Anyone want to share their master list of interview questions please?

[Anonymous]

And especially questions you SHOULD HAVE asked?

[Anonymous]

We have hosted for a number of years and we do not have a master list. Because the kids are are older every year, our needs change, so we focus on different things with different candidates.

Take a look at http://aupairmom.com/.

[Anonymous]

I am still new to this but scenario questions seem to be the best tool for me. I ask them based on challenges that come up for me with my kids: the two boys are fighting over a toy truck and the doorbell rings, what do you do? (Anyone who says, "I open the door" doesn't make it to the next round). Also, I ask: it's time to come in from playing to eat dinner and Mr. 4 doesn't want to come in. He starts to cry. What would you do?

Answers give a sense of critical thinking skills and judgement. Although it turns out my questions didn't filter for judgment/common sense with our first AP! I am the broken glass OP and just today had to ask again that she be

[Anonymous]

sure to close and lock doors when leaving the house if no one is home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am still new to this but scenario questions seem to be the best tool for me. I ask them based on challenges that come up for me with my kids: the two boys are fighting over a toy truck and the doorbell rings, what do you do? (Anyone who says, "I open the door" doesn't make it to the next round). Also, I ask: it's time to come in from playing to eat dinner and Mr. 4 doesn't want to come in. He starts to cry. What would you do?

Answers give a sense of critical thinking skills and judgement. Although it turns out my questions didn't filter for judgment/common sense with our first AP! I am the broken glass OP and just today had to ask again that she be

I am a HM and I would open the door My kids do not get 100% of my attention at all times. They need to learn how to deal. Am I support to let my visitors just wait until my kids have stopped fighting? Out of genuine curiosity, what answer do you expect?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am still new to this but scenario questions seem to be the best tool for me. I ask them based on challenges that come up for me with my kids: the two boys are fighting over a toy truck and the doorbell rings, what do you do? (Anyone who says, "I open the door" doesn't make it to the next round). Also, I ask: it's time to come in from playing to eat dinner and Mr. 4 doesn't want to come in. He starts to cry. What would you do?

Answers give a sense of critical thinking skills and judgement. Although it turns out my questions didn't filter for judgment/common sense with our first AP! I am the broken glass OP and just today had to ask again that she be

I am a HM and I would open the door My kids do not get 100% of my attention at all times. They need to learn how to deal. Am I support to let my visitors just wait until my kids have stopped fighting? Out of genuine curiosity, what answer do you expect?

Depends on how old the kids are. My kids are 11 & 13, so I would answer the door....but if they were 2 and 4 maybe not unless I was expecting someone. I don’t answer solicitors and delivery drops at the door.

[Anonymous]

We don't ask scenario questions. We do ask them to tell us about a time they faced a challenging child care solution and how they handled it. And we ask what they hope to gain from the year as an AP.
We have a school-aged child so ask more about their personality to see if they'd be a good fit for us. Are they an introvert or extrovert? Are they looking to be part of a family or just spend a year in the US? We also ask LOTS of questions about driving. How often/where/etc.
And we pay a lot of attention to the questions they ask us. We had a candidate whose first questions included how often she'd have a car, whether we minded if she had a boyfriend and about her vacation...and no questions about us. We decided she wasn't the right candidate for us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don't ask scenario questions. We do ask them to tell us about a time they faced a challenging child care solution and how they handled it. And we ask what they hope to gain from the year as an AP.
We have a school-aged child so ask more about their personality to see if they'd be a good fit for us. Are they an introvert or extrovert? Are they looking to be part of a family or just spend a year in the US? We also ask LOTS of questions about driving. How often/where/etc.
And we pay a lot of attention to the questions they ask us. We had a candidate whose first questions included how often she'd have a car, whether we minded if she had a boyfriend and about her vacation...and no questions about us. We decided she wasn't the right candidate for us.

This. Most interviews are typical and APs ask standard questions. But some interviews give you a solid no. We had one that was like this where she basically cared about access to a car and the hours, but didn't ask at all about what the kids are like. Nope.

[Anonymous]

I would send one of the kids who is fighting to answer the door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am still new to this but scenario questions seem to be the best tool for me. I ask them based on challenges that come up for me with my kids: the two boys are fighting over a toy truck and the doorbell rings, what do you do? (Anyone who says, "I open the door" doesn't make it to the next round). Also, I ask: it's time to come in from playing to eat dinner and Mr. 4 doesn't want to come in. He starts to cry. What would you do?

Answers give a sense of critical thinking skills and judgement. Although it turns out my questions didn't filter for judgment/common sense with our first AP! I am the broken glass OP and just today had to ask again that she be

I am a HM and I would open the door My kids do not get 100% of my attention at all times. They need to learn how to deal. Am I support to let my visitors just wait until my kids have stopped fighting? Out of genuine curiosity, what answer do you expect?

PP here and the answer I expect, since an AP knows no one here and anyone at the door would be a stranger, is to ignore the door - if it's a neighbor they can call me or leave a note on the door - and ensure kids are being safe with each other. Another acceptable answer would be to pick up youngest child and toy truck and look out the peep hole on door to see who it is.

[Anonymous]

PP again and I also ask them to describe a challenging situation when caring for a child and how they handled it. Ditto on the driving questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would send one of the kids who is fighting to answer the door.

I would invite one of the kids to come with me to answer the door.