How to Hire a Live in Caregiver

Hiring a live in caregiver can either prove to be the greatest day of your life or the biggest nightmare. Unfortunately we never really know someone until we live with them. Hiring the right caregiver depends a lot on references and good intuitions. Because you can never be 100 percent certain of your choice, begin by following a few steps and you'll be a little closer to certainty than if you just open up the Yellow Pages. Read on to learn how to hire a live in caregiver.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• References
• Care-giving agency
• Advertisements
• Application
• List of questions

1. Place an ad in your local paper looking for a live in caregiver. List as many details as possible; who will need the care, salary, type of room available, house rules and other important factors.
2. Check with local live in caregiver agencies who specialize in pre-screening applicants for hire. These caregivers are already interviewed and accepted by the agency for the clients they accommodate.
3. Ask standard questions of all candidates. Require certain documents including an application. Conduct your interview at a table not a couch. Keep it impersonal. Use the second interviews for establishing deeper relationships. The initial contact must be kept professional.
4. Get references, but since we know anyone can falsify references, get a list of past residences, past phone numbers and past employers. A person who has a long history at one residence or one job shows greater stability.
5. Always ask the candidate inquiring about the job, "Why should I hire you?" And keep notes. Sometimes these on-the-spot answers tell a lot about a person. Keeping notes will help you connect the answers to the right person later on.
6. Hire someone with medical experience if your loved one is elderly. Hire a caregiver who has childcare experience if you are a mother looking for a nanny. Make sure the live in caregiver has experience for the type of care they will be giving.

Tips & Warnings

• Make sure you feel comfortable with the person you hire. You will be living with that person. If it takes a few interviews to find the caregiver you mesh with well, then conduct several interviews.
• Since you will be living with the person providing care in your home, make sure you are compatible. It doesn't matter how great they are with your mother, if they don't get along with you, then find someone else.
• Unfortunately, no matter who you hire, there is no guarantee. As nice and cordial a person may seem, people can be deceptive. Always beware. Never be to sure. Confidence and complacency can be a disaster. Although many people can be trusted, it's just safer not to trust to soon. After a person has proved his or her good qualities, you can relax and be grateful that you were a success in hiring a live in caregiver.