We don't ask stock questions of our interviewees because we don't want stock answers. We want to hire people who are interesting, intelligent and passionate. It's hard to pick up on those characteristics with general interview questions.
One of the questions we ask is, "If a child threw a ball at your face, how would you respond?" We like to see how people think on their feet. Another thing we do is interview candidates in groups and ask, "Why should I hire you over the babysitter sitting next to you?"
Because our employees work with families, we want to know how confidently they can speak about themselves without saying anything negative about other candidates. But mostly we like to see babysitters get excited about oddball questions because working with kids is an oddball job. --C.W.
Firing an employee is never easy. But these horror stories teach the following: Always be polite and professional when giving an employee the boot. And if the person getting fired starts to lose it, duck.
