You’ve invited potential autism paraprofessionals for an interview in your home.
Now what?
I’ve gone through countless interviews as an interviewee and now I help parents with interviewing potential paraprofessionals.
Think of it as a screening process. You only want the best working with your child.
You might have these questions running through you head:
What questions do I ask?
How do I control the interview?
How can I find out if this paraprofessional is the right match for my child?
This is where I’ll help you out with tips about the interview process.
First Impressions
First impressions aren’t everything, but it’s a good place to start.
Did the applicant arrive on time to the interview?
You want to hire someone reliable and who will arrive on time for sessions with your child.
Next, you’ll want to gauge how much experience they have around children with autism.
Ask these questions:
What do you know about Autism?
or What do you know about ABA?
If they don’t have previous experience as an autism paraprofessional they should at least have work or volunteer experience with children.
Transportation
Avoid having the paraprofessionals leaving after a few weeks, skipping sessions, or late arrivals.
Hiring someone who lives too far away or has a difficult time reaching your home can turn out to be a nightmare.
Most paraprofessionals are not paid for the time they spend travelling to their work location. So it’s easier if they live close to you and they don’t have a hard time getting to their work.
Do you live near a bus route or another form of public transportation?
If not, you’ll want to be sure the applicant has their own mode of transportation.
Scenario Questions
If your child has some challenging behaviors, it’s a good idea to ask a few scenario questions to see how the paraprofessional would handle the situation.
What do you do if the child bites or hits you? (Or other challenging behaviors that your child may have)
What do you do when a child frustrates you?
How do you handle temper tantrums or meltdowns?
Future Plans
I’ve heard parents tell me that their autism paraprofessional left on vacation and never came back to work with their child.
You can avoid these frustrating situations from happening by asking some questions before you commit to hiring.
Find out about the applicants’ time management skills and their future plans with the following questions:
Are you in school or do you have any other jobs? If so, how would you go about managing your workload?
Do you have any vacations planned or require anything more than one week off in the near future?
References
Does the applicant have good rapport with families they have worked with?
Before you make a hiring decision, ask the applicant to give you phone numbers and/or emails of families or agencies that the he or she has worked with in the past.
Give the references a call and ask questions regarding:
- absenteeism or tardiness
- strengths and weaknesses
- other concerns or information
Looking for more help to prepare for the interview?
Check out these two great articles for more interview tips from a:
One last tip to help you make a decision:
During the interview, have a pad of paper with your questions so you don’t forget.
If you have a handful of applicants to interview, take notes during or after the interview so you can keep track of what you liked or disliked about them.
Happy Interviewing!
About Catherine Pascuas
Catherine is the founder of Edx Autism.