- Why Do You Want to Be a Caregiver?
- What Skills Make for a Great Caregiver?
- How Do You Deal With Patients Who Refuse to Bathe, Eat Their Meals, or Take Their Medicine?
- Do You Have Experience Working with Patients Who Have Alzheimer’s, Dementia, Parkinson’s, or Another Chronic Illness?
Caregiver Interview Questions and Answers – Most Commonly Asked!
For Hiring or Choosing a Caregiver: Why You Should Interview a Caregiver
Choosing a caregiver for your loved one is an important decision, which is why interviewing potential candidates is a must. You’ll want a well rounded idea of the person caring for your loved one. This means that asking questions about their personality, credentials, and knowledge are important to cover.
Below, we’ll break down the types of questions you should ask potential candidates and the desired takeaways from each.
The point of interview questions for caregivers like these are to see the type of person you are. Especially if the interviewer is a family member, they’ll spend time on questions like these to see if you’ll get along well with their loved one. A significant part of the caregiving experience is the companionship you form with your clients, so a family member may inquire about your hobbies, likes and dislikes, interests, and more to gauge characteristics like emotional stability, intelligence, and much more.
- Do you tend to be more quiet or talkative?
- What do you find rewarding about being a caregiver?
- Why did you decide to become a professional caregiver?
- What kind of hobbies or interests do you have?
Experience-based questions are a standard part of any interview meant to answer the question, “can you do the job?” While it should go without saying, caregiving experience with seniors will be very helpful in this process. That said, interviewers also look for personality traits, abilities, and more that relate to the position.
- What is your experience working with seniors?
- What is one of the biggest lessons you learned from your past jobs?
- Do you have an experience to share about being reprimanded? How did you work through the correction or constructive criticism?
Interview questions related to your skills as a caregiver and credentials should be expected for any caregiving position. Some home care agencies, like JEVS Care at Home, strive for a higher standard of care which means more training, and a willingness to pursue that training. In addition, these skills are important for whomever is hiring you to see if you’re qualified to care for their loved one or client.
- What do you think are important skills for a caregiver to have?
- Do you have CPR or First Aid training?
- Do you have any experience working with Alzheimer’s and Dementia clients?
- What is your experience in cooking for clients? What types of food can you cook?
Hypothetical questions are more than likely going to be the longest part of a caregiving interview. This is because these questions make you draw upon past experiences to answer them. As a caregiver, your goal should be to convey your ability to react in unique scenarios, your ability to remain objective under pressure, and have the ability to think on the spot.
A potential caregiver agency or loved one gauges these abilities, while seeing how your thought process works. Caregiving requires compassion and creativity to work through difficult situations. As a loved one, these questions are vital to seeing how a caregiver will interact with your loved one. Ultimately, the care of your loved one is of the utmost importance, so we stress that you spend a good time getting a good feel for all of your caregiver candidates.
- What would you do if your client refuses to take their medication?
- How would you handle a client yelling at you?
- What would you do if your shift ends, and your replacement hasn’t arrived yet?
- Describe the type of caregiver you would want to take care of your loved one. What type of traits would they have?
Interview Questions to Uncover Relevant Past Experiences
Some candidates will have extensive caregiver experience, while others may be applying from another field. Regardless of their background, it’s critical to assess candidates carefully.
1. How do your skills relate to this job?
A candidate who doesn’t have direct experience as a home health care worker should articulate how their experience in other positions relate to caregiving. Candidates may be coming from a childcare or an educational background, which might include plenty of overlapping experiences, while other fields may not.
2. What was the hardest or easiest part about leaving your last position?
Make sure your candidates aren’t looking for a new role because of a poor performance at a previous job. Applicants should be able to talk about positive experiences from their previous roles that were hard to walk away from. However, not all candidates will have positive prior experiences; if this is the case, make sure they can explain why.
3. What makes you a good caregiver?
The best caregiver interview questions will ask for examples of multiple qualities, but most of all, candidates need to have compassion for the people they’re looking after. Attention to detail is also imperative when administering medications or feeding those with special dietary requirements.
4. What is your biggest struggle when caring for seniors, or what do you think it will be, and how do you, or would you overcome that?
Caregivers run into an array of challenges. Whether someone doesn’t want to eat, sleep, or take their medication, there are often daily struggles in a care home. A good candidate will provide examples of challenges they’ve successfully navigated.
5. What are your proudest achievements professionally and personally?
While the answer to this question may vary widely, keep in mind that a great candidate will have a few achievements they’re proud of, and they may not necessarily be technical accomplishments like gaining certifications. Many will remember the personal connections they’ve made or their ability to persevere through stressful conditions.
Additional experienced-based interview questions:6. What types of diagnoses have you cared for?
7. What type of disabilities have you cared for in the past?
8. What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned from your past jobs that has stuck with you?
For Caregivers: Preparing for an Interview
If you’re preparing to take on a new client, more than likely you’ll need to interview with either a home care agency, like JEVS Care at Home, or directly with a loved one of the client. While your credentials will be a significant aspect of the interview, expect hypothetical questions and questions related to your experience.
