Before you shortlist
Read a helper’s biodata in three passes: identify the duties she is willing to do, ask about the experience behind your priority tasks, then record what the interview or supporting records establish. Prior Singapore employment is useful evidence, but it does not certify infant-care, elderly-care or cooking competence. Compare candidates against the same household brief and keep unconfirmed details visible.
Send your household priorities and profile references. Apex will check current availability and explain what can be confirmed.
Biodata is hosted on SearchMaid and may require a login. You can request a shortlist directly on WhatsApp.
By APEX Maids Agency Pte. Ltd. · MOM EA Licence 25C3180 · UEN 202547196H. Based in Jurong West and serving households across Singapore. Our website is apexmaids.sg and our phone is 8405 6661.
Write down your three priority duties, the language used at home and the support family members will provide. A household with a newborn has different needs from one where an independent parent needs meals and housework. This gives you a reason to shortlist beyond a photograph or a broad experience label. Our household interview checklist helps you prepare that brief.
Need a starting point? Build a general household interview brief without entering personal details.
MOM’s standard biodata form distinguishes these fields. Willingness says whether the candidate is prepared to take on a duty. Experience asks about work already performed. Assessment or observation concerns how a skill was evaluated. Ask the agency who checked the information, by which method and what was not assessed.
A blank experience field is something to clarify, not permission to infer a positive answer. Equally, a willingness tick should not be presented as proof that a task has been performed before.
MOM’s hiring guidance explains that prospective employers can check employment history through FDW eService or ask their employment agency for it. Use the official route privately. Compare placement dates with the duties described; Singapore employment dates do not establish which care tasks were performed independently.
A short placement is a question to explore, not proof of poor performance. Ask for the explanation and distinguish the candidate’s account from supporting information. A previous employer’s relocation or changing household needs may matter, but do not assume a reason without checking.
Print this page or copy the headings into your own notes. Use profile references. This website does not collect or save a completed worksheet.
| Question | Candidate A | Candidate B |
|---|---|---|
| Our three priority duties | ________________ | ________________ |
| Relevant work and dates explained | ________________ | ________________ |
| Example or evidence checked | ________________ | ________________ |
| What still needs checking | ________________ | ________________ |
| Training and family backup needed | ________________ | ________________ |
| Current location and next step | ________________ | ________________ |
Swipe sideways on a phone. All columns appear when printed.
Use the same household priorities for A, B and C. These are your observations, not a score or recommendation. No names, profile references or private records are entered. Choices stay temporarily in this page’s memory; the tool does not send or store them. Reset or reload to clear them. Existing website analytics are described in the privacy notice. Privacy notice
This is a labelled fictional example to show how the same household brief produces different comparison notes. Neither candidate is a real person, a real placement or a case study. No names, ages, nationalities or medical details are used.
The household brief: a family with a toddler needs a helper for daily child care, cooking and light housekeeping. One parent works from home in the mornings. The helper must communicate household instructions in English.
| Question | Candidate P | Candidate Q |
|---|---|---|
| Willingness: child care | Ticked willing for infant and child care | Ticked willing for child care only |
| Relevant prior work | Biodata states two years caring for a child aged 1–3 in a previous household | Biodata states housekeeping and cooking; child care field left blank |
| Evidence checked so far | Singapore employment history confirms a placement matching those dates; duties not detailed in the record | No Singapore employment record; overseas reference describes cooking and general housekeeping |
| Still unknown | Who supervised the child; whether she handled meals and play alone; how she managed when the parent was unavailable | Whether she has cared for a toddler at all; her experience following English instructions in a household setting |
| Next interview question | Describe a typical morning with the child when no other adult was home | Have you looked after a child under three? If so, describe the daily routine and who else was present |
Swipe sideways on a phone. All columns appear when printed.
Candidate P has a willingness tick and a matching employment record, but neither proves she handled the child independently. Candidate Q has a blank child-care field but may have unlisted experience worth exploring. Use the interview to clarify both records; an answer alone is not independent proof of competence. Use the interview checklist to prepare those questions, and the private comparison tool to keep notes side by side. For nationality-specific shortlists, see Indonesian or Filipino helper enquiries.
A suitable profile does not establish a start date. Ask where the helper is now and which release, travel or permit steps remain. Transfer helpers and helpers with previous Singapore experience can have different current arrangements.
Then compare the itemised quotation and written support, replacement and refund terms. You can apply the agency comparison checks to Apex or another agency before deciding. A catalogue listing is not a promise of current availability. If you are browsing biodata across multiple platforms, the platform comparison guide explains how each route works and who to contact for each listing.
MOM’s employment history and a private reference from a previous employer are different things. The employment history shows prior Singapore placements and dates. In its 8 April 2026 parliamentary answer, MOM confirmed that previous-employer feedback is shared directly between employers; MOM does not collect, verify or attach it to the employment history. A reference, when available, gives one employer’s account of the helper’s work. It is voluntary and private.
When reading biodata, keep the record and any reference as separate columns in your notes. Neither replaces the interview. For a practical reference procedure, including what to ask and what to do when no reference is available, see the reference check guide.
Source check: 19 October 2026. MOM standard biodata form (PDF); MOM’s eight steps to hiring a helper; MOM 8 April 2026 parliamentary answer on employer feedback. Check the current official process when requesting employment history.
A tick, an employment date and an interview answer tell you different things. Keep the evidence separate.
Questions
No. Willingness, experience and assessment are separate fields. Ask about actual duties, how long she performed them and what was observed or checked.
It records prior Singapore employment. Ask about the duties performed and relevant training or references separately; placement dates do not certify care competence.
Use the same household priorities. Record relevant work, interview examples, evidence checked, training needed and unresolved questions. Confirm availability and written costs separately.
Talk to us
Share your household priorities and the profile references you want to discuss. Confirm current availability, interview arrangements and what still needs checking before deciding.
