If you are looking to find a job, nanny or otherwise, what you wear to the interview is serious business. Before starting my childcare services company, I worked professionally in recruiting, customer service, and human resources for several years. I have interviewed A LOT of people, both in-person and virtually, I often wished I could have helped the interviewee determine what to wear. Many people honestly feel overwhelmed when trying to determine the perfect attire for an interview. I’m here to help!

While the old saying, ‘It’s what’s on the inside that counts’ is true, when going in for an interview, what’s on the outside is equally as important. You get one chance to make a first impression.

Here’s the thing to keep in mind. When applying for a nanny job, interviewers are assessing your skills for taking care of their kids but they are also assessing your appearance, how you answer their interview questions, and if you’d fit well with their family.

Appearance is (Mostly) Non-Verbal

Appearance is a non-verbal form of communication. It is important to understand what you are saying by how you present yourself. How you dress says something about you even when you’re silent.

As with any job, it’s essential to dress the part. Construction workers wear protective gear and steel toe boots. Nurses and doctors wear scrubs, face masks, and comfortable standing shoes. Presidents and presidential hopefuls wear business suits and ties.

You are interviewing to take care of someone’s child so it’s crucial to dress in a way that reflects you are prepared to take care of children AND that you are a professional.  As a nanny or babysitter, you will get messy. You’ll take the children on outings, help with homework, change dirty diapers, the list goes on and on.

Dressing for this type of interview is quite a balancing act. Do you need 6-inch heels and a full face of makeup for a nanny or babysitter job? No, the answer is no.

Quick Tips

• Think business-casual
• Know your audience
• Wear minimal make-up and jewelry
• Make sure your hair is neat
• Avoid clothing that is too revealing

Specific Guidance

Let’s go from head to toe. Other than the shoes, the below guidance also applies to virtual interviews.

What to wear		What NOT to wear
TOPS		TOPS
Collared shirt or button down		Pajamas
Blazer		Business Suit Top
Cardigan		Tube top
Nice clean white t-shirt		Skin tight anything
BOTTOMS		BOTTOMS
Nice jeans – no rips or tears		Pajamas
Slacks		Sweat Pants
Knee length skirt		Business suit pants
Leggings with tunic		Yoga pants
SHOES		SHOES
Nice Sandals – be sure your toenails are clean		Flip Flops
Clean sneakers		Extremely high heels
Ballet flats		Work shoes (i.e., used for yard work or construction etc.)
Nice boots		Scuffed or dirty sneakers
Casual heels
JEWELRY		JEWELRY
Stud earrings		Oversized hoop earrings
Simple necklace or watch		Flashy jewelry
OVERALL APPEARANCE		OVERALL APPEARANCE
If you wear make-up, just remember that less is more		Cleavage
Keep your hair simple and neat		Too much skin
		Heavy perfume or cologne

Business-Casual

What you wear to a nanny or babysitter interview is slightly different than what you would wear day-to- day on the job. The interview itself has a little more of a ‘dress for success’ vibe than once you actually start working.

The parents may ask you to play with their kids at some point in the interview process, so you’ll need to dress casually enough to do this comfortably. Having you play with the children is one way for the parents to see how you interact with their children and how the children respond to you. This is part of your interview since it will (hopefully) be your full-time job.

Both of my most recent nanny jobs involved the children asking to play with me DURING the interview. If my pants or top were too tight or I wore a business suit, I would not be able to get down on the floor with the kids and play Legos or read a book. Be prepared by dressing casually but professional enough to show that you take the job role seriously.

Once you actually start working as a nanny your attire should be more ‘active-casual’ so that you’ll be comfortable with long days chasing around little rug-rats, playing with them on the floor and cleaning up messes.

Know Your Audience

Try not to let this rub you the wrong way, but you must know your audience. Style flex. If you know that the family you are interviewing with leans more traditional or conservative, then take a little extra care to dress more modestly than you would otherwise think is necessary.

Also, if you know the family lives in a particularly affluent neighborhood, use this knowledge to your advantage and find creative ways to present yourself as slightly more ‘upscale.’

If the family lives on a small farm, maybe find a nice farmhouse chic outfit like Jo from Fixer Upper. Yay! We love Jo!

The same applies if you went to cosmetology school and had a makeup-artist interview. Tailor the makeup you wear to the company where the interview is held. MAC cosmetics has a very different customer than L’Oréal.

Use your best judgement and error on the side of caution and modesty.

Minimal Make-Up

Less Is More

When it comes to make up – think, ‘I’d feel ok going to the super market looking like this, but not for a night out on the town.’ This goes along with the business casual theme; you don’t go to your day job looking like you’re having glamor shots taken on your lunch break. Or maybe you do! More power to you but in this case, it is simply not the best choice.

Remember: you are going to be working with children! The kids don’t care if you have a full face of makeup and would likely prefer that you didn’t.

Like clothing, make-up is also a bit of a balancing act. So, it might be a little tricky finding that sweet spot. This is another area where knowing your audience comes in handy, allowing you to adjust how much and what kind of make-up you wear.

Minimal Jewelry

Jewelry is – yet again – another balancing act. Since this is an interview, wear slightly more bling than you normally would if you were showing up for your first day on the job. Because of this, lean towards the ‘business-casual’ and ‘dress for success’ side of things. Simple stud earrings and a simple necklace will do just the trick.

There is always a chance the family will ask you to play with their children as part of the review process. So, if you’d like to keep your ears fully intact, be sure to wear jewelry that kids’ fingers would have a hard time wrapping around. Long dangly jewelry or oversized jewelry is like a magnet for those little humans. Save your ears and neck by keeping it simple.

Avoid Clothing That’s Too Revealing

(Keep those goodies hidden when interviewing)

Dress seductively if your job is to seduce. In this case and most cases that is not what you’re doing.

Dressing in a way that may be seen as inappropriate is not always intentional. You may typically be comfortable showing a little more skin in your everyday attire but I have to be honest, an interview to work with someone’s children in their home is not the place to let it all hang out. I could be wrong but as a parent, it would make me question what you really want out of this job/interview.

Anyone who says they don’t judge someone based on the way they are dressed, is lying. It’s subconscious and happens in a millisecond. Yes, it’s true that your outer appearance should have nothing to do with whether or not you are capable of doing the job or how qualified you are. But guess what, it absolutely has everything to do with how you present yourself and that tells the world what you think about yourself and how you want to be perceived.

We know the mostly untrue stereotypes linked to nanny’s and babysitters thanks to Hollywood. So, don’t give anyone the chance to dismiss you for a job based on how you dress. If they called you for an interview then you are qualified for the job and should be allowed space to show why you’d be the best fit without judgement based on how low cut your top is. Honestly, the parents might feel uncomfortable being around you if you present yourself in a way that is inappropriate. You are a professional, so it’s important to look like one.

Good Outfit Parings & Advice

If you wear jeans, pair it with a nice collared shirt, blazer, or cardigan

If you wear jeans and a t-shirt, throw a blazer over the top and put on a light-weight scarf

How to wear your hair: wear it however you choose but make sure it’s intentional and neat

Lastly, show up on time. Even 5 minutes early if you can.

A great rule of thumb is that regardless of what you choose to wear – please be comfortable. You don’t want to be fidgeting with your clothes the entire interview. If you can’t wear it without constantly adjusting yourself then don’t wear it.

Remember that you are trying to portray to the parents that you care about this job. You are showing them that this interview is important to you and your appearance must be reflective of that.