How long do your interviews typically take? The last several times I’ve interviewed, they seem to go on forever. I interviewed last night and it was supposed to start at 6:30, they informed me they were running late and arrived at 6:45. They stayed until 8pm. This seems to be the norm and people go on and on and on. I hate hosting interviews in the evening for this very reason and try to schedule on the weekends only. Does anyone tell inquiring families beforehand that they try to keep interview times to 45mins-1hr at max and if so, what’s your phrasing? I have 2 spots in trying to fill but I do not want to take up my whole evening.
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Keeping Interviews to a Reasonable Timeframe
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An hour is my typical time. :hug:
Tour, curriculum overview, rules, routines, payment, Q&A, observing family/child interaction and how the child plays independently (or doesn't play ) and how the child eats (I generally offer a snack or encourage a bottle since they arrive at dinner time). It takes a bit.- Unless otherwise stated, all my posts are personal opinion and worth what you paid for them.
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I usually tell them the timeframe I have available. For instance: "I can schedule a tour at 5:00 and it should take about 1/2 hour so you'll have time to get Joey home for dinner."
I'm also very honest about my plans if I have them. Like: "Yes, I can do Thursday at 5:00 but I need to be out of the house at 5:30 to bring my son to hockey. We should have plenty of time to do a tour in that half hour though."
I think everybody gets those lingerers though. I'd just wrap it up myself: "That's all I have for you tonight. I can forward some links to you tomorrow (my blog) and let you know what my timeframe is." Then I'd usher them to the door or start walking where they need to follow to talk to me.
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I used to have the same problem.
So now when talking to parents, I say "I have you down for 7pm until 7:45 pm. Please be sure to be on time. Interview cannot be extended past 7:45" That way nobody thinks that showing up late means they get to tack on the lost time at the end.
I also wrap up if the parents are lingering. "Well, I have to get to my next appointment! It was good to meet you...etc etc. They do not need to know that "my next appointment" is watching TV with my family.
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I only keep 4 and I only interview on weekends, so I'm not really in a big hurry if it seems to be going well and we have things to talk about. If the child is into everything and the parents and I can barely talk, it's kind of pointless to let it go much longer. We can always converse by email.
Mine last 1.5- 2 hours if it's going well. If it's not going well (ie: I get a feeling it's not going to work out), I'm pretty blunt about the things that won't work out and that rubs them the wrong way so they leave..😁👍
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I only schedule interview on Fridays (I'm closed) and weekends so I don't have to divide the time between watching the kids and speaking with the parents who are meeting with me. The interviews usually last about 1 1/2 - 2 hours if things are going well and it seems as though we're a good match. Most of the time, it lasts so long because I take the time to go over my policies with the parents. I give them a copy of my handbook to read and sign but I go over the most important policies so they can't claim they didn't know about them later. If we aren't hitting it off, the interview usually lasts about 1/2 hour because I don't bother going through the handbook and try to cut it as short as possible.
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