If you have applied for a home care job, and you’ve received a call scheduling your interview, you’ll certainly be excited about the prospect of starting a new job. Yet prior preparation for the interview is crucial if you want to be as successful as possible. This is why we’ve prepared a short guide of home care assistant interview questions and the intended purpose of those questions to help ensure you’re as prepared as possible. This is not a guarantee that you’ll get the job. However, the better prepared you are, the better your chances of getting hired. So, without further ado, let’s explore some of the most common home care interview questions below.
Interview questions for a health care assistant
When you apply for home care jobs, and once hired, you’ll be performing an important community service. You’ll also be a part of a wider network of home carers with whom you can share experiences, knowledge and insights. Home carers come from all walks of life and can range from someone just out of school to someone in their later years of life. However, and despite this, you should ensure that you’re ready for the interview as far as possible. Here are some common interview questions you might be asked.
1. Why do you want to be a healthcare assistant?
The purpose of this question is to determine your knowledge of the healthcare industry and to explore your personal qualities and characteristics to ensure you’re fit for the role.
2. What is it that attracted you to this position?
Here, your interviewer will likely be looking to match the position’s responsibilities to your character and personal qualities. For example, if you’re an empathetic, caring and compassionate person, this will put you in good stead for the job.
3. What relevant experience do you have regarding this position?
Although prior experience is not always necessary for a home care job, and training is often provided by your employer, here, you’ll want to talk about your qualities, skills and experience which you can bring to the role.
4. Discuss your ability to work under pressure.
With this question, the interviewer wants to know how you’ll cope under pressure. This is essential in a care job because no two days will be the same and neither will the patients. Here, consider using the acronym “STAR” to help guide your answers. “S” stands for “situation”, “T” stands for “task”, “A” stands for “action” and “R” stands for “result”. You’ll want to think about where and how the situation occurred? What you had to do during the situation? What steps or actions you actually took and what the final outcome was.
5. What is the biggest challenge that you foresee?
This question tests your knowledge of the industry and the day-to-day work as a home care provider. You’ll be expected to know about various health conditions and their potential consequences on interpersonal communication as well as what other challenges may arise as a result of these.
6. What is your understanding of confidentiality?
Confidentiality of medical records and data, names, telephone numbers, addresses, etc. is going to be a crucial aspect of your job. You should know that you should not share this information with anyone else apart from your employer or when that information has been requested from you in writing. A further related question you may be asked is related to safeguarding policies, which consist of the 5Rs: Recognise, Respond, Report, Record, and Refer.
7. Are you aware of what person-centred care is?
Person-centred care involves the patient in their own care plan. It’s not a matter of telling them what to do or how to do it. It’s a matter of engaging them in the process so that they do not feel excluded and so that they reach out to you for assistance when necessary. It also involves helping to maintain their dignity and respect while providing care to them.
8. Please provide an example of a time you went out of your way to help someone.
The purpose of this question is to determine how you use your initiative in difficult situations as well as to see your attitude towards helping others in need.
9. How would you respond to a patient’s emergency?
From a patient who is confused or upset to someone who is having a heart attack – you need to be prepared for all eventualities. Knowing the right procedures and protocols to follow in such cases as well as what your state of mind should be (calm, ideally) will help your future employer assess your suitability.
10. Do you have any questions?
This is your chance to ask the interviewer any questions you may have. These may range from questions about the training process involved, to the patients you’ll be working with or even what type of support you may need to rely on in the event of an emergency situation.
Apply for a home care job today!
A home care job can be particularly rewarding and the interview process is the first step to getting hired. If you are applying for domiciliary care jobs, why not send your resume to us at Walfinch? We offer our carers comprehensive support and training so that they’re as well-prepared for the role as possible. Meanwhile, you’ll have a network of carers to connect with to share experiences and insights. All it takes is reaching out to us! So, go on and don’t hesitate. Apply for a home care job with us at Walfinch.
