How to structure your first nanny interview

How the interview structure works

The questions cover four decision areas and seek concrete examples. Keep the core identical for everyone; role-specific follow-ups may differ.

• Role relevance: Questions and scenarios come from the family’s actual weekly plan.
• Evidence: Examples are supported by relevant documents and references.
• Reciprocity: The candidate has meaningful time to ask questions too.
• Fair comparison: Criteria are set before the first interview.

Before the nanny interview: send the role and agenda

Send the duration, format, workplace, core duties, children’s ages, workload and pay range in advance. Ask whether a reasonable adjustment is needed. Surprise tests reveal little about everyday collaboration.

Allow roughly the same time for each person: welcome, role, core questions, scenarios, candidate questions and next steps. Check only information that is necessary and lawful for the job.

12 questions for a first nanny interview

Ask open questions and wait for the example. A useful answer contains the situation, the person’s responsibility, their action and the outcome. A polished phrase without an example is not evidence.

Use these twelve questions as the common core, then probe only where the advertised role requires it.

• 1. Which past role is most similar to this one, and why?
• 2. How many children and which ages have you cared for with sole responsibility?
• 3. How do you plan a day when several needs occur at once?
• 4. Tell us about a difficult handover. What did you communicate?
• 5. What do you do when a child repeatedly tests an agreed boundary?
• 6. How do you respond when a safety instruction is unclear or you disagree with it?
• 7. Describe a mistake at work and what you changed afterwards.
• 8. Which child-related household tasks do you include or exclude?
• 9. Which hours are sustainable, and how much notice do changes need?
• 10. How do you prefer to receive feedback and raise concerns?
• 11. Which evidence and references may we check with your consent?
• 12. What questions or conditions matter to your decision?

Adapt scenario questions to real family life

Choose two or three recurring situations rather than dramatic edge cases. Example: school reports a delay while the younger child should be sleeping. Ask about priorities, communication and what information is missing.

Do not score one supposedly perfect sentence. Look for safety before convenience, honest uncertainty, questions about the parents’ rules and communication others can follow.

• Two children need help at once
• The authorised collector is unclear
• A child refuses a familiar routine
• A parent is late with no firm return time
• An allergy instruction conflicts with a spontaneous activity

The nanny’s questions are part of the assessment

An experienced candidate often asks about routines, decision authority, emergency information, communication, holidays, pay and task boundaries. Answer honestly even when a detail remains open.

Explain who gives instructions and how parents resolve different views. The nanny should not have to mediate conflicting directions. Also discuss privacy, photographs, location sharing and personal devices.

Follow up references and work authorisation properly

Obtain consent before every reference call and agree whom you may contact. Confirm dates, role, children’s ages, observed reliability and suitability for a comparable job. A positive reference reduces uncertainty; it does not guarantee future conduct.

Check work authorisation separately from professional suitability. EU/EFTA and third-country nationals face different procedures, and an EU residence card alone does not grant a third-country national Swiss work rights. Avoid questions about private plans, religion, health or family unless strictly necessary for a lawful job requirement.

Sources for this section: Staatssekretariat für Migration

Define a paid trial clearly

If the interview is promising, a paid trial can show real interaction. Agree the date, duration, duties, pay, supervision and emergency responsibility first. Begin with a handover and ask the candidate to repeat the plan in their own words.

Observe rapport, attention, safety decisions, response to guidance and handover quality. Do not stage emergencies or test medical actions. A trial is work observation, not a hidden free childcare day.

Use a scorecard without reducing a person to points

Complete the scorecard independently immediately after each interview. A simple example is 0 for no evidence, 1 for weak, 2 for sufficient and 3 for strong. Write the sentence or example supporting every number.

Example, not an official rule: score relevant experience, safety judgement, communication, availability and role clarity. Work authorisation and essential availability are conditions, not points that other strengths can offset. Tell every candidate the outcome within the promised window.

Your next step

A useful nanny interview is prepared, reciprocal and evidence-led. Use the twelve questions, two real scenarios and a simple scorecard, check references with consent and make the trial paid. The free family workbook brings the questions, trial observations and employer checklist together.