urgent questions for interview

what kind of questions do you ask a DH during an interview? i have several in mind and first think will be for them to tell me about themselves and see how they come across. but would love to get some ideas on what other people think of to ask.


thanks in advance

divalicious, there were a few threads on this forum which I found useful. The following one was both amusing and useful:

http://www.hongkong.asiaxpat.com/forums/domestichelpers/threads/80090.asp

I found some of dimac4's questions very helpful.


One of the most helpful questions we found was asking about their current/previous employers. Having fallen for the 'I've been treated so badly' once too often without probing any further, we pushed a bit more this time around. It was a real eye opener. Some girls let rip about their unreasonable employers demands (some really were very unreasonable, others seemed perfectly fine to us). Just gave us a bit more of an insight into how easily we would get along.


The other thing that we did was ask more detailed questions about the fanatstic references that some of the ladies had. One came with a glowing (undated) reference which turned out to be 3 years old. She has about 4 other employers since, and when we asked to see their references, she handed us a folder, which turned out to be FULL of written warnings. Guessing that she did not want the job at our place (either that or she was really stupid).


We also asked them to describe a typical day in their current job. Just gave us a good idea of how our expectations related to what they were used to doing, also put their references in context. We did not necessarily demand someone who worked the same type of day as we would expect, but it helped manage expectations on both sides.


Gut feel and response to the children was still the most important decision factor though!


The key thing we did this time (having not done so last time) was speak to current/previous employers when we were keen on employing someone. The hesitation or lack thereof when we asked them questions like 'Would you employ her again?' or 'Is there anything that you would have changed?' spoke volumes.


Overall, we were much more businesslike this time than last. Only time will tell whether we were any more successful. Good luck!

Ask for her references and the best thing is to call 1 or 2 previous employers to make sure they're not fake ! Ask her previous employer what is her best quality and her bad one.


Ask her how is a typical working day for her, let her talk.


If you like the helper, ask her to come to work for you for 1 day (as a trial day - that you'll pay of course) to see if she's fitting in your house. It will tell you a lot believe me !

thank you so much for that. i have writeen down most of the questions. but do people really ask some of those questions? at first i thought someone was being sarcastic.

It is also a way to see if you feel confortable with her and if you can understand her english !

If she only says "yes mam" to all your questions, I would be very careful !!!

how much do you pay for them to come in for a trial run?

My agency recommended the standard salary 3400/30, so I paid her 120HKD for about 8 hours of work. I spent the whole day with her and had her do various things, including cooking me a lunch which she planned (including going shopping) and helping me prepare dinner, which I planned; along with ironing a couple of shirts, mop the floor of the living room, making the bed, walking the dog, reading laundry labels, etc. just to get an idea of exactly how well she does things. I also tried to talk to her as much as possible because I wanted to make sure our personalities match. We have no kids but have a dog, so I watched her interact with the dog, to make sure that she likes my dog and will not mistreat her. In the end, it's still very hard to decide which one to choose. I ended up liking both of the girls I had a trial with, but they're completely different in every aspect. I talked to both of their employers and received positive feedbacks on both. So I think it comes down to chemistry.

both girls I tried were out of their contracts, so one was on a Saturday and one on Monday. don't know if it's legal or not but it was only one day and I'm sure if she volunteered to work for me in order to demonstrate her abilities it would've been perfectly legal, so let's just call the money a gift. Don't see how you can get into trouble for that.

The plain fact is that it's illegal, although in such a case I think the Immigration Department would truna blind eye. Lots of people do it for good reason. It doesn't make it legal but it can save a lot of hassles further down the track.