This article was written by a guest contributor, John Trompeter, the owner/operator of ComForCare of Wheaton, IL.
Everyone knows that the quality of a caregiving agency rests on its caregivers. After 13 years in home care work, we have honed our hiring system to find two specific qualities in candidates.
Here is how we do it.
First, the candidate meets in a circle with three or four of our staff members. We ask all the typical questions. I’ll admit, these candidates know the right strings to pull — they explain that they took care of their live-in grandmother. But many times this isn’t true. It was not them, but their mother, for example, that fulfilled this need.
Sometimes a candidate’s real interest is just to find any job to pay a bill. That’s not good.
We’ve learned that the biggest sin is apathy, and we can’t have that. It’s dreadfully insulting to a senior.
The real proof of the pudding comes in the one-on-one meetings we hold between each staff member and the candidate. We are looking for an authentic sense of empathy and willingness on their part to care for our elderly clients.
We discover this when the applicant opens up with at least one staff member in their one-on-one meetings. They must show a real sense of compassion for those in need. If they were shy at the group level, they often feel more at ease with one staff member. You can’t fake this. We know when it’s real.
They might be an introvert, but in this service, an introvert usually makes a better worker than an extrovert.
Secondly, we want them to have some ambition for where their life is heading. Maybe it’s going to college or moving on to another career. We understand that caregiving isn’t a lifelong career for most. But the applicant must show some internal drive that makes them get up in the morning.
Such qualities take time to develop in a person. That’s why we find ourselves hiring people who have grown out of their 20s and matured a bit.
I can teach anyone the practical skills of caregiving. But what we’re looking for is a certain grace, an inner drive that they bring to the job. That bodes well for all parties involved.
By John Trompeter Owner/Operator, ComForCare of Wheaton