By the Sevetu team
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What an agent actually costs you
Most people who do household work found their first job through someone: a relative, a neighbour, a woman in the same building, or an agent. The agent route looks free and is not. The usual arrangement takes a fee from the family and a fee from you, often your first month's pay, and then the agent keeps the family's phone number. If the family wants a change, they call the agent, not you. If you want to leave, the agent has your papers and your deposit.
There is a second, quieter cost. A family that paid a placement fee treats the arrangement as the agent's problem when something goes wrong. A family that chose you from your own profile and agreed the pay with you directly is in a relationship with you. That is worth more than the first month.
Which job fits your day
Household work is really four different jobs with different days, and the biggest mistake new workers make is applying for all of them.
Part-time housekeeping
One to two hours per home, three to six homes a day, all within walking distance. Pays per home, so the round is the job. Best if you live near the flats you work in and want mornings only. Housekeeping jobs →
Full-time cook or maid
One home, eight to ten hours, go home at night. Steadier pay, one family to know, a real weekly off. Cooking pays more than cleaning, and cooking well for a family of six is a skill families pay for. Cook jobs →
Nanny, japa or caretaker
Childcare, post-delivery care, or looking after an elderly or bedridden person. The hours are longer and often live-in, the pay is higher, and the family will want to see experience and a reference. Nanny jobs → · Caretaker jobs →
Driver
A licence, a clean record and knowing the city. Family driving is school runs, office drops and weekends, not a taxi. Usually full-time. Driver jobs →
The profile that gets replies
Families on Sevetu see your profile before they see you. Five things decide whether they message:
- A clear photo of your face, taken in daylight, no filter. Profiles without a photo get almost no replies.
- Your areas, exactly. Not "Mumbai" but "Andheri West, Versova, Lokhandwala". A family in Andheri will not message someone who lists the whole city.
- Your hours. "Mornings 7 to 12" or "full-time, 8 am to 6 pm" or "live-in". Families filter on this before anything else.
- Your languages, including the one you are most comfortable in. A family with small children or elderly parents will choose the person the grandparents can talk to.
- Where you worked before, and for how long. Two years in one home says more than six homes in a year. If a previous family will speak for you, say so; families call.
Then the Verified badge. On Sevetu you do one identity check against your Aadhaar or another government ID, once, and every application you send carries the badge. Families are far more likely to reply to a verified profile. It is free, and your documents stay on your phone; nobody takes a copy.
The paid trial
Ask for one, and do not be shy about it. A trial day for full-time work or a trial meal for cooking, paid at the daily rate, is normal and fair. It tells the family whether the work suits them, and it tells you three things you cannot learn any other way: how the house is run, how the family speaks to you, and whether the work they described is the work they expect. If the trial day turns into two unpaid days, that is your answer.
Six things to agree before day one
- Pay, and the date it is paid. The amount and the day of the month. Ask for it by UPI if you can; it leaves a record.
- Weekly off. One fixed day. A job with no weekly off is not a job, it is a trap, whatever it pays.
- The tasks, as a list. "All housework" grows every month. Written tasks do not.
- Leave. How many paid days a year, and how much notice you give.
- Festival bonus. About a month's pay at Diwali or your own main festival is customary in most cities. Agree it now, not in November.
- Notice. Two to four weeks each way, so neither side is left stranded.
On Sevetu these go into the digital work agreement that both you and the family accept in the app, so there is one version of what was agreed and you have a copy. The full guide to the agreement explains each line.
The first month
Be on time; it is the thing families notice most in the first two weeks. If something in the agreement is not working, say so in week two, calmly, rather than leaving in week five. Keep your own note of the days you worked and the pay you received. And take your weekly off. Families who see you rest are families who keep you for years.
Red flags, and what to do
- Anyone asking for money to give you a job. Walk away. Sevetu is free for workers and always will be.
- A family or agent who wants to keep your original Aadhaar, voter ID or passbook "for safety". Never. Copies only, and only for a police verification you are told about.
- No weekly off, or an off that keeps getting cancelled.
- Pay that arrives late twice. Raise it the second time, in writing if you can.
- A live-in room that is a corridor or a kitchen floor. A live-in role means a place to sleep and rest that is yours.
Getting started
Download the Sevetu app, make your profile, get verified once, and apply to the jobs near you that match your hours. Families message you directly; there is no agent in the middle and you keep every rupee you agree.
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Questions people ask
Make a profile on Sevetu with your photo, exact areas, hours and languages, get verified once, and apply to jobs in your area. Families message you directly and you agree the pay with them. There is no fee at any stage.
No. Sevetu is free for workers: making a profile, getting verified, applying and being hired all cost nothing, and Sevetu takes no share of your pay.
A clear daytime photo, the exact localities you can work in, your hours, your languages, the roles you do, and where you worked before and for how long. If a previous family will speak for you, mention it.
Yes, a paid one. A trial day or a trial meal at the daily rate is normal. It shows the family your work and shows you how the home is run. Do not do unpaid trials.
Do not hand it over. Families may need a copy for a police verification, which is a normal and good thing; the original stays with you always.
Ask other workers in the same area what the going rate is for the same hours and tasks; pay settles building by building. Typical national ranges are on the Sevetu hiring pages for each role. Whatever you agree, get the amount and the pay date in writing.
Yes, and most part-time housekeeping works this way: several homes in the same area, back to back. Keep the homes close together and the slots fixed, and tell each family your other timings so nobody expects you to stay late.
Written by the Sevetu teamSevetu is a hiring marketplace for household work in India, operated by Fiel Private Limited. These guides come from the questions families and workers ask us. Nothing here is sponsored, and where a number has no defensible source we say so instead of inventing one. About Sevetu
