Nannies reveal the weirdest interview questions they’ve ever been asked
When it comes to hiring a nanny, finding the right fit for your family is important, so naturally, you want to probe a little to find out more about them in a job interview. However, it seems some families take their lines of enquiries to intrusive heights – as a new Reddit thread proves.
Nannies have opened up about the worst and weirdest interview questions they have ever been asked. Their jaw-dropping responses were shared in a Reddit thread after u⁄chickenbitchgg asked nannies for their weirdest interview question. One nanny revealed that the dad of the family performed a ‘sniff test’ to check she wasn’t wearing perfume, writing: “I was once interviews [sic] by a family who at the interview told me a requirement of the job was for the nanny to wear no perfumed products, the mom then asked her husband to sniff me to see if I was wearing perfume. I still shudder when I think about it.”
Another nanny wrote: “I got asked what my zodiac sign was, MB sent me home when I said Gemini.”
Weirdly specific hypotheticals
Another person recalled a weirdly specific question related to first aid: “I had a family ask me ‘what would you do if 6m was sitting on a railing in a line at Disneyland and fell off backwards/cracked his head open and was bleeding profusely?’ Like it was just so oddly specific. And we were nowhere near Disneyland lol.”
While another nanny recalls: “Someone asked me what I would do if the baby stuck their finger in the electrical outlet... what was I supposed to say”
The ‘relationship status’ question
Several nannies lamented being asked about their relationship status, with one woman saying: “I hate the relationship status question! I’m like why are you afraid I’m gonna try to go after your husband? What are you searching for with that question? Or they will also ask if I’m living with my parents, like what’s it to you? What matters is how I do my job not my lifestyle outside of work.”
Another added: “I have infertility issues and possibly a genetic condition that will rule out ever having biological kids…Parents get really weird when they see I’m married and childless. But I’ve had some aggressive lines of questioning regarding “what are you going to do with your own baby?” And unfortunately I’ve shown visible discomfort with questions about me having children, which invites them to ask more about why I don’t have any ‘yet.’”
The drink test
Other ‘weird’ questions were seemingly posed as a test. One nanny said the weirdest question she was asked is “Do you want some tequila?” “Good, that was a test”. While another commented that she was ‘tested’ by a breastfeeding mother, revealing: “My current MB did something a little weird during our interview. She’s big into breastfeeding. Extending nursing, breastmilk jewelry, spending hours in nursing forums. I don’t have a problem with it but it’s just odd when your whole personality is ‘breastfeeding mom’. Anyway during our interview she started nursing 3f right at the start. Asking me questions while nursing. After 3f finished, MB continued the interview topless. It became clear she testing me. I did get hired and MB is a wonderful person and boss. But that interview always makes me chuckle.”
Some of the questions appeared to be random, with one nanny saying, “A friend got asked what animal she would be if she were an animal.”
The not so bad
Not all the weird questions were met with horror, though. One nanny wrote: “Once a dad asked me in the interview what the last book I read was! It really caught me off guard, but I also liked that it got me to actually have a conversation instead of my prepared interview responses. I was so worried that I just stumbled all over my words but I got the job in the end!”
Another nanny revealed: “Family I work for straight up asked if I can teach their kids about racism because I’m a POC. Was kinda taken aback by it at first but when the mom explained her reasoning behind it I kind of appreciated where her heart was at.”
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