Worst interview ever

[Anonymous]

Sorry OP, still think you're wrong, and now suspect. All of a sudden you're not at a nanny interview but a household manager job and the kids are old enough to babysit themselves. Before the mother claimed she was on the phone, but now she told you she was on the phone with her mother.

It's great that despite being an hour away you were 10 minutes early. You just as easily could have wound up 5 minutes late due to a traffic accident from the rain. I take efforts to not screw over my employees but it needs to work both ways. I don't stress if they're 5 minutes late, and assume they won't get bent out of shape if I need them to stay 5 minutes late. You come across as highly inflexible. You think you're too good to wait in your car for a few minutes? Step off your pedestal.

[Anonymous]

i'm on your side, op. i'm neither a nanny or mb.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think you blew this into a bigger thing than it was. You are the one who got there early. That's great to do in an office setting, but maybe she agreed to a 3pm interview because she knew she'd be READY for you at 3pm. Secondly, you didn't have to stand out in the rain at all - just go sit in your car! Thirdly, you just LEFT?! Without saying anything? When she said she'd be at the door in five minutes the least you could have done was to say "Oh, then I'm leaving in that case." Maybe she was just flustered at you arriving early while she was on a stressful call and didn't handle your early arrival the absolute best way, but you sure didn't give her the benefit of the doubt at all. So she's probably feeling SHE dodged a bullet with you too.

I kind of agree with this. I make sure to get to an interview early so that I won't be late, but I will stop within a few houses away and waste the last few minutes on my phone. I don't drive, so I don't have a car to sit in, but I kind of do a slow walk down the block, or find someplace I can casually lean against (without looking stalker like). Then when it is just a minute or 2 before, I walk up to the door. Being early is good at times, but for interviews it is always best to be perfectly on time and just mention that you you had a few extra minutes but didn't want to disturb them early. They usually appreciate it and know that you will have good habits of being on time if not early.

I think that you just leaving when you were still early was a bit of a dramatic step. Sure, she could have invited you inside into another room to wait if she was on a cellphone, but she might have been on a landline and didn't have the option of leaving her call to come let you in. I would have waited and then kept my eyes open for any other signs that might make her seem like a bad match for you throughout the interview. Kind of like a 3 strikes (of weirdness) and it just being the first one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I rang the door bell two times and then knocked the third time. After no one answered all three times, I called her cellphone. When she answered, I just said "Hi, it's K. I am at your front door and I don't know if you heard me ring the doorbell"....to which she responded "Oh yes..the kids are in the basement and I am finishing up a phone call with my mom, I will be down in 5 minutes.". She CLEARLY heard be ringing and knocking and chose to ignore me. She could have come down and at least let me in. I would have gladly waited INSIDE the doorway while she finished a conversation.

I haven't even finished reading your response, but have to reply to this part first. Ok, so you know that she is on an important phone call. You do not know what it is about, other than she has heard the doorbell ring twice and did not go answer it. Usually if I am on an important call I will ignore other things as well. Maybe it was a work call? If you are talking work with someone, it is rude to the person you are having a conversation with to say "Oh excuse me while I go see who is at the door right now", or "let me call you back in a few minutes while". If she is making an important call and she intends on FINISHING it by 3pm when she has scheduled the interview with you, then you interrupting her call means she won't get it done with before 3pm. Which means she will run late and that would be rude to you PLUS she will be rude to the other person on the phone with her. Also, again she might not be on her cell. She might have answered her cell for YOU which she figured she had to after you ringing the door 2 times and then calling her. She needed you to stop so that she could finish her conversation! Most people like using landline phones for long important calls at home because there is no chance of the signal dropping away. So good chance she was on other phone, her cell rang for your call, she said give me 5 minutes and thought that would be ok since in her mind, YOU were the one interrupting her. Her coming down to let you in would have been nice as I mentioned in my other comment, but I agree with another PP that said it might not always be done since you ARE a stranger and if she is having an important call, she will not want to have it within earshot of you which means she wouldn't want to have it in the room next to where you are even. If I had a stranger in my house, I would either be in the room with them or just outside the door for a quick non-important call. Important call in that situation with you in the house? No, not going to happen.

Again, while you think you are doing GOOD while being early, early for an interview is NOT so good. Many parents take the last few minutes to quickly tidy the place up or get last minute stuff in before they have to take the time to sit and talk with you. Those 10 minutes could mean them being able to tidy up the living room and wash a few dishes quickly, run to the bathroom and make sure they look presentable, plus maybe getting kids settled in another room for a few minutes until you are ready to bring them into the interview to meet with the potential nanny. While it is just 10 minutes to you, it can mean A LOT to the parents trying to cram in the last few things before inviting you into their home. I personally like to give them that time and not make them feel rushed. If I can travel by public transit for an hour or more and walk sometimes several blocks as well to their house and wait outside on a sidewalk (and sometimes in the rain as well), then you can travel by car and sit in the car for that last 10 minutes and not have it hurt you at all.

[Anonymous]

OP, Looks like lots of people here just like to bitch about nothing. Forget about it and good luck with the next one.

[Anonymous]

OP didn't you know that once you call yourself a nanny on this board, you can then do NOTHING right? I always arrive early to my interviews and families have always been delighted at my punctuality. If you are the type to do this as well, it'd be best to find a family who appreciates it instead of one who finds it rude and intrusive. To each his own! I think had I been in your shoes, I would have been annoyed but would have continued with the interview, but they would have a strike against them and I'd be on the lookout for any other indications that she was self-centered or inconsiderate.

