Looking for a helper? Start with a job description
Looking for a helper? Start with a job description
Hiring a domestic worker is a BIG decision for any family. Before you begin interviewing applicants, please consider FIRST writing a basic job description. A clear and concise job description will help both you and the applicant to evaluate IF you are a good fit for each other. The job description can also be used as a guideline for regular, scheduled times of evaluation, during which you can review the job description and discuss the worker's performance in key areas.
Ingredients of a good job description
A job description should include a job summary, duties and responsibilities, qualifications, and parenting style (if you have kids) . It should provide an overview of the position, including the normal work hours, day off, and a description of the accommodation you are providing the worker. The duties and responsibilities should outline the tasks that the worker will be responsible for, such as marketing, preparing meals, cleaning, laundry, and caring for children. The qualifications should include the necessary skills, education, and experience required for the job. Most domestic workers are NOT university graduates, so be realistic in this regard. Good communication skills in spoken and written English are usually more important than the level of education. The parenting style should describe the family's values and expectations for discipline, education, and other child-rearing practices.When writing a job description, it is essential to be specific, detailed, and concise. A one to two page job description will be more useful than a 10 page one. The job description should not include any language that could be interpreted as discriminatory based on race, gender, age, religion or any other protected characteristic.
Revise the job description as needed
There is a well known saying "no plan of war survives the first battle". The same will probably be true of your job description. After your helper starts to work, you will need to adjust it to fit the reality of the job and her specific needs, abilities, and personality. A job description is not the 10 commandments. Expect that you will need to revise it.
Sample Job Description
We are a family of 3: my husband and I both work and we have a 3 y.o. son who goes to kindergarten. We are looking for someone who will take good care of our son, do the household chores, marketing and cooking. The ideal applicant would be someone who is between the ages of 35-41, has children of her own, and has worked abroad before.
Both my husband and I work long hours, so our helper also needs to be prepared to work long hours. Your day will start before 7 a.m. and will normally finish after dinner around 9:30 p.m. In the morning you will normally prepare breakfast for our son and get him off to kindergarten. Sir and I don't eat breakfast at home. After our son goes to school you will need to do the marketing for the evening meal. I will give you a menu to follow. I hope you will learn quickly to cook Chinese food well. A detailed schedule will be provided in the future. The work week will be from Monday through Saturday with Sundays off. We will usually provide you a break in the afternoon where you can contact your family and have a brief time of rest.
Our home is small, 600 s.f. with only 2 bedrooms, so our helper will need to share a room with our son.
Our top priority is our child. We are hands-on parents and most of the time will try to put our child to bed ourselves. We do not spank or shout at our child, and will not tolerate a helper who does so. The safety of our son is paramount so keeping him safe both inside and outside of the house is your top priority. We expect and hope you will develop a loving relationship with him.
Good communication is important to us, so if there are any problems with our son or our home, we expect you to contact us immediately so we can advise you on what to do. We can't promise that we will never become emotional, but we will do our best to communicate in a respectful way. We also expect you to maintain respect and honesty in all communications. We need to know what is happening so that we can give you good instructions when there is a problem or crisis. Please do not withhold information from us. We know that mistakes happen, as we are all human, but we need accurate information to resolve the problems that come up. Honest communication is very important. If you have questions or if we neglect to talk to you about something important like meals, etc. please don't assume we are uncaring. We're just busy. Please don't hesitate to talk to us or ask about things like unclear instructions, meals, rest time, etc.
We are looking forward to finding someone who will be a good fit for our family.
Sincerely
