Child Safety and Protection

Review the questions in the boxes below and select the ones you’d like to ask during the interview. These are designed to help you explore your candidate’s strengths in this area. You can choose as many as you’d like to create your initial list.

Tell me about a time when you noticed a child behaving differently than usual. How did you handle the situation?

Strongly recommended

Describe a situation where you had to make a quick decision to ensure a child's safety. What did you do?

Give me an example of how you’ve handled a situation where a child was upset or having a difficult time.

Tell me about a time when you had to redirect a child's behavior. What approach did you take?

Strongly recommended

Describe how you would handle discovering a child with an unexplained injury.

You’ve selected 0 questions.

General Rules to Follow

✅Focus on job-related behaviors, not personal background
❌Avoid asking about personal situations (e.g., living arrangements, parenting experience) unless they directly relate to job qualifications
❌Do not ask hypothetical questions that imply poor behavior is expected ("What would you do if you got angry…")

Examples - Questions to Avoid

❌
"Have you ever been alone with children before?"

Why it's off limits: This question is vague and could lead to discussion of personal or informal childcare arrangements, which are not job-related and may open up liability if interpreted as implying preference for certain personal experiences.

Better Alternative: "Tell me about a time you were responsible for supervising a group of children. How did you ensure their safety?"
❌
"What would you do if a child made you angry?"

Why it's off limits: It implies that anger is a natural or expected response, and puts the candidate on the defensive.

Better Alternative: "Tell me about a time when a child’s behavior challenged your patience. How did you respond?"

Communitacion & Family Interactions

Review the questions in the boxes below and select the ones you’d like to ask during the interview. These are designed to help you explore your candidate’s strengths in this area. You can choose as many as you’d like to create your initial list.

Strongly recommended

Tell me about a time when you had to communicate difficult information to a parent. How did you approach it?

Strongly recommended

Describe a situation where you disagreed with a parent's approach to their child. How did you handle it?

Give me an example of how you've built trust with a family who was initially hesitant about child care.

Tell me about a time when you had to work with a family from a different cultural background. What did you learn?

Describe how you would handle a parent who consistently picks up their child late.

You’ve selected 0 questions.

General Rules to Follow

✅Focus on how the candidate handles real workplace interactions—not their personal opinions or assumptions about families.
❌Avoid questions that ask about types of families (e.g., single parents, working parents, same-sex couples).
❌Don't ask about candidates’ own family situations or beliefs about parenting.

Examples - Questions to Avoid

❌
"What do you think about parents who work long hours?"

Why it’s off limits: This invites judgment and assumes a stance on family dynamics not relevant to the role.

Better Alternative: "Tell me about a time when you had to support a child whose family schedule made routines more difficult. How did you navigate that?"
❌
"How do you feel about single-parent families?"

Why it’s off limits: Irrelevant to job performance and risks introducing bias.

Better Alternative: "Describe a time when you worked with a family facing unique challenges. How did you support both the child and the parent(s)?"

Patience & Emotional Regulation

Review the questions in the boxes below and select the ones you’d like to ask during the interview. These are designed to help you explore your candidate’s strengths in this area. You can choose as many as you’d like to create your initial list.

Describe a time when you felt overwhelmed while caring for multiple children. How did you manage?

Tell me about a challenging day you've had with children. What made it difficult and how did you get through it?

Strongly recommended

Give me an example of when you had to remain calm in a chaotic situation involving children.

Strongly recommended

Describe a time when a child tested your patience repeatedly. How did you respond?

Tell me about a situation where you had to help a child work through big emotions.

You’ve selected 0 questions.

General Rules to Follow

✅Focus on specific examples that reveal emotional regulation, not just “I’m patient.”
❌Avoid asking if the candidate “gets angry easily” or “can handle stress.”
❌Don’t frame questions as if frustration is the norm (“What do you do when kids drive you crazy?”).

Examples - Questions to Avoid

❌
"Do you ever lose your temper with kids?"

Why it’s off limits: Too personal and invites defensiveness.

Better Alternative: "Tell me about a time when you felt frustrated at work. How did you handle it?"
❌
"Are you good at staying calm?"

Why it’s off limits: Vague and leads to self-rating without context.

Better Alternative: "Give me an example of a time when you had to stay calm under pressure while working with children."

Teamwork & Professional Development

Review the questions in the boxes below and select the ones you’d like to ask during the interview. These are designed to help you explore your candidate’s strengths in this area. You can choose as many as you’d like to create your initial list.

Strongly recommended

Tell me about a time when you disagreed with a colleague about how to handle a child's behavior. How did you resolve it?

Describe a situation where you had to step in to help a coworker who was struggling.

Give me an example of when you received feedback about your work with children. How did you respond?

Tell me about a time when you identified an area where you needed to improve your skills with children.

Strongly recommended

Describe how you've worked as part of a team to support a child with special needs.

You’ve selected 0 questions.

