Interview Questions

[Inspired by Reggio]

My phone interview typically covers the 'non negotiable things ... aka are they a match to abide by my contract and financial policies ... aka stay within my hours, understand my fees are for the space occupied, they have back up care for vacations and personal days, child is the AGE I am looking for and so forth ... I ask them 'what are you looking for in a childcare program - what are your priorities and how do you imagine y our child's day being spent' and than I go over a few 'highlights' about the program that might be a 'deal breaker' for some clients aka we do outings and field trips by foot, by public transit and in my vehicle, we spend A LOT of time outside in nature getting dirty and exploring and touching 'things' so if parent is a germ-a-phoebe I am not the program for them, quiet time is NOT an option here every child regardless of age is expected to rest after lunch and if they sleep during that time it is because they NEED it - if parents are not cool with that I am not the provider for them .... if after talking to them on the phone and hearing the kinds of questions THEY ask and how they answer MY questions if I feel we could be a match I invite them to tour the program in person - if I feel they are NOT than I am honest and say 'thank you for your time however I am not sure I can meet your needs at this time' and cut my losses at that point.

During the tour - I walk them through the typical day here as we walk through my home and I nonchalantly ask them questions so when we are in the kitchen I ask them about how meal time occurs at home - what is the child use to and so forth, I show them the sleep area and cots and ask about 'sleep schedules at home' quiet, show them the washrooms and ask about how potty training is handled at HOME and than after each of them has shared FIRST than I explain how it is handled HERE and WHY (if we are on opposite sides of the practice and after explaining my WHY they do not pipe in with a 'oh never thought of it that way - we could do that at home too to be consistent) I keep that in mind as 'red flag' of causing behaviour issues when we reach that stage of development - kids need consistency). I end the tour in my playroom where we can than 'sit and chat' ... I show them my portfolio and references and get them to ask any more questions the tour might not have covered naturally ... if there are lulls in conversation I will probe more questions about 'behaviour and guidance' values at home.

Basically I want to get a feel that we share the same values and goals for their child.

I admit I actually have a 'checklist' of info I like to cover with a client - either on the phone or during the tour to make sure all potential clients get the same 'information' and I get all the info I need .. I take notes when I am interviewing several clients to help me remember who said what and so forth