Religious Jewish Housekeeper - What do you think?

sequoia

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 9:46 pm

I think you're confusing "professional" with "angry and aggressive."

I'm a tutor. I go to people's houses. I have a cordial, amiable relationship with my students/their parents. No one is desperate. No one is angry. No one thinks they might be cheated. Yes, they are glad I am teaching them/their kids, but that does not make them "desperate." It's okay to appreciate the people who work for you.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 9:52 pm

sequoia wrote:

OP here. If you are a tutor, I will make the assumption that your reading comprehension is superb.
Please show me where my post is: 1) angry 2) worrisome of someone cheating me.

What is your opinion about appreciating the people that employ you?

SRS

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:06 pm

Interesting to see so many different perspectives. I don't find the ad offputting, but I would put the pay range out there, $12-$15 or $40-$50 per hour because you might as well tell people up front what the job is worth to you. I hate stating salary expectations up front and I think woman in general aren't too keen on making demands and would rather know what they will earn and then decide if they are serious about the position.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:07 pm

I'm the former housekeeper who posted earlier. I can assure you I don't find this work degrading. I enjoy nurturing and making things nice for people, but yes, I do expect my employer to appreciate my hard work on their behalf. What on earth is wrong with that? Everyone wants their boss to say nice things and notice their efforts.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:07 pm

flmommy wrote:

I would take the job. Either write the salary or just say please tell me your salary requirements. I would skip the line about the mikvah. Just say privacy a must. Good luck. You sound lucky to be able to afford the help and like you will treat your housekeeper well.

Thank you, flmommy. Of course I wouldn't describe the salary requirements that way in a real job posting. I was just trying to tell all of the imamothers that I am doing serious research. I was trying to avoid posts such as the one telling me she would do it for $50 an hour.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:10 pm

Please recognize that you are entering our lives. You may overhear a conversation that is meant to be private, and you may occasionally get a whiff that I am going to the mikvah. Please leave this job at the door when you go home.

This is quite off putting. It has the tone of someone who does not trust their potential employee & feels they need to be "spoken to" about privacy. Do you think housekeepers are unaware of social norms regarding mikvah use or whether it's appropriate to gossip about employers?

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:10 pm

amother wrote:

OP here. I totally agree. I never said otherwise.
It was another disgruntled poster who claimed that.
It does go both ways though.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:12 pm

many of us hire cleaning help -- some for a few hours a week, some every day. What you seem to want is someone to take over what the norm is for a frum woman to do in her home. You want someone to do the things that you don't want to do. Organizing your kitchen, your clothing/drawers .... I don't really think you need a frum person for that. People usually tend to seek frum employees when it comes to caring for small children and you clearly don't have anyone that age. No one will ever do the job of organizing your personal things exactly the way you want it to be. Let's take for example your daughter's black t-shirt that she wore with some skirts in the summer. Your hired help might think that this shirt was worn in the summer so she'll store it out of sight while she lines up the winter sweaters. You on the other hand might want that black t-shirt accessible in the winter too. And then you will get upset when you are looking for the t-shirt on Sunday morning when she is not there ... and feel upset with your hired help who you are paying nicely ... As far as the cooking goes, if all you want is chicken and frozen veggies or baked potatoes, as long as you or a family member are the ones to turn on the oven anyone can prepare it for you. I really don't think you need a frum woman for this job. Especially if you want some semblance of privacy...

I know you only wanted to hear from people who would want this type of job but we all have the right to put in our 2 cents!

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:12 pm

amother wrote:

No, it means that I have reservations too about hiring a frum woman for this reason. But if we can be respectful to each other, then it may work for both of us.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:18 pm

I was trying to avoid posts such as the one telling me she would do it for $50 an hour.

I did not say I'd work for you for $50/hr. I said I am an employed housekeeper and I earn $50/hr. If you pay minimum wage you will get minimum wage quality work. If you want a housekeeper who can problem solve you will have to pay considerably more.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:19 pm

amother wrote:

I agree. No need for a Jewish housekeeper.
Have your housekeeper clean/cut/prepare the food the day before.
You can turn on the oven and stick it in the morning.

sky

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:20 pm

amother wrote:

Is that $50 cash?

