Why hire a caregiver?

The right Caregiver can be a great addition to your team. Their experience working closely and at a personal level with patients means they can give the best possible care to your client. Additionally, their training in administering medication and maintaining hygiene will ensure your patient is healthy and happy.

Contributions of a great caregiver:

• Trained in dispensing medication
• Knowledgeable in best practices for patient care
• Detailed patient support

Deciding between a full-time vs. freelance caregiver

When looking for a caregiver, first consider whether to use an agency or hire a private freelance caregiver directly.

Caregiver options include home care agencies and independent freelancers. The hiring process is simplified when using an agency. The agency employs the caregivers and acts as an intermediary between staff and the families who contract their services. Agency caregivers are more expensive than independent caregivers, but liability insurance is included. Available backup staffing is another benefit of hiring a caregiver from an agency.

Freelance caregivers may work exclusively for individual clients or provide part-time services to multiple families. When hiring, be sure to discuss those details with potential candidates. Private caregivers offer more support services than agency options. They may also be more flexible with scheduling and work shift hours. Finally, hiring a freelancer saves about 20% to 30% over agency caregiver services.

What are the types of caregiver?

When searching for a caregiver, it’s important to define the range of services, training, education and experience required. Agencies identify the different services they provide and the skill levels of their caregivers, like skilled nursing care. Independent caregivers commonly offer a wider range of services that may be tailored to the needs of their individual clients.

• Personal caregivers: Personal caregivers assist individuals with grooming, bathing, food preparation, light cleaning, transportation and other activities of daily living. This may be helpful for seniors, people with disabilities and individuals with chronic health concerns that make these tasks difficult to perform without help.
• Companion caregivers: Companion caregiving is similar to personal caregiving, and the services often overlap. However, companion caregivers don’t provide services that require physical assistance. 
• Home health caregivers: Medical professionals, like nurses, physical therapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists and home health aides, can be home health caregivers. These caregivers may provide short-term or long-term services.
• Virtual caregivers: This is an evolving category addressing services offered via telecommunication. It can help supplement other caregiving services and give family caregivers short respites from caring for their loved ones.

Where to find caregivers

To find the right Caregiver for your needs, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Referrals: Ask friends, neighbors, family members and coworkers for caregiver recommendations. If they aren’t using caregiving services, ask them if they know anyone who is and if they’re happy with their care provider.
• Medical organizations: Review the websites of local hospitals, health clinics, hospice organizations and other medical groups for caregiver resources.
• Senior agencies: Reach out to senior centers and your Area Agency on Aging. They may be able to connect you with potential caregivers or put the word out that you’re looking.
• Caregiving agencies: Search for local agencies that provide in-home care services. Contact them to review possible options.
• Post your job online: Try posting your caregiver job on Indeed to find and attract quality caregiver candidates.

Skills to look for in a great Caregiver

A great caregiver candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• Patient personal care experience
• Medical care training
• Experience administering medication
• Positive attitude
• Flexibility/Adaptability
• Team player

Writing a caregiver job description

A thoughtful description is important to finding qualified caregiver candidates. A caregiver job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your caregiver job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on caregiver jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Caregiver
• Hiring immediately
• Assisted living
• In-home caregiver
• Nursing home
• Senior living
• Overnight
• Home health aide
• Immediately hiring
• Overnight shift

Interviewing caregiver candidates

Strong candidates for caregiver positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Experience in patient care
• Methods of administering medications
• Relevant certifications and training

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of caregiver interview questions for more examples (with sample answers).