[Anonymous]

OP, I was w/ the MB until you clarified that she was on a call with her MOM (not work or doctor's office or whatever). I love my mom and all but I would not view cutting a call w/ her short but a few minutes as a big deal. If she definitely said it was with her mom, then I side w/ you OP as it being really weird.

That said, i do not like when people show up for appointments early - i.e. more than 5 minutes before the time. i'm not ready normally and it stresses me out. agree with others that the best thing would have been to wait in your car until just a couple minutes before 3.

[Anonymous]

Did you really want an hour commute, anyway?

[Anonymous]

Maybe OP was wee bit dramatic about simply leaving, but anyone better have a really, really good excuse for leaving someone you have an appointment with out in the rain. That's just plain disrespectful. A PP made a good point about the fact that when a nanny interviews for a new position, she is also checking out the family to see if they seem like nice people. Maybe OP is the organized type (sounds like it since it is actually professional and far from immature to show up for an interview a few minutes early) and MB clearly is not. Probably would not have been a good fit in the long run.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dear lord. Apparently nannies can't win no matter what time we show up. 3 minutes late and we should be fired. 10 minutes early and we're incredibly inconsiderate.

The thing I think a lot of parents forget is that we are interviewing the family as much as they are interviewing us. I don't blame OP for leaving. Asking her to wait outside was rude. It's a rude thing to do regardless of circumstances. I can't imagine telling anyone I had made plans with that they need to wait outside while I focus on something else. Be it nanny, friend, relative, maintenance man, whatever, it's rude.

I might have answered the call and said that I'd left, but really, what's the harm in not answering when you're not planning on having any further communication with them anyways.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I rang the door bell two times and then knocked the third time. After no one answered all three times, I called her cellphone. When she answered, I just said "Hi, it's K. I am at your front door and I don't know if you heard me ring the doorbell"....to which she responded "Oh yes..the kids are in the basement and I am finishing up a phone call with my mom, I will be down in 5 minutes.". She CLEARLY heard be ringing and knocking and chose to ignore me. She could have come down and at least let me in. I would have gladly waited INSIDE the doorway while she finished a conversation.

I haven't even finished reading your response, but have to reply to this part first. Ok, so you know that she is on an important phone call. You do not know what it is about, other than she has heard the doorbell ring twice and did not go answer it. Usually if I am on an important call I will ignore other things as well. Maybe it was a work call? If you are talking work with someone, it is rude to the person you are having a conversation with to say "Oh excuse me while I go see who is at the door right now", or "let me call you back in a few minutes while". If she is making an important call and she intends on FINISHING it by 3pm when she has scheduled the interview with you, then you interrupting her call means she won't get it done with before 3pm. Which means she will run late and that would be rude to you PLUS she will be rude to the other person on the phone with her. Also, again she might not be on her cell. She might have answered her cell for YOU which she figured she had to after you ringing the door 2 times and then calling her. She needed you to stop so that she could finish her conversation! Most people like using landline phones for long important calls at home because there is no chance of the signal dropping away. So good chance she was on other phone, her cell rang for your call, she said give me 5 minutes and thought that would be ok since in her mind, YOU were the one interrupting her. Her coming down to let you in would have been nice as I mentioned in my other comment, but I agree with another PP that said it might not always be done since you ARE a stranger and if she is having an important call, she will not want to have it within earshot of you which means she wouldn't want to have it in the room next to where you are even. If I had a stranger in my house, I would either be in the room with them or just outside the door for a quick non-important call. Important call in that situation with you in the house? No, not going to happen.

Again, while you think you are doing GOOD while being early, early for an interview is NOT so good. Many parents take the last few minutes to quickly tidy the place up or get last minute stuff in before they have to take the time to sit and talk with you. Those 10 minutes could mean them being able to tidy up the living room and wash a few dishes quickly, run to the bathroom and make sure they look presentable, plus maybe getting kids settled in another room for a few minutes until you are ready to bring them into the interview to meet with the potential nanny. While it is just 10 minutes to you, it can mean A LOT to the parents trying to cram in the last few things before inviting you into their home. I personally like to give them that time and not make them feel rushed. If I can travel by public transit for an hour or more and walk sometimes several blocks as well to their house and wait outside on a sidewalk (and sometimes in the rain as well), then you can travel by car and sit in the car for that last 10 minutes and not have it hurt you at all.

Are you the MB that left the nanny in the rain? You know you sound unhinged, right?

[Anonymous]

It's probably good that you left, OP. No one wants a rigid nanny who is so incredibly put out by having to wait 4! whole! minutes! in her car because she was early.

Not to mention someone so melodramatic that she needs to vent to her nanny friend and ignore the MB who was giving her a second chance to make the interview she blew.

You acted very foolishly, OP.

[Anonymous]

I think it was not appropriate of the mb to ask you to wait...she should have let you in. I also think you should have answered her when she called to let her know how you felt.

[Anonymous]

I think the employer dodged a bullet. OP sounds like an idiot. Why wouldn't you have stayed in your car until the time of the appointment in the first place? Why wouldn't you have simply gone back to your car after no one answered the door the first time and waited until the appointment started? Why wouldn't you have carried an umbrella. No one wants to hire an idiot. You did the MB a favor in leaving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the employer dodged a bullet. OP sounds like an idiot. Why wouldn't you have stayed in your car until the time of the appointment in the first place? Why wouldn't you have simply gone back to your car after no one answered the door the first time and waited until the appointment started? Why wouldn't you have carried an umbrella. No one wants to hire an idiot. You did the MB a favor in leaving.

You sound like an idiot to.