Peanut2

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:21 pm

It's a terrible ad.

I'd never want a job like that but think many frum Jewish women might. I don't know why any would reply to your ad. Stop using "you" in there. Who does that? List the requirement, eg: Light housekeeping, light cooking, etc. Not "You will cook."

People can say anything about how much they want to get paid. I once needed a last minute babysitter, found someone, and after everything was all decided asked how much she charges and she said $35 an hour. I said no thank you. I've since had something like this with another babysitter. People think they can charge a lot or a little based on all sorts of things. It doesn't mean they don't want the job and to write that makes you sound like the kind of person no one wants to work for.

And it's not degrading. It's potentially a nice job. But you have to be nice.
And FYI there are many Jewish cleaning ladies out there, certainly in Israel. And both my mom and my MIL became friends with cleaning ladies/housekeepers they had for a long time. Of course, many people also become friends with their boss and/or employees anywhere. That's a good thing.

Maybe you should actually leave it like this so that people know not to apply. Who wants a boss with this kind of attitude?

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:25 pm

I would be concerned (as someone who did this kind of work in the past) that you won't keep me on long term. If you don't need childcare and you want really simple meals, what's going to keep me busy for five hours a day? There's only so much laundry folding and dusting a person can do. If your house is huge, then I would feel more comfortable taking the job because I'd feel more secure about you not changing your mind.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:27 pm

"If you tell me that you want a salary that is not consistent with what this position pays in general, that means that you don't really want the job."

This is the most insulting thing I've ever seen in a job announcement. If my bluntness offends you, OP, too bad. YOUR bluntness insults the job candidates. FTR I'm a professional with a job requiring an advanced degree, but in my day I've done all kinds of work including delivering groceries and being a cleaning lady in a mikve. Not the balanit, but the person who mops the floors, scrubs the tubs, and cleans hair and other unmentionable things out of the drain strainer. So humble work doesn't scare me and if G-d forbid circumstances dictated that I had to do it again, I would.

But the tone of your ad is condescending and superior, whether you meant it to be or not. Also, it's way, way, way too long and so unprofessional as to be laughable. This is supposed to be a help-wanted ad, not an essay, and even though I may be out of a job, I still have demands on my time. Your ad is wasting it. See, as a job-hunter I don't want to hear your life story any more than you want to hear mine. Nor do I want to have to guess as to the salary, which, from the tone of your "ad", is sure to be insultingly low.

All in all, your so-called ad doesn't make the job sound attractive at all. In fact, it makes you sound like a most unpleasant employer, which I'm sure is quite the opposite of the impression you're trying to make. I suggest getting a pro to craft a good professional-sounding ad for you. Save the personal details for the interview.

Anon because of personally identifying details about my background.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:28 pm

[quote="Peanut2"]It's a terrible ad.

I'd never want a job like that but think many frum Jewish women might. I don't know why any would reply to your ad. Stop using "you" in there. Who does that? List the requirement, eg: Light housekeeping, light cooking, etc. Not "You will cook."

People can say anything about how much they want to get paid. I once needed a last minute babysitter, found someone, and after everything was all decided asked how much she charges and she said $35 an hour. I said no thank you. I've since had something like this with another babysitter. People think they can charge a lot or a little based on all sorts of things. It doesn't mean they don't want the job and to write that makes you sound like the kind of person no one wants to work for.

And it's not degrading. It's potentially a nice job. But you have to be nice.
And FYI there are many Jewish cleaning ladies out there, certainly in Israel. And both my mom and my MIL became friends with cleaning ladies/housekeepers they had for a long time. Of course, many people also become friends with their boss and/or employees anywhere. That's a good thing.

Maybe you should actually leave it like this so that people know not to apply. Who wants a boss with this kind of attitude?[/quote]

It's not ad ad, Peanut 2.
That is what I don't want. To become friends with my housekeeper.
Although I might follow your suggestions of using this as my ad copy. To weed out those that I don't want working for me.

amother

Sat, Oct 25 2014, 10:32 pm

amother wrote:

Again, this is not intended as a ad. It is intended as research.