Childcare and Preschool Staff Interview Questions Template

Searching for new staff can be an exciting but stressful time for any daycare or preschool director. You have to balance the need to find someone to fill the vacant position to keep the program running, with wanting to take your time and find the perfect fit. 

When it comes to interviewing potential staff for your daycare or preschool program, it’s important to think about the kinds of questions you want to ask to help you choose the best candidate. Luckily, we’re breaking down the components of a quality daycare interview for you, including a printable to help you stay organized!

Time-saving interview tips

Hiring a new daycare employee takes a lot of time and energy. The back and forth of scheduling interviews with potential candidates alone can be exhausting— especially if you don’t have an administrative assistant or assistant director scheduling them for you. Here are our top time-saving tips, so you can spend less time scheduling and more time interviewing!

• Post your job openings on Winnie to be sure you’re getting high-quality candidates. Winnie only posts daycare and preschool jobs, so you’ll know the applicants will be looking specifically for jobs like yours. Be sure to update your postings as needed!
• Start with a phone screening: Starting with a phone interview allows you to get a sense of a person’s personality and background before you meet them in person. Asking open-ended questions related to the role they’re applying for can help to thin the applicant pool in a short amount of time.

• Let candidates schedule themselves: Half the battle of leading an interview is the back and forth involved with scheduling it. Using a site like Calendly allows you to choose what days and times work best for you, so candidates can schedule their own interviews. 

• Request references: Often we check someone’s references after we interview them. Checking them before you meet with them will save time by skipping the interview if their references have some not-so-savory things to say. 

Have them spend some time in a classroom: Candidates can look good on paper and have enough charisma to make it through an interview, but it’s important to observe them in action. Have part of the interview be an observation of their interactions with children in real-time.

Best questions to ask a potential daycare employee

Sitting down and having a conversation with someone about their experience is a great way to get to know them but it’s important to have some structure to the conversation. Here are some of our favorite questions to ask, to get a sense of whether someone is a good fit for your program or not. 

• “When did you know you wanted to work in early childhood? What drew you to the profession?” Working in childcare isn’t easy. Asking questions about what they love about working in daycare will help you discover whether the candidate has the drive and passion for the job. 

• “Where do you see yourself in five years?” This question is somewhat clichè, but it’s an important one to ask. High staff turnover isn’t great for a childcare program and it’s good to know whether someone is in it for the long haul or not.
• "What motivated you to apply for a job at our program?” This question won’t make or break the interview, but if someone is really passionate about working at your program in particular— it’s good to know!

Open-ended questions to ask at a daycare job interview

Once you’ve finished the conversation about a candidate’s experience and background, it’s time to ask some more serious questions. 

• “Tell me how you would handle a child who is biting or hitting other children?” It’s good to hear how someone would react to a child who is struggling.
• “What is your favorite activity to do with children?” If someone doesn’t have much childcare experience, this question can be posed as a hypothetical!

• “Tell me about a time when you’ve had a conflict with someone at work. How did you handle it?” In order for a classroom to run smoothly, everyone needs to be on the same page! This question can help you determine how the candidates handles conflict. 

• “Describe a situation where you had to have a difficult conversation with a parent.” It’s important to know how someone handles communication with parents. 

Questions to ask a lead teacher at a daycare job interview 

The questions you ask a lead teacher should be a little more specific to the role, to help you determine if they’re a good fit.

• “Tell me about your educational philosophy. How do you think young children learn best?” This question can help you see if a candidate aligns with the philosophy of your program or not!

• “What are the most important qualities of childcare staff and why?” This is another question that can help you feel out how a candidate views the role of a teacher and reveal a bit more about their philosophy. 

• “What is the most important thing a classroom needs in order to run smoothly.” Communication and teamwork are the most important ingredients for a successful childcare classroom!

Questions to ask an assistant teacher or teacher’s aide at a daycare job interview

Assistant teachers and aide’s are an important part of the classroom, and deserve their own role-specific questions, too!

• “How will you help support the classroom teacher?” 
• “What would you do if you disagree with how the classroom teacher handles a discipline issue?” 
• “What strengths will you bring to our program?” 

Use your interview time wisely!

A daycare job interview is a great opportunity to get to know potential employees and help you determine whether they’d be a good fit for your program. Take your time and be sure you ask all the questions you wanted to ask. 

Use our printable template to help you take notes during your interviews!