How do you interview?

Just out of curiousity, how do you like to do your interviews when a spot opens up?

I used to make appointments with all that were interested and than decide between the ones that wanted the spot. However, I was finding that most parents wanted the spot so I was having to contact the others and say that I had filled the spot with another child. I know it's part of the job but I feel terrible telling a parent that I chose someone else over them. (I did not feel guilty for choosing a particular child though, just felt bad for those that would have to continue on their dc search) I have had parents beg me to accept their child and it's not fun having to keep saying no. Quality dc is hard to come by and I feel for these parents!

So now what I do is, make an appointment and meet with one family at a time. If I get a good feeling about them I offer the spot. I give them 2 days to think about it and if they accept, great! If not or if I do not think they will fit in well, I make another appt with the next family I think might fit in.

For me, this has worked out well and I no longer waste time meeting with 5+ families for one spot.

I do first come first served. So if a spot opens up, the first family that contacts me I set up a phone interview with. I do most of the interviewing there and if it doesn't sound like a fit (hours, personality, age of child) I tell them as much and don't invite them for an interview. If it is a match they come for an interview/tour. Sometimes I will have 2 phone interviews in a week and then they both come on the weekend at different times. I offer the spot to the family during the interview if I think it's a match and I tell them I have other interested families and it is first to get the package back to me.

I do exactly what you described as your old way 5 Little Monkies. I interview 3-4 families, usually all in one weekend, and then decide which one to take. But I know exactly what you mean! First of all, I sometimes have a VERY hard time deciding between them all if they were all similar and I agonize over who to choose. Second, I feel really bad telling the other families that I didn't choose them...there is just no nice way to say it no matter how you try to explain that they were great too :( On the plus side though, I find parents don't dilly dally too much on getting back to me because they know there are other families who interviewed too. I hadn't thought of changing the process...may think about trying what you said you do now (one at a time)...but then it would be even harder to turn that one family away if I haven't interviewed others!

sunnydays....that is another reason I switched too. I have a hard time choosing if 2 or 3 families are equally a good fit. I than wonder if I made the right choice. This way, I offer the spot if it feels good and I'm not comparing them to others. I don't necessarily let them know I don't have other options though. This way, if I decide not to offer the spot to them I can just say that it's been filled by another family even if it hasn't.

It also depends on how badly I need to fill the spot. The last spot I had open, it was not a mad rush to fill it for financial reasons so I was able to take my time and fill it with a family that I chose because I liked them and not because I had bills to pay.

I accepted a child last year for financial reasons (that sounds terrible!) and it was a mistake!! I wasn't going to terminate because I liked having the money and most of the problems came from the parenting she had but I was super glad when her parents pulled her to put her in ft preschool. If I had done it the way I do now, I wouldn't have offered them the spot but at the time they were the only ones looking.

Right now I have a part time spot open but I'm not in a rush to fill it. Come the end of this month I likely will start the interviewing process again and will do it one at a time again. I have a list of people interested in it so hopefully some of them will still want it when I am ready to fill it.

When they contact me I direct them to my website which has the key info (hours, location, price). If they re-contact me to set up an interview I have them out. I always had 3-5 families come for each spot. I chose the family I felt was the best fit, this is based on the vibes from the parents (personality, demeanor, questions asked), age of child, the vibes I get from the child and what we discuss during the interviews.

Almost all contact is through email (I hate phones). When I choose a family it is through email and I let the other families know I chose a different family (nicely) through email.

Somehow I managed to fill all my spots with really amazing kids and families and have no regrets, though I did turn away some equally good families. My fees are high enough above the average that it helps weed out many 'problem' families. That sounds bad...but seems to be the case. My families are opting to pay $15 more a day for my daycare facilities, program and my experience. With their willing to pay more money they are willing to put the effort in to ensure all is in order.

Luckily, I was in no hurry (financially) to fill my spots so didn't feel pressured to fill on a first come basis.

Lee-Bee, I am the same, I hate phones!! I do almost all my communicating via email and text. I actually only talk on the phone to one family member...is that bad?!?! LOL

Thankfully, I have only had one family that made me regret taking them on. We just had very different approaches to raising children!!

