The in-home care industry will need to fill an estimated 7 million personal care aid, home health aid, and nursing assistant jobs between 2020 and 2030.
As the need for caregiving jobs continues to increase, it becomes all the more important for home care agencies to stand out from the competition in order to attract the best possible candidates for the job, which, in turn, leads to long-term success and growth of the agency.
This may sound obvious, but the first step in accomplishing this goal is to create a caregiver job post that will appeal to those highly-skilled candidates that are not only qualified but also meet your specific needs and requirements. After that, you just need some good interview questions, and that’s it, right? Easier said than done, isn’t it?
So, how do you go about doing this?
Though actual perfection may only be a goal to strive for, here are some tips that will help you create a caregiver job post that will be as close to perfection as possible.
1. Optimize Your Job Title
Your job title can make or break it for potential candidates. After all, it’s the first thing they see and your first opportunity to attract (or deter) job seekers. Here’s where SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for job posting comes in handy.
I know I previously said that it’s necessary to stand out from the competition, but when it comes to your job title, it’s actually preferable to keep your title recognizable and keyword-friendly and to choose simple, searchable titles and phrases.
“Full-Time In-home Caregiver” or “Part-Time Caregiver for Dementia Patient” may seem pretty basic at first glance, but they effectively communicate what is needed and required.
2. Be as Clear as Possible
Being as clear, concise, and specific as possible will increase the likelihood of attracting your ideal candidates. The truth is that most job seekers skim the ad before they properly read it.
That’s why you will want to format it in a way that will make it easy to navigate and clarify whether they are a good match for the position.
You don’t want to scare anyone off by using home care jargon that might confuse, intimidate or convince potential candidates they are not a good fit.
3. Provide a Brief Job Summary
Now that you have piqued their curiosity, it’s time to get the potential candidates to take the time to go beyond scanning your ad to giving it the attention it deserves. Once again, you want to be brief and concise here - a single paragraph will do.
Give a broad job description and list the caregiver’s responsibilities, but don’t include day-to-day duties. Leave that for the in-person interview.
Here is your chance to stand out: be conversational and descriptive. Name some aspects of the job that the candidates may love or those they may find particularly challenging.
Need someone who can cook? Tidy up around the house? Drive a client to appointments? Or maybe someone bilingual? Who will take the client out for walks? This is the place to include it.
4. Don’t Get Hung Up on Experience
Even though you may prefer someone with extensive experience, it’s worth keeping in mind that your ideal candidate may have little to no experience at all!
What you need is someone with qualities that will make them the right fit for you - whether that means having good instincts, right personality, motivation, or ability to diffuse a confrontational situation.
What’s more, many caregivers complete their training once they are already on the job.
That is where online caregiver training can be a lifesaver because caregivers can complete it entirely at their own pace while saving money and time on their commute. Cornerstone’s training programs are 100% online and can work with any schedule, even for someone already employed as a caregiver.
5. Sell Them on the Benefits
Now, this is not just another opportunity to stand out from the competition, it may actually be the crucial section of your ad. In fact, it’s the one on which your ideal candidates are likely to focus their attention.
A particularly useful benefit would be covering the costs of an online caregiver training, which not only serves the interests of the caregiver, but also of the employer and the client.
Another great incentive would be flexibility - finding ways to work around your employee’s schedule, providing holidays or paid time off after a certain amount of hours or days worked.
Everyone loves paid time off, and this option is the right motivating factor for a wide array of job seekers. Or you could cover their commute expenses (gas, bus or train passes, etc.) or provide your own transportation to get them to and from their place of employment comfortably and on time.
6. Give an Overview of Your Company
The final section of your ad should provide a brief overview of your home care agency. However, you don’t want your company to seem generic. So, make sure to research your target audience and then write a summary that speaks clearly and directly to them.
That may include a brief history of the company and its team, its mission and value statements, as well as context to your agency and the position.
You can also include any awards or recognition your company has achieved and select employee or client testimonials in the form of text or short video clips that may be able to reach a candidate in a way that a company “about us” page may not.
Just as importantly, don’t forget to include clear links to the website and to the application page, which will make it easier for them to apply for the position on the spot.
The most important thing about writing a perfect caregiver job post is knowing your audience and speaking directly to them.
Tailor your ad to your company, its values, and the needs and requirements of your applicants and clients. Keeping in mind a potential applicant’s goals and aspirations and appealing to their emotions will always be more effective than appealing to logic and reason.
That appeal could include looking to make a difference in someone’s life, building relationships with people, and being a source of safety and comfort. Ultimately, in the same way, you are looking for the best possible candidate, they are looking for the best possible place of employment.
So, the perfect caregiver job post will convince them that your company is the exact one they’re looking for.