What's wrong with that, OP? We had that happen to us as well. Not a big deal at all. We were glad not to waste our time and hers.

You're a parent now. Get a thicker skin, because you'll need it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a phone interview with someone for our nanny position who seemed great. She came to our house for an in-person interview and we really liked her. Then, one aspect of the job wasn’t appealing to her and she told us right there in the interview while holding our baby that she was no longer interested in our job because of that one aspect. Then it was so awkward!! She had to hand us back our baby, gather her things, and leave while making really uncomfortable small talk.

Why didn’t she wait and decline the job when offered in email or on the phone?! You don’t do it during the interview in the person’s home to their face!!!

Simple: In order not to waste your time and hers.

She gave you a chance to ask questions or negotiate and you chose to be flustered and insulted.

My guess is that your “one thing” was light cleaning, cooking, or pet care and that on paper / over the phone it was not a deal breaker for her. Once she saw the size of your house / amount of stuff and clutter / way you keep your house absolutely pristine / type or size of dog, etc. that she decided she couldn’t handle it. That is honest.

Job interviews are a two way conversation.

Anonymous wrote:My guess is you asked her something that made her a bit mad, like to do all the household laundry or cooking or “light cleaning.” Many experienced nannies don’t consider that part of their job and have been burned by bosses who expected them to be maids and childcare.

I was thnking that too. Either cooking and/or cleaning related

My guess is you asked her something that made her a bit mad, like to do all the household laundry or cooking or “light cleaning.” Many experienced nannies don’t consider that part of their job and have been burned by bosses who expected them to be maids and childcare.

OP, I am sure it was awkward but I think she did the right thing.

You’re actually complaining that she communicated clearly and directly? I get that it may have been awkward in the moment, but she gave you valuable feedback about your job parameters.

What was the unappealing part of the job?

Anonymous wrote:I had a phone interview with someone for our nanny position who seemed great. She came to our house for an in-person interview and we really liked her. Then, one aspect of the job wasn’t appealing to her and she told us right there in the interview while holding our baby that she was no longer interested in our job because of that one aspect. Then it was so awkward!! She had to hand us back our baby, gather her things, and leave while making really uncomfortable small talk.

Why didn’t she wait and decline the job when offered in email or on the phone?! You don’t do it during the interview in the person’s home to their face!!!

Simple: In order not to waste your time and hers.

So she communicated with you as soon as she knew she wasn’t going to take the job. She saved you time and the energy it would have taken to draft an email or make a call. She’s given you time to start searching for another candidate. And you’re here all pissed off about it because it was awkward for a few second.

Yeah, she dodged a bullet. You’re crazy.

Not much different than if she had said, "Oh, and I'll need occasional smoke breaks" upon which you would have snatched the baby away from her and said this isn't going to work out while showing her the door, probably without even awkward small talk.

Completely disagree, it sounds like she was very respectful of your time. If that one thing is really a dealbreaker for her, why pretend and continue an in person interview then make you consider whether to offer her the job compared to other candidates?

I would appreciate that, actually. You then had a chance to talk to her directly - I don’t know what that aspect of the job was but you could have negotiated on it or sweetened the pot for her in some other way if you really wanted her.

Since you didn’t seem to do that, you should be grateful she didn’t waste any more of your time offering her the job just to turn it down.

Well, what was that one aspect? It sounds like she saved you both a lot of trouble.

I had a phone interview with someone for our nanny position who seemed great. She came to our house for an in-person interview and we really liked her. Then, one aspect of the job wasn’t appealing to her and she told us right there in the interview while holding our baby that she was no longer interested in our job because of that one aspect. Then it was so awkward!! She had to hand us back our baby, gather her things, and leave while making really uncomfortable small talk.

Why didn’t she wait and decline the job when offered in email or on the phone?! You don’t do it during the interview in the person’s home to their face!!!