Choosing between 2 helpers

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X-NYC mama

Registered User
One is very experienced w/ Western families (10+) yrs vs the other who has 4 yrs of experience in Singapore with a Chinese employer. Their visa turnaround is the same 4-6 weeks. I hear the helpers with Western families tend to be spoiled (?). Please provide some perspective. This process is so confusing! How can you decide who to keep after just meeting them for a few minutes???
 
What I did was I asked them to try to work for me for a few hours like cooking, cleaning, ironing, whatever that I would like them to do the most if they are working for me. I can then decide whether I feel comfortable having them around my house, or if I am happy with the quality of the work, or whather I like their attitude, etc.

Some of my friends even asked them to try a few times before making decision.

Also, I spoke their employers before asking them to try. Please note that, not all ex-employers are honest in telling you whether the helper is good or not.

However, things might not work out and we might still hired a wrong person...

Good luck!
 
Thanks for the article - good read.

Jane01, this info came from the agencies. Apparently Western employers are lax in their approach and offer many perks like 2x trips home in a year, etc to them. So, they come to you with similar expectations.
 
Basically I would choose the one I liked the most. You will be spending a lot of time with this person. Actually, experience means nothing. Also, whatever she got from her old employer is now irrelevant, you need to wrtie down clearly what you expect from her and what you are offering, in terms of working hours, salary, holidays, accommodation, job duties, etc. Look at this website and the other one for some of the pitfalls.

Back to my first point - for example, my first helper was miserable the whole time and it was horrible to be in the same room as her (v. experienced). My current helper is cheerful but never stops talking. Some helpers will sulk if they are expected to do more cleaning than childcare. Just go with your gut instinct.

Good luck!
 
XNYC Mama - the reason I asked is because the comment sounded derogatory. Firstly to the helpers - it is really just children who are referred to as spoilt, not grown women. Secondly to westerners, as it infers that we are foolish for not making our helpers work hard enough. Thirdly, to chinese employers because there are plenty of great ones out there and plenty of awful western employers.

FWIW - I must fall in the category of a foolish employer, because we send our helper home twice a year when we go on holidays, or give her the equivalent $$.

My personal view is that your helper looks after your most precious people - your family. When you find a good one, pay them too much money and do whatever you can to ensure they stay and stay happy. Seems like commonsense to me.

OK, off my high horse now. Doesn't remotely help you choose between two helpers either. Good luck.
 
Jane01, my apologies...I was just reiterating what I was told by the agencies. I have met helpers who just left a 6 yr contract with a salary of $7500 for example. Now I am starting out with my 1st helper, I cannot pay her that much and also send her home 2x a year w/out knowing her at all. Obviously, once she has worked for me and credibility has been established we can talk about such things. I am also seeing a lot of helpers come in and ask for such things upfront - unfortunately I am not willing to promise anyone anything upfront.

Didn't mean to offend you. You are very lucky to have a good helper. Hopefully we will too :-)
 
And please remember that paying more does not guarantee that someone will work harder/better. People's attitudes towards their jobs depends on far more than just money.
I personally would not employ a helper asking for more than the minimum salary - I understand that it is supposed to be a minimum and not a standard, but there are any number of excellent helpers who are perfectly happy to work for that sum. If you start higher and she is a disappoinment then you will really resent the extra money. Start with the minimum and then you can pay more later.
Of course a lot depends on your own financial position - $7500 is twice what I pay my helper, so I suppose if I was earning twice my current salary it would work out the same...
 
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