General Rules to Follow

✅Focus on team-based experiences and responses to feedback
❌Avoid asking about personality conflicts or past negative coworkers
❌Don’t frame feedback as punishment—focus on growth and collaboration

Examples - Questions to Avoid

❌
"Do you get along with everyone you work with?"

Why it’s off limits: Too general and unlikely to lead to meaningful insight.

Better Alternative: "Tell me about a time when you and a coworker had different ideas about how to do something. What happened?"

Emergency Preparedness & Crisis Management

Review the questions in the boxes below and select the ones you’d like to ask during the interview. These are designed to help you explore your candidate’s strengths in this area. You can choose as many as you’d like to create your initial list.

Strongly recommended

Describe a time when you had to respond to a medical emergency or injury. What steps did you take?

Tell me about a situation where you had to evacuate or move children quickly for safety reasons.

Give me an example of when you had to make a judgment call about whether to contact emergency services.

Strongly recommended

Describe how you would handle a situation where a child goes missing during outdoor play.

Tell me about a time when you had to follow emergency protocols. What was the outcome?

You’ve selected 0 questions.

General Rules to Follow

✅Ask about direct experiences with emergencies or drills
❌Avoid dramatic hypotheticals (e.g., “What would you do in a school shooting?”)
❌Do not assume candidates have medical training beyond basic first aid

Examples - Questions to Avoid

❌
"Would you be scared in an emergency?"

Why it’s off limits: Focuses on emotion rather than professionalism.

Better Alternative: "Describe a time when you stayed calm and followed steps during a high-pressure situation."

Developmental Understanding & Learning Support

Review the questions in the boxes below and select the ones you’d like to ask during the interview. These are designed to help you explore your candidate’s strengths in this area. You can choose as many as you’d like to create your initial list.

Describe a time when you adapted an activity for a child who was struggling to participate.

Tell me about how you've supported a child who was behind their peers developmentally.

Strongly recommended

Give me an example of when you recognized a child might need additional support or services.

Describe a creative solution you developed to help a child learn a new skill.

Strongly recommended

Tell me about a time when you collaborated with parents to support a child's development at home.

You’ve selected 0 questions.

General Rules to Follow

✅Ask about specific children or learning moments—not general philosophy.
❌Avoid vague questions like “Do you know child development?”
❌Don’t assume one timeline or use deficit-based language.

Examples - Questions to Avoid

❌
"Do you believe some kids just can’t learn?"

Why it’s off limits: Assumes failure and invites deficit-based thinking.

Better Alternative: "Tell me about a time when a child wasn’t progressing as expected. What did you do?"

Workplace Culture & Values

Review the questions in the boxes below and select the ones you’d like to ask during the interview. These are designed to help you explore your candidate’s strengths in this area. You can choose as many as you’d like to create your initial list.

Describe a time when you helped children learn about or celebrate different traditions or backgrounds.

Strongly recommended

Tell me about how you've made a child or family feel welcome when they were new or different from others.

Strongly recommended

Give me an example of how you've responded when you observed unfair or unkind behavior in a group setting.

Describe how you adapt your communication or teaching style to meet the needs of all children.

You’ve selected 0 questions.

General Rules to Follow

✅Ask how the candidate supports inclusion, respect, and positive culture
❌Avoid questions about personal opinions or religious/cultural beliefs
❌Don’t use tokenizing or loaded language about difference

Examples - Questions to Avoid

❌
"What’s your opinion on [specific cultural or religious practice]?"

Why it’s off limits: Could reveal personal biases and isn’t relevant to the role.

Better Alternative: "Describe how you ensure all children and families feel respected and included."
❌
"How do you feel about working with children with disabilities?"

Why it’s off limits: Could be perceived as discriminatory.

Better Alternative: "Tell me about a time when you adapted your approach for a child with different needs."

Step 3: Narrow Down Your List

Now that you’ve selected all the questions that relate to the role, it’s time to fine-tune your list.

To make your interview effective, it’s important to ask the right questions—and the right number of questions. A strong interview isn’t about asking everything—it’s about choosing the most relevant and insightful questions for this specific candidate and role.

Every interview is different:

Time matters:

Quality over quantity:

Use the table below to help guide your decision about how many questions to include in your final list:

Interview Type	Ideal # of Questions	Notes
Quick Screen (15–20 min)	3–4 questions	Focus on your top priorities or deal-breakers
Standard Interview (30–45 min)	5–6 questions	Covers a range of core competencies
In-Depth Interview (60+ min)	7–10 questions	Ideal for lead teachers, directors, or final-round candidates

Now, it’s time to select the specific questions you’d like to ask in your interview. Remember to reference the table above as a guide—your final list should reflect the type of position you're hiring for, the experience level of the candidate, and the time you’ve allocated for the interview. Choose only the questions that will give you the clearest insight into whether the candidate is the right fit for your team.

