Juggling a 9 to 5 and maintaining a clean home at the same time requires a superhuman effort, every day. And if you’ve also got a penchant for partying, you need to make sure your living space doesn’t turn into a radioactive wasteland.
The solution is quite obvious—hire someone to help you keep your house clean.
But a problem is with a seemingly straightforward answer isn’t always simple to fix . Hiring a maid in India can be a frustrating business, especially if it’s your first time interviewing applicants. What should you be looking for? What information should you be asking of them?
This article gives you a list of 10 questions that will help you find the perfect household help.
- How Much Experience Do You Have?
You definitely want to be asking them this right off the bat. Their efficiency and skill will be directly related to how much experience they’ve had in this line of work.
If you’re willing to hire someone who’s just started out, then you probably want to help them out by specifying exactly how you want them to carry out certain tasks.
More experienced maids will be more willing and able to take instruction easily.
- What Do Your Housekeeping Services Include?
Many maids have strict boundaries about what they will and won’t do. For example, they might be fine with handling all the household work apart from cleaning bathrooms, or cooking.
You need to find out what these boundaries are early on, so you’re not surprised later.
Whatever their reasons, respect these boundaries and work around them.
- How Much Do You Charge?
Pay can differ vastly between the various candidates you interview. Gauge the amount they’re asking against the services they’re willing to provide.
- Where Do You Live?
This is a useful piece of information to have. In case you need immediate assistance on short notice, you need to know how far away help is.
It also lets you figure out how much their daily transportation costs are, which you can take into consideration while settling on the salary.
- Do You Have Family To Support?
Knowing what the person’s commitments are outside of work is just general information that you should have. If they have children, you might even be able to help out by donating clothes, books, and playthings.
- What Are Your Preferred Timings?
Their timings need to fit into your daily schedule. Jumping through hoops in the middle of your day is strenuous and unnecessary. Make sure that you can arrange a schedule that’s suitable for everyone involved.
- What Languages Do You Understand?
There are over 700 different Indian languages, depending on where they’re from. Communication can be a real problem if you don’t understand the local language. Instead of metaphorically stumbling around in the dark, ask them which languages they speak and understand.
Finding common ground here early on can simplify your life exponentially.
- Will You Have Any Problems With Our Cuisine?
If you’re non-vegetarian, you could potentially have problems with the maid. Some people are very particular about not working in households that cook meat.
- How Do You Get Along With Animals?
Your furry companion might not go down so well with the household help. Make sure that they get along well with your pets before you decide to hire them.
- Do You Have Any References?
Try to get in touch with the other households that the maid works in. This will give you a good idea of how good they are at their job and whether they’re trustworthy.
That’s about it. These maid interview questions should make the interview process much simpler. Always remember to be nice to your help!