If you are having difficulty finding acceptable applicants for the positions you have available, it could be because the expectations you have are not quite as realistic as they could be. Particularly if you have little to no experience hiring staff – domestic or business – you may not realize how the job appears to prospective employees.

Here are three of the most common issues that will keep the best candidates from wanting to apply for a job. If the position you are finding hard to fill has one or more of these, you may want to consider making some changes.

Unreasonable Job Description

Good employees are willing to work hard, and they take pride in the quality of their work. Most employers don’t intend to be harsh taskmasters, but sometimes they don’t realize exactly what is involved in doing a particular job well, or how long it can take. This can lead to advertising for a position that lists a number of responsibilities that an experienced candidate will recognize at a glance as being impossible to accomplish.

You have to keep in mind that one person can only do so much, no matter how skilled and experienced they are. If you want a job done well, you must allow employees enough time to do it well. When staff has too many duties to complete during their working day, there is simply no way that they will be able to do them all to your satisfaction.

Unstable Schedule

Most domestic staff understand perfectly that a well-managed household must have an efficient schedule in order to run smoothly. The only way to keep everything organized is for everyone to know exactly where and when they are supposed to be working, as well as exactly what they should be doing. Even when just one person drops the ball, it can throw things a bit off-kilter.

So you can probably imagine what kind of chaotic environment would result if you didn’t even have the solid foundation of that routine to start with. You would not be able to count on anything to happen on time or in the correct manner. It is this routine that will provide them with the solid foundation necessary to adjust instantly to any extraordinary circumstances, then return quickly to the original schedule.

The very best domestic employees will not look twice at a position that does not offer a stable schedule.

Poor Compensation

As with job responsibilities, sometimes employers are just somewhat uninformed about what is acceptable compensation for the positions they are trying to fill. This usually stems from not quite realizing exactly what is involved with doing the job well, as discussed above. So it is very important that employers have a clear understanding of all responsibilities the position will entail, and what is considered fair compensation for completing them well.

All of these issues can be resolved. You could discuss them with the agency to find out what the accepted norms are. You could also discuss them with the candidates, who may be able to explain to you what their experience has shown them to work.