Working as a caregiver is a rewarding career path. Finding a place you love to work or a person you enjoy caring for can be easy to find your career in plateau mode. There are also so many careers within caregiving, and it can be hard to know which path you should continue down that’ll make you happiest and feel most fulfilled. To provide some clarity on how to take the next step in advancing your home care career, find more joy in your work and even ask for a raise, we’ve asked seasoned professionals in the field to share their best advice.
Best tips for advancing your home care career
1. Know that you don’t have to settle
“Right now, there are countless opportunities for professional caregivers, and you don’t have to settle for an experience that won’t help move you forward. A good job in caregiving is one where you give of yourself and get back. When interviewing, it’s important to make your desire for a professional path and guidance known.” – Jennifer L. FitzPatrick, a licensed and certified clinical social worker who has 30+ years in caregiving from Kent Island, Maryland
2. Stick with it
“In order to get great at something, you need to practice repetition. Give the effort, and the skill will come. Disqualifiers in this industry are disengagement, short stays with employers or the inability to correct your negative mental soundtracks. The keys to advancing your career are to remain engaged, initiate self-care, and commit to self-growth in order to improve your skill to do difficult things with ease.” — Angela Stewart, Vice President of Clinical Services for Touchmark, a senior caregiver for 20+ years
3. Always look for new opportunities to advance your skills
“Continued education for senior caregivers is so important and will help set you apart from other candidates as you advance your career. Make it a point to seek out conferences to attend for senior caregivers and continue reading and learning about new advancements in senior caregiving. You can ask your current employer if they’ll financially support your continued learning. You’d be surprised how many organizations want to retain their best caregivers and are willing to pay for conference fees, online certifications and courses, etc.” — Sylvia C., a certified home health aide with 10+ years experience based in New Jersey
4. Start where you are
“If you have little experience and you want to get started, look at your local community college. They will have classes to get you started, often at a lower cost. You can apply for a job as a home health aide, and often the company will train you and help you get on the home health aide registry. If you start working in a facility like a nursing home in the dietary or environmental services, if you express an interest in becoming a nursing assistant, your company may pay for your training. The important thing is to get started.” — Tina M. Baxter, a board-certified gerontological nurse practitioner with over 20 years of experience in Anderson, Indiana
5. Set and hold boundaries
“I’ve seen so many talented, empathetic caregivers leave the field because they didn’t know how to establish boundaries with their employers. Senior caregiving facilities are understaffed everywhere, and employers will try to squeeze as many hours as they can in order to fill the gaps. Know when to say no to picking up another shift or staying later than you anticipated, and you’ll be able to continue working in this field for longer.” — Alfie K., a certified home health aide with over 20+ years of experience based in New York
6. Always look for new opportunities to advance your skills
“Continued education for senior caregivers is so important and will help set you apart from other candidates as you advance your career. Make it a point to seek out conferences to attend for senior caregivers and continue reading and learning about new advancements in senior caregiving. You can ask your current employer if they’ll financially support your continued learning. You’d be surprised how many organizations want to retain their best caregivers and are willing to pay for conference fees, online certifications and courses, etc.” — Sylvia C.
7. Don’t compare yourself to others
“Be your best self and bring your gifts to the table. They are needed. Remember, every business that was created was built due to a need. What need are you seeing that you want to fill?” — Lori La Bey, senior dementia caregiver and founder of Alzheimer’s Speaks, based in Roseville, Minnesota
Best tips for asking for a raise
8. Make it professional, not personal
“Never discuss why you personally need or want the money. Talk about your contributions: dependability, mentions in social media and survey reviews by patients, residents and families. Discuss the value you bring to the table.” — Jennifer L. FitzPatrick
9. Consider asking for different benefits
“Early in my career, I worked for a family who were in a tough spot financially. I knew they couldn’t afford to pay me moreI enjoyed the work I did and didn’t want to make a move, but I needed more flexibility in order to also make ends meet. I asked the family what they could offer in terms of a more flexible schedule and additional vacation days. I was able to pick up more work at a senior care facility nearby thanks to this, which led me to my next job.” — Sylvia C.
10. Leverage your credentials
“Depending on your certification, you may now offer a level of care that very few other professionals (or none in your area) provide. Your employer may be more swayed toward granting a raise if you have an accredited reason behind your request.” — Nancy Mitchell, registered nurse with over 37 years’ experience as a director of geriatric care, in Atlanta, Georgia
11. Emphasize new skills
“As you learn new skills, this can be used to negotiate higher pay or more benefits. It will [also] help you to be prepared when a new opportunity comes along. For example, you learn to be a medication aide, and now you may have an opportunity to not only get a pay bump, but perhaps you may change to a better shift or ask to further your education.” — Tina M. Baxter
12. Time your request right
“If you plan to ask for a raise, it’s important to set aside time with your manager away from the residents or person you care for, and let them know ahead of time what the discussion will be about. No one likes to be blindsided, and your manager will appreciate being able to come to the discussion prepared and informed. Also, don’t expect an answer right away. Let them know you understand they’ll need some time to work on this, and set a date to revisit the conversation.” — Alfie K.
13. Start working on the raise before asking for it
“When asking for a raise, I think the work needs to start way before the actual review. I believe you have to establish not only your work ethic (like showing up on time and getting your assigned responsibilities done), but also how and why you complete these tasks. The way you do your job is important. Being a compassionate person, one who is engaging not only with those they are caring for, but the team they work with. When it is time for that raise, your boss will have seen and heard about your good work.” — Lori La Bey
Best tips for finding more joy in your work
14. Focus on the small wins
“Perhaps there’s a [client] who is ‘always difficult,’ but you got them to smile today. Remember that every interaction you have is an opportunity to reduce their stress or increase their stress. That’s a lot of power.” —Jennifer L. FitzPatrick
15. Accept the hardships
“It’s important to intentionally put on joy, then find personal methods to maintain your joy in order for it to remain. This occurs through gratitude, living in the moment, not sweating the minors, finding the humor often and balancing work, rest, and play. Joy will be found where you invest wholeheartedly. Not all things will be positive as a caregiver. Accepting hardships and moving onward from disappointments is the key to compassion and resilience. Compassion resilience is built from leaning into change that comes from challenges.” —Angela Stewart
16. Enjoy the stories you’re told
“Take joy in the enriching stories your patients will share with you on the job. Seniors are some of the most open people you will ever meet. They love sharing their life experiences. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn from them. Being a caregiver is personally rewarding in that you walk away with memories of the wonderful people you’ve cared for and the meaningful lessons they’ve taught you.” —Nancy Mitchell
