Interviewing a maid in Singapore is probably the most important step of your hunt for the right helper. Here’s sharing a list of questions to ask a potential maid.
Through an interview, you will be able to determine if your potential helper can communicate well with you, whether she has the right mindset to work here away from home, as well as whether she is a good fit for your family.
Now that we are expecting a new addition to our small family soon, we have considered so many infant care options and at the end of the day, we decided to go with hiring a helper. That’s another story to share for another time.
This post is to share some questions to ask a potential maid. Questions that we personally have been asking during the interviews we have with them. Do note that these questions would be more suitable for a maid with relevant experience (because we didn’t want to interview any one without prior experience). And always request for a FaceTime/Skype interview. You never know if you are speaking to the maid you want to hire, plus facial expressions do tell a million stories. :)
1) Why do you want to work in Singapore?
This is to understand her motivation for working in Singapore and can, later on, help you motivate her.
2) Why did you leave your last job?
Not that they will tell you if something was wrong with them but just to see how they respond.
3) What did you do in your previous employment?
How many kids did you take care of, what were your duties, how many people did you live with, how big was the house you had to clean, what time did you have to wake up, etc.
These are questions that are important for you to better understand her previous experience.
4) Have you been to Singapore? What do you like about Singapore?
Do you have any friends/family in Singapore?
To gauge interest level, as well as kind of “support” she has in Singapore.
5) What do your husband do?
Is he okay with you working in Singapore?
Or ask about her boyfriend/family if she isn’t married just to gauge if there are any potential conflicts with her working in Singapore. This would be important as it’ll help to determine if she would be committed or distracted when working in Singapore.
6) Do you have kids?
How old are there? Who is taking care of your child now?
Important question for maids with kids. To see how well-taken care of her child is to see if she would be troubled/worried.
7) How often would you like to call home?
This helps to establish boundaries. Would once a month be ok with her or is she expecting a nightly call?
8) How often do you need to send money home?
You can probably gauge how much she needs money (and who needs it) from the frequency she does this.
9) List your expectations of a helper
Describe what you expect from her (take care of elderly/infants) and ask her what she thinks of it.
This is important so that you can establish what you expect and see how she reacts to it.
10) What are your hobbies?
A friend advised me to ask this and I thought it’s a pretty good idea. You might not always get a direct answer but at least you see what they reply. You can also try giving examples like if I give you an off day, what would you like to do to relax, etc. This will also help you sort of understand their interest/personality.
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Hope this list of questions to ask a potential maid has helped you in some way. :) Remember, finding the right person is never easy, so we take all the necessary steps and precautions we need to take to help us bridge the gap.