Interviews

[BrightEyes]

I hate interviews.


I have a lot of experience working with children. I am an Early Childhood Educator, have worked in licensed daycares as well as been a Nanny.

Why is it that for every interview I get nervous, anxious and choke up?!?!?!?!?!?!

I am honestly so annoyed with myself for it!!

[little rascals]

It happens to most of us. I have been doing this for a year and still get nervous. I guess it takes some time. Hopefully we can replace nervousness with confidence. Good luck !

[Inspired by Reggio]

Yup ~ it took me years to get comfortable interviewing and touring prospective clients!

Things that helped me were creating a point form 'checklist' to help me stay on track and ensure I cover the same thing with ALL interviewees as well as getting family and friends to volunteer to be my practice subjects and walking them through and getting constructive feedback from them.

Filler up vibes for you

[Momof4]

I had some other home daycare providers ask me if they would like them to come over so I could practice an interview with them but I said no because I figured I wouldn't be able to do it without giggling all the way through anyway. I was having a really hard time with interviews last year and getting frustrated. However, thinking back on it, it wasn't me it was the families coming in for interviews. I had one woman who wanted to know how I cleaned my house, why I had plastic toys and so on. I had one woman with a clipboard filled with questions and her husband never said a word and looked like he was afraid of her. I had a woman who told lies and tripped herself up during the interview. Do you see what I'm saying? I did NOT want those families!

Keep interviewing and you will find the right families. Practice definitely makes perfect but I sit down and breathe deeply before an interview and calm myself and I've done so many now that I'm in my 5th year that it's second nature. Give yourself a peptalk before every interview and relax. Baking cookies or warming cinnamon buns so your house smells awesome just before the interview is a good trick too, hehe.

You can do this, just have confidence.

[Littledragon]

personally, i find the people i :choke" with are people that make me uncomfortable. and i dont want those people in my daycare. people i have felt confident with, i ended up signing. you just need to find that family you feel comfortable with. and my husband gave me a piece of advice: i was finding myself going over and over the things i'd said and done after interviews I felt hadn't gone well. My husband told me to let it go. I said, I know I need to just let it go after the interview and if it happens, it happens. He said, no, let it go BEFORE the interview. Act indifferent. You don't want to force people to like you when you're not even sure you like them

Just be confident in knowing that you are a GREAT provider and STOP worrying about what other people think. Be indifferent. I know it's hard when you're trying desperately to fill up; trust me, people on here know how desperate I was to fill up, but now I'm full and I'm full with families that I am comfortable with.

Keep going! You'll get it! Just try not to care so much lol I know, easier said than done, but just let it go. Have your checklist, trust that your home and your services are spectacular BEFORE the interview and try to keep your mind CLEAR. Answer only what is asked in the beginning, and when you start to feel comfortable (for me, it was after the tour, when I got to know what the people were like), then I could start asking my questions. Try not to think too much or say too much. Be clear, consise and to the point.

YOU CAN DO IT!!

[momof5]

I hate interviews.


Why is it that for every interview I get nervous, anxious and choke up?!?!?!?!?!?!

I am honestly so annoyed with myself for it!!

I do the exact same thing! I just did 2 interviews, and never heard back from them. I do the exact same thing as you!

[BrightEyes]

Thank you Momof4, Littledragon and momof5! It really helps knowing that others are here for you and to share experiences. I am really shy which doesn't help with the interviews or talking to caregivers in my community so this forum is really nice. I'm not shy once I warm up to people and def not shy with children but it's always worked best for me when others approached me. This makes it more difficult but I try to show the parents how good I am with their children during the interview and hope that out does my nervousness...

[Momof4]

When I conduct an interview I'm not worried about the children usually as long as they are behaving normally and not tearing your house apart or anything that shows you they don't have any rules at home. I'm talking to the parents and listening to and watching them because I want to know that they are the kind of people who will work with me and who have the same philosophies as I do.

Yes, I want to interact with the child a bit and ease the parent's mind that I'm great with children, but I want to make sure that I'm going to be able to work with the parents for the next few years no matter what issue or phases their child goes through while in my care.

Transitioning a new child is exhausting, but the normal ones always learn your rules eventually and come around. I always think that's the least of my worries. I'm going through this right now. But if the parents don't help you, then you are going to lose your mind!

Tell them all about your daycare days and rules and the main points of your contract and let the conversations flow as naturally as possible. Write down notes about where the parents work and live and info about the child's eating and sleeping routines and make sure they will get their child onto your schedule. Remember that you are the business owner offering a service, but they are your rules and the parents are your clients, not the other way around. It's my motto that we have to be a team.

[BrightEyes]

Those are really good points Momof4, Thank you.