Cleaning and site upkeep in schools, care homes and public buildings.
Reliability is what they are buying, so lead with it: you turn up, you work unsupervised, you take pride in a site looking right. If the hours suit your life, say so, because employers want someone who will stay. Add one thing about the setting, for example that you like working in a school or that you have worked to infection control standards in a care home.
Show a system rather than panic. Do the high risk and high traffic areas first: toilets, kitchens, touch points such as door handles and handrails, then anything that is a slip or trip hazard. Work in one direction so you do not go over the same ground, top down and dry to wet. Finish by saying you would tell the site manager what you could not get to rather than leaving them to discover it.
Do not touch it and do not mix chemicals to clear it. Make the area safe with wet floor signs or a barrier, keep people away, and report it to the site manager. If it is body fluids, use the spill kit and PPE and follow the infection control procedure. Naming COSHH and saying you would check the safety data sheet before using any product on it shows you have been trained.
Two things: safety and boundaries. Never leave a trolley, chemicals or equipment unattended where a child can reach them, keep cupboards locked, and cordon off wet floors. On boundaries, keep conversations appropriate and public, never be alone with a pupil where you can avoid it, no photos, no social media contact, and report anything that worries you to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Mention your DBS check and that safeguarding is everyone's job.
Caretaking is judged on what you notice. Use STAR with something small and real: a loose handrail, a blocked fire exit, a dripping tap, a light out in a stairwell. Say who you told and how you logged it, and finish with the result. Fire exits and trip hazards are especially good because they show you think about risk.
Give the specifics: use the product as supplied and dosed, never decant into an unlabelled bottle, never mix products, wear the right PPE, check the safety data sheet, and store everything locked away. Add equipment: check leads and plugs before use, do not use faulty kit, and report it. Naming COSHH, PAT testing and manual handling shows you know the language of the job.
Keep it simple and unambiguous. You do not pocket it, you do not move it further than you must, and you hand it in to the office or site manager and log it. In a care home or school this is a trust question as much as a rules question, so a short, clear answer is stronger than a long one.
Say you are comfortable working unsupervised and show how you keep yourself on track: a routine, a checklist, a set order for the site. Then cover lone working safety, which many candidates forget: keeping your phone on you, following the sign in and sign out procedure, knowing who to call, and not doing anything at height or heavy on your own that needs two people.
A mock interview asks you these one at a time, marks every answer and shows you a stronger way to say it.
Practise for Cleaner and Caretaker