Friday, November 28, 2008

Live Easily With Live-In Housekeepers

By Alice Sy

If given the opportunity, everybody would prefer to have live-in housekeepers in their home. Indeed, the pros of hiring a live-in housekeeper are more compared to the advantages of not hiring one.

Maintaining live-in housekeepers, though, can entail a lot of cost. In the United States, for instance, only the wealthy lot can afford to hire a full time housekeeper. In other countries, too, housewives are taking full responsibility of their homes because they cannot afford to pay the services of a full time maid.

If you want to hire a full time, live-in housekeeper, it may be wise to interview applicants before selecting one. You can also conduct a background check of them to be sure that you are employing someone dependable and trustworthy. Remember that your live-in housekeeper will be staying in your house most of the time.

Basic interview questions should deal with the following: number of years they have served in the housekeeping business, the names of their employers, the reasons why they left their work, and so on. It is also important that you let them know of your expectations of them, including the salary and the benefits that they will be receiving from you.

You should also know how your applicants feel when it comes to doing household chores. Ask them how comfortable are they cleaning, cooking, taking care of the children, and keeping the house in order. If they are honest in their answers, they should be able to look at you straight in the eye.

Another must-do is to have them fill out an application form where they can state their full name, address, contact number, social security number, and any other important details. Then you should also verify if they have a valid work visa.

If you find all these difficult, there are agencies that can assist you in finding live-in housekeepers. These agencies usually handle all the hard work, including pre-screening and performing background checks of your applications, for a certain price.

These guide questions serve to help you spot good live-in housekeepers for your home. It is essential that you employ only the best ones, considering that you will be entrusting the management of your home to them. - 15431

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