What are the best questions you've asked (or been asked) in an interview?

Have you ever heard of DCUM? What do you think?

Great advice above. I also like to ask lots of questions around "fit". Such as:
- which job was your favorite (and why of course)
- which was the most challenging
- what was your worst day of nannying
- what kind of communication do you like to have with your employers
- what are you most looking for in a position
- what are dealbreakers for you

Also, come up w/ some questions around your kid(s) age(s) - as the PP said. Try to get a sense of what ages are their favorites, where they seem to have the most knowledge in terms of developmental stuff, etc...

I have hired a nanny twice - once when my kids were newborn, and once when they were preschoolers. The skills we were looking for were pretty different for those ages and the people we hired wouldn't have worked as effectively for all of those stages - so it's worth thinking about where your kids are developmentally.

Also, think about temperament and energy level and what would be best for your kids, then hire to that. (That may seem basic, but some kids need a much calmer nurturing spirit, some kids really need high energy, etc...)

Similarly, think about the critical work of the position. Will there be a lot of driving? Will absolute reliability in terms of time be critical (like for pickup/dropoff at activities)? Do you need someone who can arrange and/or supervise playdates? Do you need someone who can help with homework? etc...

I like it when parents ask me what activities I would do w/their child on a daily basis if hired.

Since I have experience/knowledge w/children of a certain age, I can use that as a perfect opportunity to mention age-appropriate activities.

For example, if their child is say...2 years old I can answer that I will take them to the park, play Play-Do, color, read picture books + do puzzles. These are things most typical 2 year olds love to do.

This will show them that I know what activities a 2 year old enjoys and that I have knowledge and experience w/this age group.

If my answer were more general such as telling the family we will "play all day," yet I couldn't be specific, then that would be a huge red flag that perhaps I didn't have much experience in this age group.

Bonus points if the family asks me for toy and/or book recommendations for this age group.

Nanny here.

Ask your dealbreakers first, and make sure they're open-ended so that you get a sense of what each person thinks, not how well they try to fit their answers to your perspective. Examples would be: What television shows would you consider appropriate for x age and how much would you allow per day? This was asked by one MB, and I answered; just happened that we are both anti-screen time for kids under 2, but the way it was phrased, nannies didn't realize that was her opinion. If Larlo and Larla did xyz, what would you do? What would be different if they were younger? Older? If you hadn't seen what happened? Discipline is always a tricky situation, because most nannies are familiar with a long list of methods, but we also are human, so we have certain styles that we naturally prefer. Yes, you might have a nanny that can easily switch to your style, but it might be worth it to you to find someone who shares the philosophy rather than just implementing the strategy you want.

Allow the nanny to ask follow-up questions during your questions. It's a whole lot easier to ask what a parent means by healthy and get an answer immediately after the parent says we don't eat unhealthy food than 20 minutes later when nanny finally gets a chance to ask questions. To some parents, it means the child eats at least 2 or 3 veg/fruit a day, but to others it means everything is cooked from scratch, there aren't any refined grains, it's vegetarian or vegan, Paleo, etc.

Have clear ideas of what you want, and ask the nanny to tell you about herself, what her interests are both with kids and relevant interests outside work. If someone doesn't interact much with kids outside of work, they're not a good candidate for a live-in family who may enjoy the nanny tagging along to the zoo on her day off. If all of her interests outside work involve kids, maybe boundaries might be an issue. Neither is a guarantee, but you get more of a sense of the whole person, not just what she wanted to tell you.

Prioritize what is most important to you. It's not likely that you will find a nanny with the same philosophy you have for every single thing, so is the nanny who matches up with you for discipline and food a better fit, or is it the nanny who matches with regard to screen time and boundaries?

We are starting to interview nannies as I'm going back to work FT after a few years off and I'm a little overwhelmed. How do you really get a good sense for who this person is? I mean, no one in their right mind is going to say "Yes! I text all day long!" but obviously there are plenty who do. What questions have helped other families really get to the heart of who someone is, or if you are a nanny, what questions did you think were really spot on?