, have it on a stand rather than in your hand
When it comes to the first face-to-face interview:
- Know where you are going, plan your route, and aim to arrive early to be more likely to be on time. Turning up late for an interview for whatever reason questions your reliability
- Planning your route and getting there on time will mean you are less flustered on arrival and you are in a more relaxed state of mind
Have the obvious questions and answers at the ready:
- Have you employed a nanny before, and why did they leave?
- Is there a reference from a previous nanny available?
- What’s the family’s childcare philosophy?
- How often do you need flexibility with start and finish times?
- And how long do you expect the appointment to run for?
Double-check your documents: the originals and any copies you wish to leave with them. Increasingly, nannies have a digital copy of their portfolio for sharing after a successful first meeting. This makes a great impression and provides a speedy and positive follow-up.
Get support from your agency: If you are searching via an agency and have critical gaps in information about the role, send the agency a considered email asking the outstanding questions you need to answer.
If you’re searching directly, have these questions ready for the family.
Work in partnership with agencies
If you are searching through an agency, work with them to prepare for interviews. Every role and family are different. The recruiter is well-placed to help you understand the unspoken dynamics of the role and identify the likely questions.
Remain consistent with the message you conveyed to the agency: Agencies work hard to ensure we’re matching candidates correctly with clients. For example, asking for a five-day-per-week role but saying four days in the interview confuses us and our clients. In short, please be upfront and honest from the start.
Negotiate role dynamics through your recruiter: Demanding a high pay rate at the interview rarely works out well for the nanny. It’s much better to negotiate pay with the recruiter’s support.
Interview tips for nannies: At the interview
SMILE 😊, be yourself and let your passion and personality shine: this is your opportunity to showcase your skills and enthusiasm for the role.
Be confident in yourself: Little things like a confident greeting, eye contact, and not fidgeting go a long way to making the best impression (and you can practice this).
Lead with child care, close with role specifics: Starting an interview with questions about salary, schedule and holiday allowance will send the wrong message. While these are critical to bottom out at the interview stage, they should come after you have explored the care dynamics and overall expectations.
Be ready to ask and answer questions: Interviews are two-way conversations. When answering questions, give complete and rounded answers.
Ask thoughtful questions: Your pre-interview planning will enable this to happen naturally during the interview. Talk openly about values and expectations.
Listen to the answers to any questions: You can also take notes during the interview, as this will show you are approaching the role with diligence and consideration.
Be positive and showcase your skills: Draw from the relevant parts of your portfolio throughout the interview. Giving examples helps ground the experiences you share with the family and makes them more confident in their selection of you.
Be honest about your strengths and limitations: Don’t panic if there’s an aspect of the role where you have limited experience. Use this to show how you resolve problems/approach challenges. How will you meet the challenge?
Explore the gaps: With every role, there will be areas where the family’s and nanny’s expectations do not align. And that’s fine. Exploring these gaps is essential to ensure that unmet expectations are acceptable. For example, if you’re unwilling to help and assist the wider family, make that clear, but try to be flexible.
Try and be flexible
You may not like it, but the role of the nanny is changing, so be prepared to offer some flexibility in what you are willing to do to support the family, especially if the vibe between you and the parents is good. Don’t let small things block what could be a great role. Are you willing to go the extra mile?
Engage little ones: If you’re meeting the children for the first time, consider how you greet them and positively engage them. For the parents, they are likely the VIPs in the room, and they’d like to see you recognise that.
Don’t rush through things: Give yourself time to reflect, even if it’s the best interview ever.
Close confidently and politely: Ask any outstanding questions and clarify the desired next steps in the process.
‘Thank you for your time today. I enjoyed meeting your family and learning more about the role. I’ll follow up with an email by the end of the day outlining what we have covered and the next steps.’
And then make sure you follow up!
Follow-ups
Feedback to your agency ASAP: If you’re searching without an agency’s support, let the family know how you felt the interview went and be clear about how and when you will follow up.
However, if you’re searching with an agency’s support, give feedback as soon as possible on how the interview went and whether there are any follow-up questions they would like their agency to pursue.
Role dynamics: Towards the end of the interview process, it’s essential to agree on the nuts and bolts of the role: Pay rate, schedule, holiday allowance, etc. And if you’re searching through an agency, work through them on this. If you’re going it alone, begin to lock down the variables with the family. These will then start to form the contract that will define your relationship with your new family.
Most importantly, keep your communications professional, timely and positive.
Interview tips for nannies: Things to avoid
Please don’t be late: This is one of the biggest interview tips for nannies, and it’s 100% in your control – Being late sets a negative first impression that’s tough to bounce back from.
Please STOP cancelling meetings with families (and agencies) at short notice: It damages the nanny’s credibility and the agency’s reputation with the family. Yes, sometimes it’s unavoidable, but some nannies think pulling out of a commitment is an option when it isn’t.
Using your CV as the framework for your interview is not your CV’s purpose: If you’ve adequately prepped, you’ll have prepared a framework for the interview. Or the family will lead the conversation and, when you get the opportunity, return to any areas where you need to learn more.
Dress appropriately: Wearing vast amounts of makeup, fake nails, hair extensions, etc., for a nanny interview doesn’t set the right impression!
Put your mobile in your pocket: If you’re having a face-to-face meeting, put your phone in your pocket and turn on silent mode. Your priority is the interview and family.
Don’t be negative: Stay professional and upbeat, even if a role is not for you. Remember, if nothing else, it’s an excellent opportunity to practice your interview techniques.
No ghosting: Respond to messages, even to decline a role. Searching for a new role and a new nanny is challenging for all concerned, so help the process with professional communications.
Say no to cash-in-hand: If the family offers a cash-in-hand role, positively steer them to a PAYE service like NannyPaye. A PAYE position offers employment protections and benefits like pension contributions. If they are unwilling to move, be prepared to walk away, as the family does not have your best interests at heart. Also, remember to negotiate your salary in gross terms—like every other profession in the UK. #GoGross!
And that’s a wrap for interview tips for nannies
We hope you’ve enjoyed our Interview tips for nannies and have taken something positive from this post.
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Please be kind to yourself and remember that finding a new job is a job in itself.
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