When Do You Interview?

[jenh171]

I'm just wondering if other home child care providers have people interview them during the week when they're' open & operating. I understand people want to see the child care "in action", but I seem to find it so difficult to communicate effectively when I'm SO busy during my workday. I always feel like my interviews go so much better when I do it on the weekend, but I also don't want people who are interested to feel like they're not welcome to come during the day. I'm just curious as to when other people do they're interviewing...during the week or outside of working hours?

[jen]

I do it after hours. If someone asks I just inform them that it is disruptive to the group and that when I have children in care, my time and attention needs to be directed towards the kids.

So far I haven't had a problem with that!

[SunflowerMama]

I do it after hours. If someone asks I just inform them that it is disruptive to the group and that when I have children in care, my time and attention needs to be directed towards the kids.

So far I haven't had a problem with that!

Same here.

[actaktmdt]

I prefer evening but if that doest work out I schedule for nap time when the kiddos have gone down.

[mac60]

Same as the other ladies, evenings.

[JenNJ]

After hours or weekends only. I do NOT allow unknown people to come into my home/daycare when the kids are here - EVER. It is a safety precaution and any reasonable parent would understand that. I have had one family get mad that I wouldn't interview or allow them to observe during childcare hours, but I'm ok with that. #1 - I am far too busy and anyone here who isn't normally here causes complete and utter chaos. #2 - I don't know these people at all. I am not allowing strangers into my home with myself and the kids. My clients would not be ok with that.

[jenh171]

Thanks for the input. I've been considering only allowing interviewing outside of operating hours, and now I'll feel more comfortable setting that standard. I have found that the children really act up the minute someone shows up...I don't know if they're showing off or what, but I always feel that the person does not get a good idea of the normal vibe here anyway! I'd never considered that it was much of a safety issue, b/c the people interviewing me have been friends of friends, but that is definitely something to consider also.

To JenNJ...so do the people who hire you not get to see the day care in action before deciding to send their child? I've found that most people WANT to come when I'm open, to see how their child interacts with the others. You haven't had that come up?

[momma2girls]

I only do it weekday evenings, if they can't do it any of these days- I will allow on weekends as well. It's way to much to explain everything, show everything, go over questions, etc. when you have daycare children here.

[Janet]

Evenings only

I feel like if I have an interview during daycare hours, then I'm not providing the level of service that I should be giving to the children in my care. Also, I like to be able to answer and ask questions and give the potential daycare family my undivided attention. I'm more than happy to have the family stop in during daycare hours after the first interview, but not until then.

[JenNJ]

Once I have all their info and I check with my clients, they are more than welcome to come and observe but no one actually has. I am fairly lucky that I have great client referrals and a waiting list, so most clients are just happy I have an opening.

[MarinaVanessa]

I too do it when there are no kids here. I just don't feel comfortable letting people that I don't know much about into my house let alone when I am taking care of other people's kids. I even wait until after my fiance is home in the house so that I'm not alone with my interview. I do this also because I want the family to meet him since they have to be comfortable with him because he helps out when he gets home from work. Once I feel comfortable with them and I do refference checks etc I ask them if they want to come back so that Jr can interact with the kiddos for a half an hour or so.

[alyssyn]

I schedule interviews after child care hours and on weekends. During hours the children would have my attention and I know I wouldn't be able to focus on an interview.

[misol]

[QUOTE=JenNJ;36321]After hours or weekends only. I do NOT allow unknown people to come into my home/daycare when the kids are here - EVER. It is a safety precaution and any reasonable parent would understand that.

Same here. I tell potential clients right off the bat that I do 2 interviews. I tell them that I do the first interview after hours for safety reasons and so that I can give them my undivided attention. If the first interview goes well I offer a second interview during business hours if they want to observe my program. They are always understanding of that. Like another poster mentioned I always make sure that my husband is home when I schedule initial interviews.

[tenderhearts]

I always do my first interview after hours, I explain to them that it's hard to talk and explain things when the kids are there. If they want to come back when the kids are here they are welcome too. In my experience half do and half don't. I know when my kids were in daycare I wanted to see first hand what the setting and environment was like when kids were there.

[QualiTcare]

i think it makes the most sense to interview after hours and then ALWAYS invite them to come back the next day to look around while the kids are there. of course, it'd probably be smart to tell them that you won't be able to chat with them much when they come back, but they can make a note of any questions, etc. and talk again after hours once they've observed.

i personally wouldn't put my kid in a daycare that i hadn't seen in action, but i also realize doing a formal interview while kids are there isn't reasonable.