Since I founded my Kennedy Care in 2003 I have done hundreds and hundreds of interviews. One of the many indicators of a quality caregiver is one’s ability to ask questions in order to get a better understanding of the situation. If you are doing a phone or in-person interview with a potential caregiver, think about how important is for this potential caregiver to get to the bottom of what your family’s situation is…they need to know exactly what is going on in your life so that they can formulate an approach to meeting your needs. If they simply let you explain your situation and what you are struggling with and their reply is “how much am I going to get paid” or even silence on the other end. How many small facets about your dilemma are they missing and do they even care what they are?
So look for which questions are being asked of you about the position and also look for little statements of compassion. When my Mom (who meant the world to me) was sick with stage 4 lung cancer, I would often tell potential caregivers for Kennedy Care about what my family was dealing with, how hard it was for me personally, and then maybe ask them to remember her in their prayers if they felt called to think of her. If someone could hear about their potential boss’ personal pain and not respond with the utmost compassion, how could I hire them for a position caring for the clients that we entrust to them?
It almost sounds like a trick I was pulling on them, but really I wanted to recruit more prayers for my Mom’s health than anything but I also wanted to see how in tune this individual was with identifying/sympathizing with me.
If someone hears you explain that your parent has been in and out of rehabilitation centers at nursing homes, hospitals, etc and that they have a long list of chronic health conditions and still says nothing, not even an “I’m so sorry to hear that” then pass them up and interview the next candidate. There are a lot of caregivers who would love to work with you and you need to be picky. Look for the little things during interviews…
Tips For Interviewing Caregivers
Comments
The biggest problem with home health workers, is that most are not trained, and do not have any idea what to do other than feed, bathe, and clothe the patient. Pay the extra money, hire trained people, and spend the money on the background check, take it out of their first paycheck, and give them a copy.There are alot of bad people out there, check with the State you live in if they have a License, and make sure no complaints filed in the past, and make sure License if current, if they have one, and most important do not leave them alone all the time, stop in unexpectedly and see what is going on at different times of the day!Also 1099 workers for the tax break, this will weed out the cash only workers, who are usually hiding from something, look in to Veteran's susidized money for help with the homecare or nursing home care as well, the money is out there to get help, if you know where to start.Good Luck, Cheryl Falabella
