You've posted a job on CareFinder and have found a great potential babysitter. It's time for an interview!

We highly recommend that you meet all sitters before the first sitting. Although CareFinder puts a lot of work into screening the sitters, hiring a babysitter is a very personal decision. In order to get a good idea if the sitter is right for you and your family, it helps to meet face-to-face for an interview.

Interviews are also a great opportunity to introduce the sitter to your family. In doing so, you can see how your children and sitter interact. No matter how great a potential sitter is on paper, you don't want to hire them if they don't get along well with your children. The only way to find out is to meet face-to-face!

Prepare for your babysitter interviews by using the following tips and questions as a guide. 

Basics

Make sure you and the potential babysitter review the content of the job posting together and establish the following:

1. Contact Information: Exchange phone numbers for contacting each other in case of an emergency during the sitting. 
2. Availability: Confirm the posted job date and check in on the babysitter's future availabilities. Are they flexible? How late can they stay at night? Is it ok if a sitting job runs later than planned? Confirm with the potential sitter when the last train is for them to get home and establish when it is ok to take a taxi. 
3. Rate: Make sure you and the potential babysitter are on the same page about the sitting rate. Don't forget to establish who is paying for transportation costs. As it is common that the employer covers the cost of transportation to and from work in Japan, we suggest families cover the cost of the sitter's transportation. 

Personal

1. What do you like about babysitting? What do you find most challenging?
2. What do you enjoy doing in your free time?
3. What activities do you like doing with children?
4. How do you discipline and comfort children?

Experience

1. What prompted you to become a babysitter?
2. What is your experience with caring for children?
3. What ages do you have experience caring for?

Safety

1. Are you CPR/First Aid certified?
2. Have you ever had to handle a child emergency?
3. How comfortable are you with your Japanese? Could you communicate in Japanese in an emergency?

Don't forget to ask questions that are specific to your family as well. If you have children with allergies, ask what kind of experience the potential sitter has working with children with allergies. Have they used an Epipen before?

At CareFinder, we are committed to meeting all of your babysitting needs whether you are looking for just an evening babysitter, an international babysitter, a hotel babysitter, a weekend babysitter, an overnight babysitter, a great au pair or a summer babysitter. Upgrade to Premium Membership in order to post jobs and message babysitters, guarantee safety through babysitting insurance and unlimited support from the CareFinder team!