Whether you already have a living space and need a roommate, or are looking for both, roommate finding services supply a wealth of information to connect you with the best match. Like a free person finder or an apartment finder, roommate finders provide detailed profiles of potential matches.
To ensure the best match, though, it is important to go beyond personal profiles listed in roommate finders when considering a possible roommate. Profiles are a good means of initial evaluation, but when it comes down to it, the best way to judge your compatibility with a potential roomie is through an interview.
Interviewing potential roommates can be a fairly straightforward process, and provide a good indication whether or not living together could work out. While there are standard topics to cover when interviewing potential roommates, also pay attention to information that is not provided through conversation.
A face-to-face or phone interview provides a more detailed picture of a potential roomie than possible through a roommate finder profile. There are nuts-and-bolts basics to cover, like their ability to afford sharing the rent or mortgage, but when interviewing potential roommates, you also want to get to know them a bit. To keep the conversation moving, ask both open-ended and yes-or-no questions. The idea is establish rapport, get to know the person and get a feeling if you may be compatible.
Things to ask include :
In addition to topics covered in your conversation, you should pay attention to things that are not said. It is possible to get a “big picture” view of who a potential roommate really is by considering this information as well.
Things to note include :