If you have a scheduled interview with a MHM client family or you are interviewing with families on your own, you will likely conduct your first meeting over Zoom, Skype, or another video conferencing service. In this blog, we’ll discuss zoom interview etiquette, first round interview advice, and what it takes to land the job.

Advice for A First Round Interview

At this point, the family will be meeting with multiple candidates to determine who passes their initial screening. Remember that the family is looking for personality fit, experience, and professionalism. Sometimes a family can be “sold” on a candidate’s ambition or attitude even if you do not have as much experience as another candidate. Show the family through your words and actions how ready and excited you are to step into this role. If you can make it through this stage the next step will be being invited into their home to meet their children and other key members of the household.

Do Your Research

While your knowledge of the family is likely extremely limited at this point, pay attention to the key factors describing the family in the job description, and try to get a sense of what their day to day might look like and anticipate any needs they could have.

For example, If both parents are doctors, they might need someone that is willing to work late nights, or have a flexible schedule.
Does the family live in the city, or in the suburbs?
Are you familiar with their neighborhood?
Does the family have younger children, or older children?

Show your enthusiasm by mentioning specific details about the job and why you are a good fit for this role, in order to assure them of your qualifications and interest. Emphasize how their specific role aligns with your experience, “must-haves” you are seeking for your next job, and values.

Speak to Your Experience

Emphasize qualities about your background that make you a great fit, and ease any fears about potential factors that could cause the family to think you might not be the perfect fit.

Address the following:

Emphasize during your interview why the ages of the children that the family has are particularly interesting and fun to you. Explain the ages of the children that you have worked with in the past and any developmental milestones you experienced with each child. It is also possible that the family might plan on having more children in the future, and would be interested to know if you are comfortable working with infants.
Reassure the family that you meet the minimum requirements to apply, as listed in their job description. Pull out specific details from the job description and highlight your experience performing these tasks. Or, if it is a task you are less familiar with (ex: ironing clothing, potty training), assure the family that you are a quick learner, that this is a skill you are happy to pick up, and that you have performed things very similar or related to this in the past.
- For example: “It sounds like you and your spouse are very busy and are looking for someone proactive that is able to help manage the lives of you and your children. I am not only confident in my abilities in helping to organize the lives of others, as I have done it before in my last position as a house manager.”
This lets the family know that you have done your research about the role and all that it requires.
Briefly walk through your resume. (Keep this very high level and to the point, to avoid accidentally starting a 10 minute ted talk about your life story).
Mention specific roles listed on your resume that are similar to this one, so the family can see you have done this type of work before. Now would be a great time to mention that those roles can also serve as a reference, or if they have written a letter of recommendation for you, if this is the case.
If you have any gaps in your resume, jobs that were short-lived, or jobs that do not fit in with the type of role you are applying for, explain those to the family to help ease their fears. Most families are looking to hire for the long-term. If your past 2 roles were only 3 months, explain why those positions ended (moved away, not a good fit), what you learned from them, and your willingness to commit to a new role in the future.
Go into the meeting assuming that the family has not looked at your resume, but don’t spend too much precious time on the details, as you want the main focus to be on the new opportunity in front of you.

Address Your Must-Haves

If this is a position close to your home, in a pay range you are comfortable with, and meets your requirements let the family know! Use this meeting as a chance to reassure the family that it meets your “must-haves” or minimum standards, so they know you will not later turn down the job on the basis of something silly, like a long commute, after they moved along with you in the process.

