Telephone Interview Advice

[Monday 2 Friday Mama]

I always ask the parents "where" they are in the interviewing process - have they met with other caregivers, how many - that sort of thing. I then have a frame of reference for how serious they are, and when they could be expected to get back to me with a decision about whether or not their child will be joining my group. I also ask parents if they are on any "waiting lists" at other private daycares or at liscenced centres. It's not that I won't act as an interm caregiver, but I like to have all the facts when I'm assessing a family's suitability with my program. I close every meeting with families by asking them to get back to me by a certain point in time - based on where they are in their search. Sometimes I'm asking them to get back to me by the weekend, other times it's more like a week. I've found if you leave things too open ended, people will take far too long to get back to you. It's agony for me waiting to find out if I made the cut, and it's not necessary - you know pretty quickly if this is someone you want to work with, if you like their approach with children, etc. I also ask parents what it is that they prefer about home daycare. It's just a nice open ended question and it opens dialogue between me and the parents about what they feel is important. Lastly, I ask every parent if they have any special/specific concerns about placing their child in care - again, it's just an open ended kind of question designed to get the parent to talk a little bit. =) Hope this helps, and good luck with your interview - I know what you mean about hating to forfeit our evenings to interview prospective families. Especially irritating when it goes no where or they are clearly not serious. Grrrr.....