Whether you’re hiring a home health aide to care for your elderly mother in her flat or you’re looking to hire a caregiver to work for your small aged care business, the way that you phrase your job posting can affect how successful you’ll be at finding the right person for the position.
People who respond to your job posting will decide whether or not they’re a good fit for the position based on the way you’ve described the job. The more details you can provide about what you’re seeking in a caregiver, the more likely you’ll be to find someone who has all of the qualities that are important to you.
Being specific enhances the likelihood of you finding employees that are a good match. If it scares anyone off, then it means they probably weren’t a good match for the job.
Before you submit your aged care job posting, make sure that it includes all of these details.
A descriptive caregiver job title
The job title stands out in a job posting, and it quickly summarises exactly what you’re looking for. To weed out candidates who wouldn’t be right for the job, be as specific as possible when you give the job a name.
Say things like “part-time” or “full-time” in your job title, so that someone who’s only seeking full-time work won’t bother applying for your part-time position.
You should also include requirements that would limit the pool of applicants, such as if you absolutely need someone who is bilingual or who can provide live-in care to your mother.
Even if your job posting is intended to attract a wide range of caregivers, saying something like “at-home care” can let applicants know more about the job before they apply, to ensure a good fit.
A thorough caregiver job summary
Within a short paragraph, you should sum up exactly what you’re seeking in a caregiver. This is the portion of the job posting where you can be more conversational and descriptive, rather than stiff and technical. If you’re seeking someone who’s compassionate or who enjoys engaging the elderly in conversation, you can mention that here. You should also give a broad description of the job itself, but you don’t need to include all of the day-to-day duties here. If you work with a company, use this section to inform applicants about your business.
The best job descriptions are the ones that give insights into the company culture, since this helps the employer to attract employees who would fit in well with the culture.
A list of the caregiver’s responsibilities
This section of the job description is most important because it will spell out exactly what you’re looking for in a candidate. List the different tasks that a caregiver will need to perform while on the job to ensure that the people who apply for the job are qualified for the position.
You need to be upfront about the things that you need. If you need someone to be in your house four days a week who knows CPR and can make a sandwich for your elderly mother, say that.
The more specific you are, the better. If you need someone to help your relative bathe, use the bathroom or get dressed, say so. If you need someone to provide transportation to doctor appointments, cook simple meals or dispense medication at set hours, this is important to mention. If the elderly person you’re seeking care for is socially active and companionship is an important aspect of the job, you should include that here, too.
If you’re eager to get frequent reports about the health and progress of the elderly person who will be cared for, specify that you would like to communicate with the caregiver at set intervals.
Required skills and qualifications
If you want job candidates to possess certain qualifications to get the job, list them out in their own section. For example, if you’re seeking a high school graduate who is certified in CPR and first aid with a current driving licence, you’ll want to say so here.
If you want someone who’s a nurse, or if you want someone who can cook and knows CPR, you have to put it in the description—otherwise it’s a waste of time for both parties.
If you have different tiers of requirements, meaning that some skills and qualifications are negotiable while others are not, you can list them separately within the job posting.
First, list the required qualifications of the job. Then, in a separate section, list the preferred qualifications.
If you choose to make certain qualifications preferred or optional—like light housework, for example—it can help you widen your search. You may end up with a standout caregiver whom you might have missed if you’d made your job description too narrow.
