Thursday, April 24, 2008

How to find a Domestic Helper

Recently, I had the ardous task of looking for a domestic helper. It seemed simple at first - find an agency, get hold of a few resumes, ask about the candidate, etc. The only catch is, you can't see the candidate in real life, and you can't talk to them (well, it's not easy to reach them on the phone since they live in villages and most have no home telephones).

So, last Saturday, I found an agency, and went to pick a helper from a bunch of about 8 resumes. The good thing is, the owner of the agency actually interviewed them herself, and if you trust her interviewing skills, you would ask the right questions, and get the answers you want to hear. The helper I chose is from Iloilo in Philippines, which is 1 hour's flight from Manila. I hope she can cope with my 3 kids, my place, and baby no. 4 coming. It's a good thing her name is not difficult to pronouce (will tell later when confirmed).

Also, to qualify to get in a foregin domestic helper, you need to do an online test ("Foreign Domestic Worker's Orientation Programme", required by the government) and with the certificate of completion, you are eligible to apply for the foreign worker's work permit. Wow - I have to take a test!

2 comments:

Dot said...

Finally going to do it, huh??? Good luck with test? Maybe you can meet her when you're in Manila? Or probably too complicated...

Emily said...

Thanks with the test! Still haven't taken it yet. Yup, too complicated to meet her while I'm in Manila...too busy with work as well...