Why exceptional household support requires more than experience, references, and the right job title.
When a family decides to hire private household staff, the conversation often begins with experience.
How many years has the candidate worked in private service? Which households have they supported? Have they managed multiple properties? Worked for high-profile principals? Supervised other staff?
These are reasonable questions. Experience matters, and a strong professional history can tell us a great deal about a candidate's capabilities.
But I've always believed there's another conversation worth having.
What makes someone exceptionally qualified to work in one household, yet potentially unsuccessful in another?
The answer isn't always found on a résumé.
And understanding that distinction is central to how I approach private staffing.
A Different Path Into Private Staffing
My professional background doesn't follow the traditional path into household recruitment.
I spent six years serving in the United States Air Force, where logistics and operational coordination reinforced the importance of planning, accountability, and adaptability.
My career subsequently took me into homeland security management consulting, organizational change management, and complex operational environments where people, processes, and expectations needed to work together.
I've also supported operations and administrative functions in the technology sector and worked in environments serving ultra-high-net-worth families.
These experiences may appear unrelated at first glance.
To me, they're deeply connected.
Whether coordinating logistics, supporting executives, navigating organizational change, or working within a private household, the underlying challenge is often remarkably similar:
How do you bring the right people, responsibilities, and systems together so everything functions effectively?
That's the perspective I bring to AW Strategies.
I don't see private staffing as simply identifying an available candidate with the appropriate experience.
I see it as understanding an environment, identifying what that environment needs, and finding a professional who can succeed within it.
The Résumé Is the Beginning, Not the Answer
A candidate can have an impressive background and still be the wrong fit for a particular household.
Imagine two highly experienced Household Managers.
One thrives in a formal estate with established procedures, defined reporting relationships, and a fully staffed team.
The other excels in a more fluid family environment, where priorities change frequently, the principal prefers direct communication, and the position requires considerable independence.
Both may be exceptional professionals.
But place either person in an environment fundamentally different from the one where they perform best, and the working relationship may become unnecessarily difficult.
This is why I believe recruitment requires more than comparing job descriptions with employment histories.
It requires understanding the people behind the position.
How does the family communicate?
What does discretion look like in their environment?
How much autonomy will the employee have?
How are decisions made?
What happens when expectations change?
And what kind of professional temperament will complement the household's existing dynamics?
The right candidate isn't simply someone who has done the job before. It's someone equipped to do it well in your environment.
Emotional Intelligence Is Not an Optional Qualification
One of the qualities I place particular emphasis on is emotional intelligence.
Private service is deeply interpersonal.
Household professionals work in environments where personal routines, family relationships, confidential information, and professional responsibilities intersect.
An experienced Personal Assistant may need to recognize when a principal needs a direct recommendation rather than another list of options.
A Household Manager may need to address a staff concern without creating unnecessary tension.
A Family Assistant may need to adapt to a changing routine while maintaining appropriate boundaries.
These situations require more than technical competence.
They require self-awareness, discretion, emotional regulation, communication, and sound judgment.
I often return to a simple thought:
You can train someone on a system. It's much harder to teach them how to read a room.
Emotional intelligence can certainly be developed. But it deserves meaningful consideration during recruitment, particularly in positions requiring close personal access and significant trust.
That doesn't mean looking for the most agreeable candidate.
It means considering how someone handles difficult conversations, responds to feedback, navigates competing expectations, and exercises judgment under pressure.
For me, those qualities are just as worthy of exploration as the experience listed on a résumé.
Sometimes the Household Needs Structure Before Another Employee
My background in logistics, operations, and change management has also shaped how I think about staffing needs.
A family may believe it needs another assistant because daily responsibilities have become overwhelming.
But sometimes the underlying issue isn't insufficient headcount.
Perhaps existing staff have overlapping responsibilities.
Perhaps nobody has clear authority to coordinate vendors.
Perhaps household preferences haven't been communicated consistently.
Or perhaps the family has several capable professionals but no established process for managing priorities.
Adding another employee without addressing those issues can create more coordination rather than less.
This is where operational thinking becomes valuable.
Before recommending a position, I want to understand the responsibilities involved, the people already supporting the household, and the challenges the family is actually trying to solve.
Sometimes the right answer is a Household Manager.
Sometimes it's a Personal Assistant, Family Assistant, or another specialized professional.
And sometimes a clearer structure may be the first step.
Good recruitment should solve the underlying problem, not simply fill the next available position.
Experience Deserves Respect. So Does a Fresh Perspective.
Private staffing is an industry built on trust, discretion, and relationships.
Those qualities matter enormously.
Established agencies have spent years developing relationships with families and candidates, and that experience deserves recognition.
But I also believe there is room for different perspectives within the industry.
The way families live, work, travel, and manage their responsibilities continues to evolve.
The boundaries between personal and professional support are increasingly fluid. Technology is changing how administrative work gets done. Expectations around communication, leadership, and workplace relationships are evolving as well.
And families may benefit from considering whether their existing staffing approach still reflects how their household functions today.
A longstanding relationship with a recruiter can be valuable.
So can a fresh conversation about the structure, responsibilities, and interpersonal dynamics behind a position.
Experience and fresh thinking aren't competing ideas. The strongest approach can make room for both.
That's the opportunity I see for AW Strategies.
Not to disregard the traditions of private service, but to bring an operationally informed, people-centered perspective to how families build and maintain their support teams.
Placement Shouldn't End With a Signed Offer
Another belief that shapes my approach is that a successful placement isn't defined solely by whether a candidate accepts the position.
The working relationship is only beginning.
Even when expectations are thoughtfully discussed beforehand, the first several weeks can reveal opportunities for clarification.
A principal may realize certain responsibilities need to be adjusted.
A candidate may need additional context about communication preferences.
The household may discover that an onboarding process or reporting structure could be improved.
These aren't necessarily signs of a poor hire.
They're often part of bringing a new person into an established environment.
That's why AW Strategies provides 90 days of post-placement support, helping clients and candidates navigate communication, expectations, and the transition into the role.
I believe candidate advocacy matters here, too.
Families deserve qualified, trustworthy professionals who understand their responsibilities.
Candidates deserve honest expectations, professional respect, and the information they need to succeed.
Those interests are not in opposition.
In a well-designed working relationship, they reinforce one another.
A More Thoughtful Way to Build Household Support
My philosophy is relatively simple.
Start by understanding the environment.
Look beyond the job title.
Evaluate experience, but also consider emotional intelligence, discretion, adaptability, and professional judgment.
Establish clear expectations for both sides.
And remain invested in the relationship after the placement.
I don't believe every household needs a large staff, a complicated management structure, or another employee simply because life has become busy.
I believe families need the right support, thoughtfully placed.
Sometimes that means introducing an exceptional professional.
Sometimes it means helping clarify what the household actually needs before beginning the search.
Either way, the goal is the same: support that makes life function more smoothly without requiring the family to manage every detail behind it.
The best placement isn't necessarily the candidate with the most impressive résumé. It's the professional whose experience, judgment, and working style align with the life they're being hired to support.
And that's a conversation worth having before the search begins.
A Fresh Perspective on Private Staffing
Whether you're hiring household staff for the first time, expanding an established team, or reconsidering how your current support is structured, AW Strategies offers a thoughtful approach informed by operational expertise and an understanding of private service.
We support private families, family offices, founders, and executives with private staffing, operations, and advisory services.
Start with a complimentary staffing consultation.
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