Writing a Caregiver Ad

[tracy-odell]

If I am advertising online, I provide a fair amount of detail so people can self select out. It saves time. I will include the specific hours available, the starting rate, and general range of duties like housekeeping, personal care. I add that I will train them, which I do because I have them working alongside one of my other attendants from one shift to watch, and another 2 to 4 shifts to do it on their own with the other attendant available. My ad states that there are no “cash” arrangements. Their pay is over the table because I have to account for the money spent to the funder. I request that they send a resume and I provide my email address, but not my phone number.

In a newspaper ad, I don’t give much detail at all because it is expensive – a two line want ad is about CA $200. I include a phone number that they can reach me for more information.

Sometimes I have to re-advertise two or three times in a row before I get quality responses.

The shortage of PSWs seems to be a growing trend, probably due to the increasing demographics of people getting older and the demand for PSWs both in the community and in nursing homes. Nursing homes tend to pay higher wages, and sometimes can offer benefits if it is a full-time job which I cannot do with my grant when hiring people for one or two hours at a time throughout the day/evening.

In Ontario, we share our contact information with each other, and so we can reach out to folks who are living in our part of the city/province for word-of-mouth recommendations.

Sometimes I find the right person by word-of-mouth, and sometimes through one of the advertising methods. So I keep everything on the table.

Some people have found it helpful to make a poster and put it up at a grocery store bulletin board or at a college or university. There are several PSW schools that I could also reach out to. But I have not made use of these methods to date.

Good luck with your recruiting!

[deann-r]

I struggle as well, so not sure how helpful my advice would be. In an ad I try to be honest but not get into the real nitty gritty until I talk to the person. Usually I just say needs assistance with personal cares. Since I use a hoyer lift I usually mention that too. To attract more qualified individuals I usually say CNA experience beneficial but not required. Although these days even that’s hard to come by. Somewhere I try to sneak in the words “personable” and “reliable” but again doesn’t always help. I’ve never had luck with newspaper ads. Or I should say I’ve gotten some interesting candidates that way. I’ve had better luck with social media and like Tracy mentioned posting at the community college.

[alyssa-silva]

Yeah, I’m thinking newspaper ads aren’t the way to go. I tried that once years ago and it didn’t go well. I was in college and wanted someone close-ish to my age, so I stated an age range in the ad. A woman in her 70’s reached out saying she was young at heart and wanted to apply haha. I felt so bad turning her down. She was one of many from that ad.

This is such great advice though. Thank you!

[Deleted User]

In my experience, and knowing that I would prefer to hire a caregiver directly rather than use an agency furnished one, I have found that more detail works better than less detail. There is a website called Care.com that is not an agency, but rather a referral service for caregivers. The cost for joining is modest, and cancelable at anytime. Using the ad which follows, I received many many useless applications, and several applications from people who would be perfect for the job, one of whom I have already hired. Here is my posted advertisement:
“Hands-on Care Needed For Myself In Plano
About who needs care: I am an 82-year-old male full-time wheelchair user with a progressive neuromuscular disease. I need a male or female caregiver/ personal aide to assist with all functions of daily living including bathing toileting eating dressing etc. This job is not for a companion or for someone to help with household duties (other then breakfast preparation) or to run errands. It is to do the necessary functions to get me into bed in the evening assist me with toileting or other possible disturbances that cause me to wake up at night and to get me up bathed dressed and fed breakfast the following morning. The ideal work hours are from midnight until the following 10 a.m. commencing on Thursday at midnight and continuing thereafter on Friday and Saturday ending at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. That is a total of 30 hours weekly. I have the devices needed to transfer from my wheelchair to my bed and vice versa without having to physically lift me. For a person with the right caring attitude and who is not squeamish about assisting another person with bathing and toileting and at least average adult strength the job requires no actual experience as all as the skills needed can be easily taught. Applicant must speak English fluently, have his or her own car, be a non-smoker and have been fully vaccinated against Covid 19 and willing to take annual flu shots and Covid booster shots if necessary.”
Your detail will be quite different, but mine help me separate the wheat from the chaff, and find what I believe will be the perfect person.