For each category, select the questions that are most relevant to the role you’re hiring for and that will help you understand your candidate’s fit for your program:

Final Interview Question List

Interview Type:

Questions:

Green & Red Flags to Watch For

Interview Best Practices

Use the STAR method – Ask candidates to describe the Situation, Task, Action, and Result
Listen for specifics – Vague or overly polished answers may indicate lack of hands-on experience
Ask follow-up questions – Especially when something sounds concerning or impressive
Document responses – Take clear notes for later comparison and legal protection
Check references – Always verify experience with previous child care employers

What to Think About
When Building Your Interview

The interview process is a crucial step in hiring and vetting candidates. After you have reviewed applications and resumes to pick a group of candidates, you will want to interview them to figure out which individual is right for the job and also to leave candidates with a good impression of your company.

During an interview, you want to find out more about the candidate’s personality, experience, work ethic, skills and techniques, and any other qualities that are important for your new team member to have.

This app will walk you through some of the best practices, red flags and things to look for in a candidate when you are interviewing them.

The following scenario walks through exactly how a provider might use this tool—from the moment they open it to walking into the interview confident and prepared:

Anna, a center director, needs to hire a teacher’s aide for an afternoon shift. She uses this app to build her interview. She starts by selecting the focus areas she wants to learn more about from her candidate: Child Safety & Protection, Patience & Emotional Regulation, and Emergency Preparedness & Crisis Management.

From each category, she chooses three questions that fit the role. On the next screen, she sees her full list along with a quick reference table that suggests the ideal number of questions by interview length.

Because this will be a short screening interview, the table recommends 3–4 questions. Anna reviews her picks, keeps her three strongest questions, and downloads her final interview guide— ready to walk into the interview knowing exactly what to ask and why.

Step-by-Step:
Building the Perfect Interview

Below you’ll find a clear walkthrough of the app. Each step is designed to make building your interview guide simple and purposeful—showing you what to do, why it matters, and what to consider along the way:

Step 1

Choose Your Focus Areas

The categories you pick define the focus of your interview. They ensure you surface the skills and behaviors that actually drive success in your program.

Think of categories as the “skills & strengths” you want to see from a great team member in your setting. For example, if the role regularly interacts with families, prioritize Communication & Family Interactions. If it’s a fast‑paced toddler room, emphasize Patience & Emotional Regulation. Select all that apply—you’re shaping the interview toward what matters most for success in your program.

As soon as you choose your categories, the app will reveal a tailored set of interview questions for each one—ready for you to review and select.

Step 2

Select Questions in Each Category

The questions you choose will help reveal real examples of a candidate’s experience, values, and problem-solving style.

Focus on the ones most relevant to your program’s needs and the role you’re hiring for. You can select as many as you like—we’ll help you narrow them down later.

Here are a few things you might look for:

Look for specifics (steps taken, outcomes).
Let candidates share stories, not just yes/no answers.”
Note how they reflect on what they learned.

Step 3

Narrow Down Your List

Custom questions make your interview unique to your program’s culture, expectations, and daily routines. In this step, you will see a guide table to align the number of questions with your interview length and the role’s complexity. Keep only the most relevant questions. Remember: a few great questions plus strong follow‑ups beats a long list.

Pro Move: Plan your follow‑ups in advance. If you hear a red flag, ask for another example or how they’d handle it differently next time.

Step 4

Generate your Interview

A clear, organized interview guide keeps you on track and ensures every candidate gets the same fair and focused experience.

You can arrange your questions in a logical order—starting with warm-up questions, moving into skill-based questions, and ending with closing questions. Make sure your final guide is easy to follow during the interview.

The app will compile all your chosen questions into one clean, downloadable guide.

Pick Your Topics

Select Your Questions

Narrow Down Your list

Generate Your Interview

Civitas Strategies

Interview Generator for Child Care Businesses

How the Interview Generator Works

Pick Your Topics

Select Your Questions

Narrow Down Your list

Generate Your Interview

Tips for Interviewing a Candidate

Make the Most of Your Interview

Before

During

After

Step 1: Choose Your Focus Areas

Child Safety and Protection

General Rules to Follow

Examples - Questions to Avoid

Communitacion & Family Interactions

General Rules to Follow

Examples - Questions to Avoid

Patience & Emotional Regulation

General Rules to Follow

Examples - Questions to Avoid

Teamwork & Professional Development

General Rules to Follow

Examples - Questions to Avoid

Emergency Preparedness & Crisis Management

General Rules to Follow

Examples - Questions to Avoid

Developmental Understanding & Learning Support

General Rules to Follow

Examples - Questions to Avoid

Workplace Culture & Values

General Rules to Follow

Examples - Questions to Avoid

Step 3: Narrow Down Your List

Final Interview Question List

Questions:

Green & Red Flags to Watch For

Interview Best Practices

What to Think AboutWhen Building Your Interview

Step-by-Step:Building the Perfect Interview

Choose Your Focus Areas

Select Questions in Each Category

Narrow Down Your List

Generate your Interview

Civitas Strategies

What to Think About
When Building Your Interview

Step-by-Step:
Building the Perfect Interview