I always do a telephone interview regardless of whether it is an email enquiry or telephone enquiry initially. I think less and less people are telephone people as a result of the convenience of text and email but I think communication via telephone is much more professional and personal which in this job I think is very important. You get a much greater sense of who and what you are dealing with. An email can be edited time and time again to read correctly whereas on the phone a person is put on the spot and if they are hesitant to answer some of my red flag questions or um and ah it can tell me a lot about the relationship we would have. I think if you make a connection over the phone you are more than half way there to securing a family if the fit is right.

Over the years of interviewing face to face I have learnt that even the families with the best of intentions can be complete and utter time wasters. The telephone interview is a great way to weed those people out. It's a time to establish any reasons why the. Placement wouldn't work. Allergies, pets, hours, values, parenting style, a parent who hasn't confirmed hours, not sure if they want to take extended leave....the list is endless. I am no longer willing to give up my family time for an hour or two for a family to say no for a reason that could have easily been established prior to meeting.

I interview on a first come first serve basis but I will always honour all my scheduled appointment prior to making a decision. Say I have 4 interviews in a week and the first calls back the very next morning saying they want the spot, I will never agree to it until I have interviewed everyone and then it is up to me to decide which is the better fit for me. There is nothing worse than having an interview cancelled prior to even making it there because the spot was give a way. I think that is unprofessional. We have to do what is best for our business, absolutely, but there is way to conduct ourselves professionally, after all we have a reputation to think about.

I agree that telephone calls are more professional but I find that a lot of parents email during the day to inquire about my daycare. I have had a few call who have gotten my number from current parents and they always call during the day. I don't have time to be on the phone but I can take as long as I want/need to write up or read an email so that is why I prefer emails.

There are some things that annoy the crap out of me with technology and I wish the 'old" days were still in place for some but I personally love being able to communicate via email with inquiring parents.

I do the initial emails for enquiries to establish the following....name and age of child, start date, days of care required and drop off and pick up times. Once I have established this and am able to accommodate I ask which day is best to do a telephone interview between the hours of 12:30 and 2 when my babies are napping and leave it up to them to choose which day works best for them. Since doing things this way I have saved so much of my family time and been much more thorough and organized in my interview process.

That's a good idea BS! I hate meeting with families that would clearly not fit in with my dc and follow my rules.

I email my parent package to them and if after reading that they are still interested, I set up an in person interview. I have only had a couple who chose not to meet me and that was because I was not in their budget or time frame. Those are the 2 biggest deal breakers!! A phone call would clear all this up too but I find if parents have time to read my contract and really think about it than the in person interview goes much quicker as they know all the policies and come ready with specific questions that relate to me and my daycare and not just general questions.

I don't even talk to my fiance on the phone LOL (well very rarely)

I prefer contact via phone. I put in my advertisements that I do not accept email enquiries and to only call in the evening or on the weekend. If they call me during the day I just tell them to call later. I find that otherwise you do lots of messaging back in forth with alot of time wasted, where a 5 minute phone conversation would have covered everything. You can get such a better feel about a person by actually talking to them. I also feel that you are getting families that are seriously interested, as they must actually pick up the phone! But I have had lots of job experience that required talking to people in person and on the phone, so phones don't scare me. Lol

Once a family is signed up, I am more willing to accept correspondence by text or email. But I am one of those people that has resisted texting and only do it if I have to.

As for interviewing, I talk to them about their needs on the phone first, then schedule interviews. I will do several for a spot if there is interest, so that I get the best fit for it. I don't do first come first serve, and yes it does suck turning people down but I think it is part of the job. I think being able to tell people 'no' in a professional manner is an important skill to have too.

I do not take phone calls relating to daycare outside of regular hours and clearly state on my website that they can feel free to call during X hours and if I don't answer to leave a message and I will call them back. After all I have nap time typically 12:30-3/3:30 to call people back. After hours, the method of contact is email and I will respond within 24 hrs/next business day if it is a weekend enquiry. I already give so many hours to my daycare, both during opening time and after hours book keeping, prep and shopping. Why anyone would let it eat into their weekend is beyond me when there are other times to get things done. My family time is worth more to me. My biggest pet peeve for inquiries is Stat holidays. I understand they are off work for the day but I am closed and off just like they are so show some respect and don't call. If they do, I have to fight mentally to keep my cool and I simply take their name and number and tell them I will either call back or email back, whatever they would prefer, on my next regular working day as I am currently preoccupied with family time. Some people may be knarked off by this but it makes it quite clear from the start that I don't take any messing and usually gains me more respect and any parents who are offended by this response, which does not equal me dropping everything because they expect it, are not the client for me.