Tell the family the approximate duration of the daily commute to their home (factoring in possible traffic), so they know this is something you have considered. You can also discuss whether or not you have a reliable car and if you are willing to use it on the job to run errands or transport children.
- Does the proposed daily schedule that the family requires work for your lifestyle?
- Do you have any obligations that would restrict your ability to be flexible if needed?
- Are you a morning person that will have no problem with an early commute to arrive at their home right on time at 7 AM?
- Do you have online classes during the day and actually do prefer to start work at 3 PM?
- Let the family know that these are all things you have factored into your interest.
Sometimes families only require part-time help, or a role less than 40 hours. Other times, families actually need 40 hours at a minimum and looking for someone that is available to take on more hours at an overtime rate.
Tell the family if you are seeking full-time or part-time and why the amount of hours the family is offering works for your lifestyle.
You do not need to negotiate pay at this time, especially if you are using an agency like My Household Managed, that will help you to negotiate your pay.
Sometimes a position will offer a range of pay ($25-$30 pre-tax), and advertise it as “DOE”, or “depending on experience”. Without mentioning specific numbers, you can simply let the family know that the range of compensation is within your pay expectations. Later, once the agency communicates the full scope of pay and benefits offered to you in writing, you can negotiate your final offer .
Discussing compensation too early on in the interview process might make the family think that your interest in their position is solely financially based, or limit your potential for a better offer.

Highlight Your Values and Personality

Prepare a few points to address that will speak to your strengths and how they relate to the job requirements. In general, the qualities that families are looking for the most in their domestic staff include: discretion, the ability to “read a room”, creativity, ability to multi-task, attention to detail, and the ability to be proactive or anticipate problems or needs before they arise.

Here are a few examples of personality traits or skills and how you can let these shine during conversation in your interview:

- “I love that you are passionate about getting your children outdoors, because I love the outdoors as well and I am an avid runner.”
- “Some of my favorite activities to do with children include going to the park after school to get out some energy. On rainy days I love to build pillow forts.”
- “I am the type of person that likes to keep busy - I just never sit down!”
- “Growing up in a large family I am extremely comfortable with chaos”
- “I love doing arts and crafts with kids! It’s such a great way to practice fine motor skills.”
- “I studied theater in college and I love putting on puppet shows with children”
- “I love the way children explore and see the world. I love reading books with children and even coming up with stories of our own!”
- “It sounds like this role involves juggling multiple responsibilities. I am very good at multitasking and I am the type of person that is always thinking and planning ahead!”
- “I am very organized and plan my day using Google calendar, my notes app, and written to-do lists.”
- “Before I leave for the day I make sure to check in with the parents to let them know which tasks I accomplished and which are still on my to-do list, so we are all on the same page.”
- “I am the type of person that if I notice something needs to be done I take the initiative to do it. Or if some supply or inventory item is running low, I will be sure to make a note, so that we know to pick up more the next time someone goes to the store.”
- “I find so much joy in finding ways big and small to make someone’s day. I always like to leave the house better than I found it - straightening couch cushions, and wiping countertops is actually fun for me!”

Zoom Interview Etiquette

When preparing for your interview with potential employers, treat it as you would any in-person meeting for a professional position.

Be Mindful of The Following:

- Dress business casual, with a nice top and well-groomed hair.
- Take the call from a laptop, so that the camera is stable, or prop your phone up against something like a stack of books, so that you are not holding it with your hand.
- Make sure you are sitting up straight instead of laying on the couch or lounging in bed.
- Sit near natural light if possible and be in a well-lit room. The light will look best coming from behind the camera and shining onto your face, so avoid sitting with your back to a window, which will make your face look shadowed.
- You should have a blank wall behind you, to minimize distractions.
- If there is a living space in view behind you, make sure it is uncluttered.
- Be in a quiet space with no distractions
  - Do not take the call from your car.
  - Do not take the call while you are at another job.
  - Do not take the call while supervising children.
  - Do not walk around the room while holding your phone.
  - If you are outside, be mindful of the potential for low quality signal, sirens, wind, or traffic sounds.
- Test your Zoom or video software before the call, so you are familiar with how it works and be sure that your audio and sound works.
- Plan to log into the Zoom meeting 5 minutes early, so that the family does not have to wait for you and to address any technical difficulties.
- What if the family is late for the Zoom meeting?
  - If you sign on to the meeting and the family is not yet there, continue to wait for at least 15 minutes before signing off. As you know, sometimes family life can be chaotic (which is why they are looking to hire help!). If the family is more than 15 minutes late to the meeting please notify the agency that you have been waiting in the Zoom conference room, so that the agency is aware you did in fact show up. The agency may be able to notify you in case the family has given notice of when they will be available to sign on or if they need to reschedule.