How to Hire Someone for a Day at Your House

The worry, said out loud

You are letting a stranger into your driveway, your garage, sometimes your house. Almost everybody hiring help for the first time thinks about that, and it is a reasonable thing to think about.

The good news is that the things that make it go well are ordinary and mostly within your control.

Pick on a track record, not a feeling

Read the profile and the reviews before you message anybody. Somebody with a handful of jobs behind them and employers saying they showed up is a far better signal than any impression from a two line message.

Look at whether they answered the Pick Me questions, whether the profile is finished, and whether the work they list is the work you need.

Agree everything in writing first

Keep it in the app so it is saved. Four things: the rate and what it is per, the hours, when and how you are paying, and exactly what the job is.

A written agreement is not distrust. It is the thing that prevents the one argument this kind of hire ever produces.

Set the day up before they arrive

Ten minutes the night before removes almost every problem.

• Know where they park, and say so.
• Clear the path and move what is not going.
• Decide what is trash and what stays, and mark it.
• Have water on site, and know where the bathroom is.
• Be there at the start, or have somebody who can answer questions.

The insurance question, answered once

Call your agent and ask what your homeowners policy does if somebody you paid is hurt at your house. Policies differ, and some exclude paid work entirely.

Also read our guide on workers compensation for a one day hire. The rules turn on your state and on whether the person counts as your employee, and both are knowable in ten minutes.

Common sense on the day

Put away anything valuable that does not need to be out, the same as you would for any tradesperson. Stay around rather than leaving for the afternoon, especially the first time.

Show them the work once at the start rather than supervising all day. People who are trusted to do the job usually do it.

Pay when you said, and say thank you

Pay at the end of the day by the method you agreed, and leave a review while you remember what they did.

If it went well, ask whether they would come back. Most people doing this work want a regular they can count on, and so do you.