Interview woes :(

So i have 1 spot left and have had 3 interview no bites and all the parent seem so confused as to when there going back to work, if there going back, how many days they need, subsidy and more i'm kinda glad I didn't get them anyways but would love if I could get a great family that NEEDS full time daycare. The interview I had today seem to go very well (first time i did it without all the kids btw and what a difference lesson learned) but again, her mother in law want to watch him once a week, she's a teacher and only requires care for 2 months, she's not sure if she wants to go back to work or not....urggg!!! I see on here all the time pre screening and thought nah I'm not gonna do that but another lesson learned I guess. From now on I am prescreening the parent cause I feel like I am wasting my time.

What do you guy do to prescreen your families?????

There is a huge learning curve to this job. You don't expect to be perfect at any job when you start, do you? Give yourself a break and remind yourself that you are learning how to run a business. This is not an easy job, even though some people think they can open a daycare "just to make some cash" but if you are serious and do a great job it's hard work.

I've learned over the years not to interview people who at the end of an hour and a half of my valuable evening time say to me something like that they need a 6am dropoff which is out of the question for me. I used to interview and interview until I perfected my prescreening.

So now I ask them to read over my website to make sure they either live or work near me, which can be another time waster, that their work hours match my hours of business and other basic things. Then I ask them about their family to get them talking so that I can get a feeling about their parenting styles and if they are open to my suggestions for getting their child ready for daycare and a group setting or if they are the controlling, demanding types. Parents have to be willing to work with me or it's a waste of time.

I've had great success of the past few years with only one or two interviews and people are ready to sign on the dotted line quickly. I started out as a horrible interviewer, I know that, but I've practiced and have perfected my interviewing skills. I'm sure others who have been in the business a while will tell you this same story.

Usually I do a lot of my pre-screening via e-mail or through a phone conversation. I usually start the conversation (or e-mail) with a little bit of information about the fabulous me and the program I run :laugh: (LOL) I then ask them a few open ended questions. Things like: are you looking for full or part time, what hours do you need a caregiver for, I let them know where I'm located and ask if this is a convenient location to either their own home or en route to their work. I also ask if their child has any allergies, or any special needs that I as a caregiver should know about. Again - this helps me assess whether or not I'm potentially a good fit. The last thing that I ask about is when are they planning on returning to work, what do they do for a living, and that sort of thing. It sounds like a lot, and it is. I finally reached a spot where I was really sick of working all day, and then forfeiting my own "down" time to interview families. If I'm going to farm out my own family, delay my own dinner, put together an information bundle, and clean my house like a crazy woman - all the things we do to make a good impression on a prospective client - I want to be sure that I have a fighting chance at getting the job. :yes:

I only have my email address listed in my ads. I think that (being careful not to read TOO much into wording, because you have no tonality) you can tell a lot about a person by the way the communicate that way.
That said, it is better to talk on the phone. I just inevitably end up shushing the screaming children while the dog barks, and my husband turns on the blender. Or something else equally chaotic!!
But I ask all the above questions as well. At least that way, I know if they are just kicking tires.