Tips for interviewing a carer

We believe it is essential that you feel as comfortable as possible with bringing a carer or personal assistant into your home. Interviewing a carer before hiring them is a good way to check that someone is the right person for you. 

Before interviewing a potential carer, it is a good idea to prepare your questions to make sure you ask everything you want to and gather all the information you need to make a decision.  

Having read the carer’s profile, you will be aware of their experience, hobbies/interests and their personal statement, but an interview will allow you to delve deeper and find out more about a carer, their experience and personality.  

Here are some tips for interviewing a carer: 

• Interviews can be very nerve-wracking for some people, so try to make the carer feel at ease 

• Avoid asking yes/no questions, try asking something in a way that allows them to give a more detailed answer - how, what, when, why and where are good words with which to start your questions  

• For example, instead of asking ‘Do you have experience with dementia care?’, you can ask ‘What was your experience of caring for someone with dementia like? How did it go?’ 

• Try to discover whether the carer properly understands what matters to you the most 

• Make sure that the carer will be able to meet you or your loved one’s care requirements 

You can always ask for a carer’s references if you think it will help you in an interview, or when making a decision.