Interview tips: 10 questions to ask a future carer

Finding the right carer can be a long process. But since it's so important to your overall health and wellbeing, you should try not to take any shortcuts. 

One way to make the process a bit easier is to come up with some questions to ask during the interview. By preparing in advance, you'll be able to get the conversation started while making sure you find out the essential facts about your future carer.  

Interview basics 

Here are 10 suggested questions that can help you get started: 

1. Where are you from? 
2. How long have you been working in care? 
3. What experience do you have? 
4. What certification or training do you have? 
5. What are your interests? 
6. Do you like talking? 
7. Do you smoke? 
8. If your client is not well (or if there is an emergency), what would you do? 
9. Do you know how to cook? 
10. Do you drive? If so, how long have you been driving? 

Additional resources

The following links may provide ideas for more questions for you to ask:

• Choosing care: Interview questions for hiring a paid carer 
• Employing personal assistants: A toolkit to help you employ your own personal assistants 
• Four questions to ask a new live-in carer to start building a relationship 
• What questions should I ask a homecare provider?

It is really helpful to get a lot of information about the people who apply—before you narrow down your choices. Try to pick a couple of people, and then decide who is the right person for the job based on how the candidate answers your questions—and how well you connect during the process.

Visit our Homecare services overview for more guidance on this topic.