Hi! I have never done phone interviews before and have just received an email requesting that I call them with more info on my daycare! HELP!! Ha ha, i have no idea what to say! Thank you!
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Hi! I have never done phone interviews before and have just received an email requesting that I call them with more info on my daycare! HELP!! Ha ha, i have no idea what to say! Thank you!
Phone is not fun.......you need to meet face to face. Why dont you return the e-mail with an interview offer instead? ;)
I actually have no problem with a phone interview; easy way to weed out the crazies....oops was that out loud? ;). Usually very simple, for me phone interviews are a good time to chat about your daycare hours vs. what hours they need for care, the age/info. about the child, when they need to start etc... also a good opportunity to sell yourself!
Weeding out by phone does prevent unnecessary time wasted on an interview. Don't forget that this is your chance to ask them questions too. Email back and forth can take time and especially if the person is texting with their phone. A phone call allows you to talk and get a feel for each other. You should ask them about the ages and sex of the child, the hours of care they need, what days as in fulltime or part time. Find out if the child has been in a care environment before as in why are they looking for care and also when they need the care to start.
If all that sounds good to you then you can ask them other questions like what kid of care of they looking for. All the while you are thinking about you offer and if it sounds like it is what the family is looking for. If it is then invite them for a visit.
Do not let the lady just take over the call and feel like you are in the hot seat which I am guessing is what is concerning you. You are not calling to defend your daycare just to offer your services.
I would do a phone interview covering the basics. If the conversation turns into an indepth discussion regarding your child care philosophies and policies, then I would suggest that this would be great to discuss in person and ask if she would like a second interview at your daycare. It is a good way to weed out someone you would not prefer to deal with without them coming to your home.
I agree, phone is good for basics, but dont make any choices over the phone. What they need what you charge, if you have room....after that, you need to meet....at least once before any decision is made. :)
I either do a phone interview or an email interview pre-screening. Check that they live or work in your vicinity, ask their hours and make sure they are good for you, ask about their family and the child's age, routine for food and naps, any past care and if they left someone else find out why. You are way too busy to waste your time interviewing someone in your home after work hours and find out at the end of an hour that they want you to open an hour early or some other nonsense. So ask all the basics in the pre-screening, then get to know them at the face to face interview.
I agree with the other ladies ~ doing a prescreening interview either by email and than by phone allows you to avoid wasting time with in person tours during your family time on someone who is just not a match over something that is not negotiable that could be discussed over email or phone .... those basics of non negotiable things such as days and hours of care needed, the age of the child, financial commitment and access to back up care is understood and the basic services provided that are a 'red flag' to some clients ~ aka we do field t rips off site and transport via a vehicle cause nothing worse than getting all the way through an interview process and having someone say 'oh I do not want my child traveling' or 'oh my child has an allergy to grass and I do not want them outside ever' or something.
Also my spouse works for the RCMP and so I hear horror stories all day long about the lengths people will go to con people so admittedly I am paranoid and I will not book a tour over the Internet ~ a potential client must call from a work or home phone number that matches the info given to me so it is a 'traceable' and talk to me in person in order to actually book a tour so I have the peace of mind that it is indeed a client seeking care on the other end and not someone trying to determine when my home might be empty by pretending to book an interview and using dates I claim not to be available as an indicator that my home is sitting 'empty' so to speak because I have inadvertently mentioned that oh cannot do Tuesdays cause the kids have soccer and so forth :(
So by the time we get to the in person tour of the program I prefer for us to both be 98% sure we are a match and we are just meeting to confirm everything we have talked about on the phone holds water in person and to 'see' them with their child and so forth and for them to see the program first hand .... this helps to minimize the number of hours I spend actually touring the program to serious candidates only.
You nailed it exactly!! Strangely, I am much more confident in person than on the phone!! Thanks for your advice!!Quote:
Originally Posted by playfelt
Thanks everyone! So, I called her and got an answering machine.....of course, ha ha!
That is one of the reasons I do prefer email is so that we are not playing phone tag and everything that is said is in writing so I have their hours and days and they have my hours and price.