I posted an ad at our local college and got a number of replies. So now what? I want them to come over and meet us and DD (9 months). Do I have them all come over separately? Do I select just some and, if so, how and who? Should I be interviewing them and, if so, what should I ask? Did you interview sitters at all?
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My girls are in daycare so when we were finally ready for non family sitters, we used their teachers.
In your position I would definitely interview them and have them meet the baby! Good luck!
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Can you pick a few you like based on their responses to your ad and just interview them?
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@regberadaisy: We thought of that before but they don't live closeby and a lot don't drive so it seems like it's not as convenient of an option.
@Mrs. Sunshine: Problem is, responses are short. I just wanted someone experienced, CPR trained. That was really it?
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@LindsayInNY: maybe Google them aND try to look at their social media? Haha I don't really have much help to offer.
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@Mrs. Sunshine: I have been checking social media for sure!
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I am almost through the process of hiring someone from an ad! I did phone interviews, and then based on that they come over to meet us and I see how they play interact with him while I pop in and out of the room.
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@junebugsmama: Ooh, I didn't think about phone interviews! That's not a bad idea so I don't have a ton of people coming over. I'm just looking for someone for occasional weekday/weekend nights. Not full time or anything. I guess I'm worried that I'm making this a bigger deal than it needs to be? What kind of things did you ask them when interviewing?
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@LindsayInNY: I know exactly how you feel! We need someone regular but it's only one day a week for a couple of hours so I sort of felt like I was overdoing it. But no matter what, they will watch your kid, and so you need to feel confident in them! That was my reasoning anyways. Plus who knows in an emergency you could need them for a longer day? On the phone, I just asked them to tell me about themselves, and then depending on what they said I asked more questions that popped in my head. My first was more awkward but I got more used to it and felt more natural. But I saved the more parenting/childcare questions for when they came over. You could make up a screening question that you ask everyone to help compare the applicants, like what would you do in x situation (some type of emergency maybe?)
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@lindsayinny: for occasional babysitters, I used their written responses (both in terms of what they wrote and how they wrote it!) to select maybe 3-5 for phone interviews. Then based on that (what they said, how well-spoken they were, gut feeling, etc), I would have 1-3 over for in-person interviews. In both types of interviews, I mostly ask about them, their experience, what they are looking for, and what we are looking for. And I ask about and call references too.
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yes. i posted an ad at a local college, and of the responses i got, i invited the ones i liked to meet me at a local coffee shop during a set hour. that way DS and i could meet them and suss them out, and not have them in my house. of those, the ones i liked, i checked references on.
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@KayKay: That's a good approach. I have 4 replies right now (I posted the ad on Thursday, I think?) and would like to have 2 babysitters on hand to use. I think I'll phone interview with them all first and go from there. If you decided not to use someone, did you tell them no?
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I picked one based on her rates and her profile and her availability on New Year's Eve, when we needed her. We interviewed her, let her hang out with DD for 45 minutes while we walked to got get a latte, then came back and saw that things went fine, and we hired her.
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@PawPrints: When did you ask about rates? I just said it was negotiable. Maybe I should ask during a phone interview?
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@LindsayInNY: We used Urban Sitter, so the rate was posted in my ad seeking a sitter (I just picked a number) and all the sitters who expressed interest had their preferred rates in their profiles as well. I ended up paying her the rate that I had posted, plus tip.
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We got babysitter recs from friends; but for each, we talked by phone and email first. Then we had them come over to watch the kids for an hour or so while we were in the house.
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Thanks everyone for the phone interview tips! Definitely going to be a harder task to find a sitter than I thought it would be!
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