So excited! First interview!

I am excited and nervous and completely baffled all at the same time. I posted an ad on Kijiji, not really expecting any reactions because I know from reading on here that it often takes a long time to get that first child in.
But tonight, after 3 days, I received a reaction! A mom with an 11 month old boy who wants to come by on the weekend to meet and chat. She asked a bunch of questions about practical stuff in her email, about payment, whether I preferred check or cash, and if I wanted to be paid weekly or bi-weekly.
I took the opportunity in my reply to tell her right away that I need payment in advance, and that after a two week trial period there will be two weeks notice required to quit, and a few more things. When really what I wanted to do was jump up and down like a maniac and reply:"Pick me! Pick me! Please please pick me!!"
I'm turning into a business woman! :laugh:

Any interview tips, hints, strategies, warnings, and everything else very much appreciated! Please help me not mess this up, dear seasoned daycare providers!

I think the best piece of advice I have received is to stand by your policies etc. You may be tempted (I know I was) to lower your price, change your hours or offer something you don't want to, to land that client. There will be other ones so don't psych yourself up too much by putting too much weight on this one interview. After all, you may decide you don't want them.

The second thing is to do a careful phone interview. Save yourself a lot of time and energy weeding out the ones that aren't a fit policy wise. I looked at the first interviews as my "practice interviews" and this took a lot of the pressure off.

Im with toronto kids great advice PHONE INTERVIEW is a life saver its a MUST in my books another piece of advice is to ask her at the end of your interview what stage of interviewing she is at so you can get an idea of whether she has more interviews ect.........that way you know what to expect.......GOOD LUCK and congrats :)

Definitely do the pre-screening to make sure they match the hours you are willing to work, that their commute time doesn't put them into really long days, that they agree with you on basic parenting philosophies and to get a good feeling about them (or not). At the interview, take charge and talk about your daycare setup, how the daily routines will go, ask them questions about their naptime & mealtime routines and make sure they are willing to work with you to make changes so that they will fit in with your plan. Go over your policies briefly, stressing the most important things such as sickness and payments.

But most of all, be confident, breathe, don't be stressed or desparate. You can do this! Good luck and let us know how it goes.

Thanks, you guys! I have come down from my high a bit, though. I emailed the mom back around 8.30 PM last night with some specifics and a time to meet on Sunday, but I haven't heard back from her yet. Who knows, she may have already found somebody else. Oh well, if there is one reaction, there will be more!

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I have come down from my high a bit, though. I emailed the mom back around 8.30 PM last night with some specifics and a time to meet on Sunday, but I haven't heard back from her yet.

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keep in mind some people only check their email once a day or every 2 to 3 days. She just might not have seen it yet.

That's a good point, BlueRose, thanks for mentioning that! I'm one of those compulsive people that check email 10 times a day or so. I don't like cluttered in-boxes so I clear it out all the time. I forget that most people are more normal than that. :o :laugh:

Just a bit of an update: that particular lady never did respond. But the next day I got another email, and for this one (a 9.5 month old boy) I now have an interview set up for Sunday evening. And tomorrow morning I have a phone interview with another prospective client, who needs care for a 7 month old boy. Lots of babies! Wish me luck, you guys... I *love* babies and I would love to have both these little dudes in my care.

great monday girl best of luck to you

Good luck! I love babies too! The younger the more adorable... I have had them as young as 3 months old.

Good luck and best wishes and be confident and strong and positive!!! You can do this! LUCCCCCCCCCK!!! Let us know how it goes.

I'm where you are, have just done my first two interviews this past week (I think both went well). I wish you the best of luck! Sending positive vibes to you.. hope you get some great kids and golden families. :thumbsup:

Well, my phone interview this morning was a bust. Right from the start I got the feeling that she was trying to get out of it. She asked me to call at 9, so I did, but the line was busy. I got through about 15 minutes later, and her first question was:"What are your hours?" and when I said:"I'm aiming for 7.30 to 5.30." (I didn't want to chase her off right off the bat, so I kept it rather open.) She immediately said:"Yeah, see, that won't work me. Oh well." I asked her what times she needed and she said 6 AM, but only two days a week. She then asked about fees, I explained my rates, she hemmed and hawed and sighed, and said she would need before and after school care for her 4 year old as well. I told her I don't do before and after school care, and that she would just be charged for a whole day. She then said that there were people that did after school care for 10 dollars. At that point I said:"Yes, there are." and let it go lol. She did want me to send her some info (I think she said that to be nice.) so I told her I would email her my handbook, and to contact me if she had any questions.
Seriously, even with my part time rates being higher per day than my full time rates, it still works out to be less than half of minimum wage! It's not like I'm charging a fortune. Ugh. This would have just been the kind of client that always has excuses why payment is late, or why she is late picking up, or early dropping off... Not worth it!
Next up: interview tomorrow evening. I sure hope that goes better, because right now I'm 0 for 2!
:glare: :laugh:

Im so happy you did a phone interview first......good choice.....good thing you didn't waste to much time with her (lol) Good luck tonight hope it goes better :)

With a client like that who is obviously not a good fit, I wouldn't waste time sending her a handbook. I only send my policies to families who I have already interviewed in person and who I want in my daycare. And another suggestion, stay firm on your hours!!! Don't leave it open! If you do that, you will end up with VERY long hours as each family will need something different. Think about the hours that work for you and tell them those are your hours, end of story. When you say "I'm aiming for..." it sends the message that you are willing to negotiate and bend over backwards on all kinds of things. Good luck with your other interviews! Sounds like you are off to a great start :)

I do not like when clients try to negotiate down my fee. That is a no no for me. That could mean that they do not value my service enough (I think my prices are fair for the area and for what I am offering as I think most of us do) or that they could not afford it and I could end up having troubles to get paid in the future. Nobody low ball daycare centers, Walmart, Sears, etc. we should not be different. You are better off. Hope you find the right families soon...

I had my first face-to-face interview this evening, with a lovely young couple and their 9 month old. He was just adorable. They need care on varying days each week because of shift work, but the hours would always fall perfectly within my hours of operation, and vary from 3 to 5 days per week.
I guess it went well, but for some reason I just don't have a very good feeling about it. Maybe it's just that it was a bit anti-climactic. We talked for a bit, played with the babies for a bit, and they went home with my handbook and some forms I had printed out and put in a neat little folder. (I came up with a logo, and I was tickled pink about it, but now I feel rather silly.) I had been working like a dog to get this place looking good, and the interview was over in about 45 minutes.
I think they liked me. I know they loved my son lol. I liked them, and their little boy. Not sure why I feel so negative. Maybe because I don't have a very high opinion of my house, which is a teeny tiny, rather old looking townhouse. (Old as in "needs upkeep from landlord" not as in "built a long time ago")
I guess we'll see. I would love to get this family, they seem really sweet and their baby boy seems like such an easy going little dude.

I think I may do a spin-off thread about tiny homes, to find out if I am actually as nuts trying to do this in this house, as I feel I am right now.

Thanks for the encouragement, you guys! I appreciate it more than you can know.

45 minutes is about average for an interview. Mostly at the interview the parents and caregiver are just going over the basic information and getting a sense of each other through questions and observation. Then the parents will take all of the info home and compare it with what they learned at other places they visit and make a decision.