Top 3 Interview Questions for Daycare Workers

Attracting and retaining talented, hard working and dependable early childhood educators to your child care facility is a tough job, as we discussed in one of our earlier blog posts. There are many qualities that make a good daycare worker, and it can be extremely difficult to uncover those characteristics in an interview setting. Because you’ll typically conduct an interview process before you have a chance to see a potential hire actually interact with children, it’s important to select key interview questions for daycare workers that will allow you to discover if they are a right fit for your center. Read here to learn more about recruiting early childhood educators for your child care. Use the following interview questions to uncover more about a candidate’s early childhood education philosophy, and whether or not it matches the overall goals of your center.

If you were to operate your own childcare program, what key components would you include to make it successful?

This is an effective question to get a deeper look into what the candidate knows about quality early childhood education. Do they talk about establishing an exciting curriculum, but neglect to mention aspects of safety? Do they mention anything about working well with other staff members and keeping parents involved? Pay careful attention to not only what they mention, but also what they exclude.

Have you experienced any situations that have influenced your approach to child care?

A good way to ask about a candidate’s past experiences, this question will get the interviewee thinking about their previous jobs and how they have helped them grow as a daycare worker. Ask specifically about each job listed on their resume, and whether or not they gained valuable lessons from each. Their answers will reveal insights into how they currently work with coworkers, children and their families.

What do you enjoy most about being an early childhood educator? What do you find most difficult?

This is likely one of the most important interview questions for daycare workers you are considering. Asking about what he or she enjoys – and what they don’t – helps you to really get to know the person you are interviewing. You will get a feel for what motivates or discourages them, and start to develop a picture of whether or not they will be happy working at your center for a long period of time. It can also provide you with a heads up about potential issues that could develop down the road, such as if a candidate mentions they love working with children, but finds it difficult to work with parents.

One of the most essential elements of a successful childcare center is its staff. Remember that your learning and development curriculum will be implemented by your hires on a day-to-day basis, so you have to choose the right people who you can trust to deliver high-quality programming to the children in your care. By asking these interview questions for daycare workers, you can get a feel for your potential hires, and if their values and philosophies are in line with your existing staff.