Interview questions to ask a domestic helper who will care for an elderly family member

Hiring for a parent is a different decision

Most families who come to us for this are hiring for the first time, and it doesn't feel like hiring — it feels like handing over something you've been carrying yourself. That's a normal way to feel, and it's worth naming before the interview even starts, because guilt makes people either over-interrogate a candidate or avoid the hard questions altogether. Neither helps you. By the time you're interviewing GMA-shortlisted candidates, the paperwork fit is already screened; your job in the room is to work out whether this particular person, in your particular home, is someone you'd trust with your father's day.

Start with the shape of the day

Rather than asking general questions about experience, walk her through what an actual day would look like in your household: what time your parent wakes, what help is needed to get up and dressed, what meals and medication reminders look like, whether there are regular appointments. Ask her to describe how she'd handle each part. A candidate who can talk through the specifics — not just "yes, I've done elderly care" — is telling you far more than a CV line ever will.

Ask about the task, not about her health

Here's the one shift that makes the biggest difference in these interviews: ask about the task, not the person. "This involves lifting my father from bed to wheelchair several times a day — have you done that, and are you comfortable with it?" gets a far more honest and useful answer than "do you have any health problems?" It's also simply the better question to be asking anyway, since it tells you about her actual readiness for your household rather than putting her on the spot.

Walk through a few real situations together

A good interview includes a couple of "what would you do if" moments, asked gently and out of curiosity rather than as a test. If your parent has memory changes, ask how she'd respond to being asked the same question five times in an hour, or to sudden agitation. The Department of Health's own guidance for carers is worth knowing before you ask: these behaviours are caused by the condition itself, not by the person being difficult or uncooperative, and calm, consistent handling matters more than any single "correct" response. If a fall happens, or a scheduled dose of medication is missed, what would she do first, and who would she call? You're not looking for textbook answers — you're looking for someone who stays steady and asks for help rather than guessing.

Understand what her training does and doesn't cover

It's worth knowing, going in, what "elderly care training" for a helper actually means in Hong Kong. The Social Welfare Department runs a training scheme for helpers in elderly care — around 12 hours of core topics plus a few electives on dementia and stroke care, taught by nurses, dietitians and therapists, and free of charge. It's a genuinely useful grounding, and it's worth asking a candidate whether she's completed it. But it's basic knowledge, not a nursing qualification, and the government's own guide for helpers caring for people with dementia says so plainly: most helpers are not trained health professionals, and willingness to help is not the same as clinical technique. Go into the interview expecting a capable, caring pair of hands — not a substitute for your parent's doctor, and not someone who should be left to make medical judgement calls alone.

Confirm the job matches her contract

One thing to settle before you get attached to a candidate: elderly care has to be domestic work carried out within your own household, under the Standard Employment Contract. If the person who actually needs care is a parent living at a different address — your mother's flat, a sibling's home — the contract has to reflect that arrangement properly; a helper employed by you cannot simply be sent to care for a relative elsewhere. This is exactly the kind of detail worth checking against a proper list rather than from memory, so we've put a checklist together at /templates to work through with each candidate before you commit.

Before you decide

A good interview will leave you with a feel for someone's calm, her habits, and how she talks about the work — not a guarantee. If you want more certainty before committing, the fair way to get it is a longer second interview, a video call with your parent present, and solid reference checks — not a trial shift, which isn't lawful before a visa is granted. GMA shortlists candidates with elderly care experience relevant to your household, and handles the matching, the contract and the visa application from there, so you're not carrying the paperwork on top of everything else.

Ready to start interviewing? See how our matching and visa process works, or check pricing for placing a helper with elderly care experience.