16 Oct Tips on how to interview for better wages in the home healthcare field
The home health care field is, at times, notorious for low wages, inconsistent work and a lack of upward mobility. The average wage for a home health aide is $10.87 per hour and the number of experience years does not always translate to a higher earning. The upside to this is that these are averages and in many cases, the high end of the market is willing to pay a massive premium for better service. Read on to explore some easy interview tips which will help you to start climbing out of the minimum wage rut and earn more for your experience, knowledge and dedication.
Dedication
One of the biggest detriments to employers in the home health care space is ‘churn’ or turnover. Turnover in staffing is expensive and leaves the employer bearing the cost of frequently recruiting applicants, interviewing, training and paperwork processing. When a candidate who shows great promise and staying power comes along throughout the recruiting process, hiring managers will often go the extra mile to accommodate their hiring needs.
In your next interview, share what you value in an employer and in your job assignments. Think outside of just the paycheck. What else motivates you to stay with one employer?
Many people value good communication with ‘the office’, a management team that listens, and fair working conditions. Articulating what you value will give greater insight into you as an employee and will go a long way towards helping the employer decide if they can easily meet those needs.
Another great way to demonstrate dedication is to highlight longer work assignments. Even if these have been noted on your resume, take the opportunity to re-emphasize these in your interview. This will prove to the hiring manager that you are reliable and willing to dedicate your time and talents long-term. Come prepared and be ready to rattle off some impressive information like:
- The number of jobs you’ve worked through with one employer, number of hours worked with one client.
- The number of unplanned leave requests you needed in the last year or six months.
- A letter of reference attesting to you as a reliable care provider
If an employer can rely on you to show up consistently, on time and deliver great service it often justifies paying a premium and is less expensive than the significant number of dollars that are spent covering for unexpected leave, lateness and premature resignation.
Expertise
Beyond certifications, employers want to know that you have developed an expertise in certain areas of the job. If a job requires care to be given to a dementia patient, discuss what you have studied, read and experienced when working with these patients. Likewise for diabetics; discuss how prepared meals for a client with Diabetes and what kind of activities you conducted. Mention articles, classes or trainings you have participated in to show that you have are consistent in keeping up with your education and dedicated to providing five star care.
When in doubt about the condition of the client you will be caring for, mention any areas of interest or an extra skill that you have. The point is to demonstrate that you went the extra mile to learn about it and you will do the same in the next case you are assigned.
Passion
Show that you are passionate about what you do and that this is not just a job. Talk about your experience with the people you cared for in the past. Explain why you love your job and what it is about this job that you are passionate about. Employers need to impress clients if they are going to charge them more than a minimum fee (and therefore have enough to pay you more than a minimum wage).
Interests
Share your interests and hobbies in your interview. A great home care agency that is able to charge more for their services will seek to match clients with caregivers who have shared interests. Having someone the client can relate to, talk to and befriend will increase customer satisfaction, improve the reputation of the home care agency and open the door for the agency and their employees to start charging more than the minimum.
Take some notes before your next interview and be sure to touch on the points above. If you don’t think you have enough to build on, start reading articles about common home health care clinical topics, participate in online classes and practice talking about conditions like dementia, wound care, congestive heart failure, diabetes, etc.