With everyone so busy these days and trying to fit more and more tasks into a day, it’s becoming increasingly common for people to outsource jobs and hire domestic staff to help out around the house.
When you hire someone to assist in your household, it’s vital to conduct interviews to gauge who will be the best fit for the role and who you will feel comfortable having in your home and, by default, your life and the life of your family.
If you’re new to interviewing or it has been a while, here are some tips to help you find the right new employee.
Do Enough Research Before Interviews
Ensure you prepare appropriately for each interview. For example, carefully review each candidate’s resume and cover letter and make notes about things you want to ask. You may want further explanations about something in particular or to clarify one aspect of their experience, for instance.
Having notes for yourself will help you remember to ask all the pertinent things during the conversation with them and ensure that each interviewee feels like you have given they and their documents the attention they deserve. Connecting with potential employees and making them feel valued will contribute towards them feeling valued and more likely to remain in the position with you for a longer period and be prepared to go above and beyond to provide a good service. Consider utilising agency services who advertise private staff vacancies within their organisation, agencies like these can be a great place to find the best talent, they’ll usually have several years experience and it can save you a lot of the stress involved in screening independent employees.
Ask the Right Questions
Getting what you need from an interview relies on asking the right questions. There are many different things you might put on your list of queries, from things about their qualifications and licenses, where relevant, to their specific skills and experience. For instance, if you’re looking to hire security patrol services, you’ll want to know if candidates have completed relevant training and have a current license to operate.
If you want to hire a nanny, you’ll need to find out if people have kept their first aid skills up to date and the ages of the children they’ve looked after in the past. It’s worth inquiring as to why candidates have applied for the job, too, so you can get an idea if they’re genuinely interested in the role and looking for a long-term position to commit to or just after something to keep them going for now.
It’s also wise to ask candidates about challenges they faced in previous jobs and how they dealt with them, so you can get an idea of how they react when things are tough. You may want to ask about their work history and determine why they’ve had a lot of short-term placements or why they left their last position, for instance, and what each of their more recent jobs entailed.
If you need domestic staff to complete a task that may not be usual for the type of role you’re advertising, such as dealing with a pet, driving regularly, or helping you run events from home, it’s worthwhile inquiring as to how people feel about that and if they like or have experience in these areas. You may also want to ask how candidates handle stressful situations, how flexible they are about hours, how they feel about routines changing at short notice if this happens, and if they prefer to work with others or on their own.
Plus, don’t forget to mention some of the negatives as well as the positives of the position (or potential longer-term drawbacks) so you can see how potential employees feel about these things. Find out when workers could begin if you offer them the job, too.
Know Topics to Avoid
It’s also crucial to understand the types of topics and queries you should avoid when interviewing potential domestic staff. While there are some exceptions, in most cases, you must avoid questions regarding someone’s age, marital or relationship status, religion, political views, and sexual orientation. Avoid inquiring about someone’s race, desire to have children, gender, or ethnicity, too.
Do a Walk-Through of the Property
Another tip for interviewing people is to do a walk-through of the property before you finish your time with them, if you still feel interested in them potentially taking the role. Evaluation goes both ways, so many candidates like to see where they might be working and get a better feel for the job before accepting it. Plus, this “show and tell” gives you a chance to provide more detail about the position requirements and gives the interviewee the ability to ask more questions.
Finish interviews by sharing the next steps with those you talk to, such as that you will conduct background or reference checks and let them know in a week, etc. Don’t forget to write notes for yourself after people leave, too, so you can remember what you thought of each candidate when you’re evaluating after some time has passed and you’ve spoken to multiple people. Take your time making your decision and follow the tips above; you’re sure to be happier with your choice long-term.
Facebook Comments