Assistant Interview?

[gkids09]

I've gotten lucky and had a few people interested in my assistant position.

Problem is, obviously, I don't want/need to hire ALL of them. But I've never had to do an interview before, and my grandmother hasn't either. We've always known the people who work with us...

So my question is, what kinds of questions do you ask a possible employee? I know to ask what their experience with children is and that sort of thing...But I don't know about others.

Any suggestions are welcome. I am going to start interviewing this week, if all goes as planned!

Thanks so much!!

[pinkbunny85]

I would ask how long they plan to work in the childcare field.
Give them different senerios (sp) and ask them how they would handle it.
Ask for them to think about a bad experience they had in a past job and how they handled it.
What do they expect to gain of working in child care.
That's all I could think of right now.

[AfterSchoolMom]

I like the idea of "what would you do" questions involving specific scenarios. I HATE general interview questions like "where do you see yourself in five years". Even "why do you want to work with children" is too general and leaves a LOT of room for bull---- answers that don't really tell you anything about the person. Definitely ask questions about how they're used to handling discipline, what they would do to calm a crying baby (if you have them), etc.

Maybe when you get down to two that you really like ask them if they would be willing to come in and work with you and the kids on whatever day you choose and you will pay them and will let them know your decision by such an such a day. Have each person work a different day with you so you can be one on one with each one. Let them get a feel for your day and see how you do things and you will be able to tell if they would be a good fit for you and your group.


Questions to ask them would be you see two children fighting over the same toy what would you do? What can you say to each child?

A child is new to going potty and asks for help being wiped after going poop would this be something you would be willing to do?

An adult comes to pick up *** from daycare I am in the bathroom at this time and this is not the parent what do you do? ( or something along the lines of someone else coming to pick up a child other than the parents.)

If you suspect that a child who comes to daycare has been abused what do you do?

[spud912]

I like scenario questions, but have them answer from their own experiences. For example:

This position can be extremely stressful at times. Tell me about a time when a child stressed you out and how did you handle it?

[Abigail]

These are some deep questions here. How many people will you be interviewing?

I would write up about 10 questions. Think about what parents ask you when they enrolled their child. When I started working with kids these were questions I got from babysitting and from my current daycare:

1. Why do you want to work here?
2. What hours are you looking for?
3. What experience do you have?
4. What pay range are you expecting?
5. Have you taken a CPR and First Aid course?
6. Are you over the age of 18?
7. Do you work well alone or with others? (You'll find out if they are a leader and work alone or if they can listen and follow directions with a team member)

Babysitting questions I have gotten asked....
1. Do you have experience with multiples? (twins)
2. Are you available on short-notice?
3. How many children have you watched by yourself?
4. Do you have experience with cloth diapers?
5. What would you do if the baby was crying? (I was asked this by EVERYONE and in many different ways)
6. Do you have experience with special needs?
7. Has a child ever gotten hurt while in your care and what did you do about it?

I think the "deep" questions about some of the "what would you do if this happened" is easier asked later on because most people adapt to your rules easily and it is just as easy and less stressful for the both of you if you just say this is what we do in this situation, are you able to do that as well?

Some questions are totally acceptable though like asking would you ever spank a child? Then you can simply say it's illegal, kwim? Many questions have right or wrong answers, but besides the "basic" questions, I would just ask a few on what would you do if a child wasn't listening, was breaking the rules, etc. and watch from a day of "training". If you have many people you don't have to put them on payroll and simply ask them to volunteer for 3 hours once or twice to see if they're a good fit.

If I was to call you last boss, What would he tell me about you?
When I do a background check, What am I going to find?

If I ask your last 2 bosses, how many days you missed in 6 months what would they tell me? How may days would they tell me you were late?

If i was to ask your last boss how your temper was, what would he tell me?

Everyone has covered the questions to ask very well. One thing that I would do is ask her hypothetical case questions to see if she'd mesh well with you and the kids. I would also make sure to have her do a working interview (with you supervising, of course) and see how that works out.