When you live alone, chances are you’d have to take responsibility of everything from the bills to the cleanliness of your own living quarter. This doesn’t only apply for single people , for parents who are working full-time, taking care of kids is a whole another level of responsibility. Because of this, some couples opted to hire a helper that would help them take care of their children and at the same time take care of the house. Nevertheless, with constant scare of kidnappers, looters and absconders, finding a helper that they could trust is a challenge all on its own.
In order to have a sense of security to the helper, interviewing them face-to- face would help you have a ‘feel’ of what kind of person you are letting in to your home. During this interview, the following questions would help you decide if the person is the helper for you:
- Ask if they had any prior experience in being a helper. This would give you reference from their previous employer on what kind of helper they are.
- Knowledge on the basic first aid is important especially if you have kids in the house. Ask if they’ve taken any first aid course in the past or if they have any knowledge on of it.
- What’s their specialty or their ‘go-to’ recipes? For foreigners hiring a helper from another country, this is the chance to check the applicant’s fluency in English by asking them to talk through how she makes it.
- If they’ve been transferring from one employer to another, ask for a reason why. This could help you determine what kind of work ethics they have in the past.
- Ask for their personal situation. Knowing if the person is married or has kids of their own would determine their skill set as a helper.
- Ask why they are doing this job. Finding the reason why would help you know if they are doing this temporarily or not and how long they are planning to stay. When the time comes you can both figure out an exit plan.
- Find out the applicant’s strengths and weaknesses. Are they good with children? Cleaning? Knowing this would help you determine what aspect you should help them with.
- Know how good they are with kids. When you have kids on you own, ask if they know any nursery rhymes, games or activities that they would do with them and how they would discipline your child if you are not around.
- Let them know what the ground rules are in working as you helper. Let them know what you would tolerant and won’t tolerate. They need to know this if you plan to hire them.
Above anything else, trust your instinct. Trusting a stranger is hard especially when it comes to trusting them with your home and you children. Find a person that made you feel at ease during the interview and a person that you think would take care of your family.
