How you present yourself at an interview plays a major role in deciding whether you will be selected for the particular post or not. Your outfit not only depicts your personality but also makes you feel confident. Let’s learn the answer to the question ‘What to wear to a daycare interview?’.
Basic information
Whether you are a beginner or someone with a lot of experience in the childcare industry, how you present yourself at the interview ultimately decides your chances of getting selected or rejected. The interviewer checks your professionalism and if you are fit for the role or not.
Preparations for a daycare interview
Since in the daycare job, you will be handling the children, you need to present yourself not only as a professional but also as someone who is amiable and gets along with children well. Following are the guidelines that you need to keep in mind while preparing yourself for the interview.
- Dress professionally
Just like other interviews, you need to dress up professionally to form a good impression of your interviewer. However, since this is a kind of casual job, you can go for casual business attire.
For boys, a casual blazer and well-ironed pair of pants will do the job pretty fine. For girls, skirts up to the knee length and a blouse will be the most appropriate choice.
What is business casual attire?
Business casual attire is a form of dressing that is professional and at the same time gives you a comfortable and relaxed style and is still appropriate for an interview or a meeting.
If you are going for an interview, you should first enquire about the company’s dress code. Employers have specific criteria for the dress that they refer to as a casual dress, hence you need to go through the dress code of the company and then decide your attire.
Business casual attire ideas for women
When it comes to women, there is a wide range of attire ideas available for them. They may range from jeans and slacks to sweaters and blouses. Some of these are mentioned below:
- Khaki pants, slacks, dark jeans without holes, chinos, or knee-length skirts.
- Sweaters, Blouses, henleys, polo shorts, or button-downs.
- Maxi dress
- Knee-length dress
- Hosiery or tights
- Cardigans, jackets, or blazers (optional)
- Footwear like loafers, sneakers, pumps, oxfords, boots, or flats.
- Simple accessories like scarves, watch belts, and other jewelry.
Business casual attire ideas for men
The range of attire ideas available for men is rather very narrow. They have a limited amount of available options which range from a professional suit and pants paired with a perfectly ironed shirt, a button-down, or a sweater.
Mentioned below is the list of outfit ideas for men:
- Khakis, business dress pants, dark jeans or pressed slacks.
- Dress shirts, polo shirts, sweaters, or button-down shirts.
- Footwear such as oxfords, loafers, brogues, or sneakers.
- A belt that matches your shoes. (Optional)
- Tie and jacket (optional)
- Cardigan or a sport coat for winters.
- Be prepared with all the prerequisites
Keep your resume, your references, your letter of recommendation, and all such things at hand.
- Prepare for all the possible questions that may be asked
Since the interviewer is looking for someone having a background in child care, you need to research the most common questions about early childhood development.
Some of the common questions that employers ask for an interview at the daycare are:
- What are your favorite child-related books?
- Describe yourself using 5 words.
- Tell about one of your weaknesses and how you try to overcome those weaknesses.
- What are your interests except for classroom, children, and teaching?
- Which movie inspires you the most and why?
- Why did you opt for working at a daycare?
- What would have been your occupation, if you didn’t opt for becoming a daycare employee?
- Describe your teaching style?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest… How much will you rate yourself as a daycare employee?
- What is the one thing that annoys you the most about children belonging to this age group?
- How do you keep children active?
- What according to you are the required set of skills that make a daycare teacher amazing?
- Have you ever come across children with learning disabilities? How do you handle such a situation!
- Assume that I am one of your students. Convince me to perform a certain task.
- Do you use arts and crafts as a medium to bring out the creative side of these students?
- Why did you select this field as your career?
- What makes childcare difficult?
- Why do you think you will be a perfect fit for this role?
- What are the basic values that the students of this age group need to have?
- How will you make certain topics interesting for children?
- If a child never responds to anything that you ask, what will you do to help him/her open up?
- Will you involve the parents of a child if you face consistent behavioral problems from him/her?
- Share your experience where you handled a child who paid little or no interest in whatever you said.
- What is your preferred method of teaching?
- If a child comes up with a problem, what will your first reaction be?
- Not everyone has the same learning capability. How will you manage all the kids together and their different learning abilities?
- Prepare a list of questions that you may ask the employer
Your interest in the particular internship will be judged by the questions that you put forth to the employer. You need to question the employer to know if the job is a fit for you or not. Also, the more questions you put forward, the more interested the employer will find you in the internship.
Some of the common questions that you can ask your employer are:
- What according to you is the most challenging aspect of this job?
- Can you tell me more about your daycare?
- What all facilities are provided at your daycare?
- Can you tell me about a typical day at the daycare?
- Is there anything that you find on my resume which makes me imperfect for the position?
- Do you offer any personality development opportunities?
- What is the biggest benefit of being a part of your company?
- If a kid faces difficulties, what efforts do you put in to mitigate the issue?
- Reach the venue on time
Do thorough research regarding the time it will take for you to reach the venue of your interview and always reach on time. This will form a good impression on your employer.
- Reach the venue early
Reach the venue of the interview at least 10-15 minutes earlier than the specified time. This will help you to relax and prepare yourself for the interview. Also, if you reach the venue before time, it gives the employer a hint about your seriousness and interest in the internship.
- Research the daycare
You need to have some knowledge about the daycare that you are applying to. Do thorough research about the company before reaching for an interview. You can later use this research during your interview and can impress the employer.
- Maintain a confident body language
Not only does your preparation plays an important role, but your body language showcases your confidence and plays a major role in delivering the correct message to your employer, helping him to decide if you should be hired for the job or not.
- Send a Thankyou mail
When you reach back home, send a thank you email to your employer thanking him for providing you with the opportunity and the great interview. If the company asked for any follow-ups, attach them in the mail too.
Skills that you need to possess
A degree and a background related to daycare are the prerequisites of the job but you also need to focus on various other things such as your philosophy and your experience.
While introducing yourself, make sure that you focus on including the following details:
- Education, skills, and training
- Your previous job experiences
- Any additional course
Use examples to answer the questions that are frequently asked. Some of these questions are mentioned below:
- How do you engage shy children in a conversation?
- What will you do if a parent is half an hour late every day when they come to pick up their child?
- Tell us about your experience while you lost your temper because of a kid. How did you control your anger in this situation?
This article will guide you through all the basic information that you need to have while applying for a job and going for an interview at a daycare. Go through this and follow all the prescribed steps. Nothing will stop you from getting your desired job then. Never go for an interview unprepared. Always prepare yourself in advance. You can try practicing in front of the mirror, it works.
Good luck!
