MB here - What do nannies wear to interviews?

[Anonymous]

FTM starting to interview nannies. We are not sure what is " normal" for a nanny interview. We were casually dressed ( pants and nice blouse) and expected the nannies to be ad well. Every candidate with the exception of one seemed inappropriate. One girl showed up with daisy duke shorts and a tank top, another had on a very colorful, long summer dress. We then had one who wore slacks but a v-neck blouse with her book a hanging out. We don't expect a candidate to wear a suit, but those outfits seemed rather inappropriate for an interview.

[Anonymous]

I would expect neat and clean, nothing dressy and I'm pretty sure that some have worn shorts but definitely not daisy dukes. I don't think a lot of the nannies that I've interviewed wore anything close to business casual, but then I wasn't expecting it since being able to get down on the floor and play with the kids is a big part of the job.

[Anonymous]

Jeans & t shirt and sweatshirt
Jeans & long-sleeve shirt and sweater
Cargo pants & baseball shirt

No T&A was present in any of the candidates who were asked back for second-rounds.

[Anonymous]

Dark wash denim trousers or neat and unfaded jeans and a blouse. Either a button down or a more casual cut depending on the interview/whether or not she'll be playing with the kids. A long summer dress might be okay if she wore a cap sweater or short jacket over it, to create sleeves? No T&A.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dark wash denim trousers or neat and unfaded jeans and a blouse. Either a button down or a more casual cut depending on the interview/whether or not she'll be playing with the kids. A long summer dress might be okay if she wore a cap sweater or short jacket over it, to create sleeves? No T&A.

So .... jeans?

[Anonymous]

Cali nanny here.
When I'm interviewing for high end positions I wear beige dress slacks, blouse or nice shirt.
For babysitting type jobs I wear jeans ( no tears), a nice tee shit. Nothing tight and no cleavage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Dark wash denim trousers or neat and unfaded jeans and a blouse. Either a button down or a more casual cut depending on the interview/whether or not she'll be playing with the kids. A long summer dress might be okay if she wore a cap sweater or short jacket over it, to create sleeves? No T&A.

So .... jeans?

Not exactly, although I suppose yes in the strictest sense. But denim trousers usually don't have rivets or more than two pockets. Often they are so dark they look like a more formal fabric. They were considered business-casual where I worked in Boston.

[Anonymous]

Well it would all depend on where in the country you live at.

I live in SoCal where it is unbearably hot this summer. So I think the long, summer dress would not have been an issue...Said nanny probably wanted to look decent when meeting you, but most likely will not be wearing the dress if her job consists of running after a toddler. I see nothing wrong w/her choice of clothing.

Daisy Dukes and the low cut V-neck shirt are totally out of line for a job interview as a nanny. Those girls are just clueless.

Who do they think they will be working for? Ben and Jen?

[Anonymous]

Where are you getting these girls, OP?

[Anonymous]

I generally wear a nice skirt (long) and blouse - I dress nicer than I would for a nanny job but far less formal than a regular office interview. However, now that I am interviewing for part-time nanny positions, I have no choice but to wear what I where to work as I have been going to interviews straight from work.

[Anonymous]

I usually wear sun dresses and a blazer with nice pumps or sandals. But I also wear a lot of dresses when I work also. If it's cold and I'm meeting a family I wear slacks and a blazer. I don't care what the job is, I always want to show my personality through my attire and look professional at the same time.

[Anonymous]

All the nannies I've interviewed in person (probably 8-10) have worn slacks and a top, or slacks and a sweater, or a casual skirt/dress.

None have worn anything revealing or skimpy. I wouldn't consider that a good sign in an interview OP!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where are you getting these girls, OP?

And how much are you offering to pay?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would expect neat and clean, nothing dressy and I'm pretty sure that some have worn shorts but definitely not daisy dukes. I don't think a lot of the nannies that I've interviewed wore anything close to business casual, but then I wasn't expecting it since being able to get down on the floor and play with the kids is a big part of the job.

Very often, parents want to see me interact with the children as part of the interview. This usually involves anything from getting down on the floor with them, getting spit up on by them or more. None of these are things I would like to do in professional clothing, so I dress accordingly. I wear a nicer casual top and a cardigan, but I would never wear anything that would restrict my movement (such as a blazer), anything that would be *ahem* unbecoming if I were on the floor playing with little ones (such as even a knee-length skirt or a dress) or anything that I would particlarly care if it got ruined. I don't wear accessories because even though they make me look more pulled together, they are neither practical nor appropriate for the position.

If I were interviewing people for the position, I would expect candidates to be neat, clean and appropriate to a childcare position, not professional attire. It is not a professional office position.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Where are you getting these girls, OP?

And how much are you offering to pay?

None of this matters.