Securing a new job is one of those life-changing moments like buying a house or starting a new relationship. The run-up is often a huge challenge that takes careful preparation and plenty of resourcefulness. You may have a thousand questions about how you’ll fit into a new role in homecare and how it might fit with your current commitments. Find out the best strategy to land your dream job with Comfort Keepers. Follow our step-by-step guide through the application process. Applying for Comfort Keepers has never been easier.
Why You Should Choose Comfort Keepers
The first stage starts with having the enthusiasm to follow your chosen career. If you want a job badly enough, you’re well on the way to securing it.
Many of the carers who work for Comfort Keepers applied for their jobs because they felt a genuine calling to the role. They’re people like you who care for others and want to make a positive difference in the lives of those who may be struggling to cope in their own homes. Our carers have a natural talent for empathy.
What makes the carer jobs in Ireland so unique at Comfort Keepers is the training we give all our new recruits. Everyone undergoes a rigorous introductory course. We even provide training for 2 QQI Level 5 modules, Care of the Older Person and Care Skills.
To get the ball rolling, you’re going to need a CV. This is a legal requirement under the recruitment process and applying for Comfort Keepers. It provides us with an initial impression of you, introducing us to any relevant qualifications and experience you may already have under your belt.
Top CV Tips
There are many recruiters out there who claim to have the magic formula for writing a CV. Our advice is to keep it simple and clear. There are a few steps you can take that may help your application get to the top of the pile. Here are a few suggestions:
- Keep your CV to one sheet of A4 or one page of a Word document
- Put your name and contact details at the top of the CV
- Start with your most recent jobs/experiences first and work backward
- Use straightforward and professional language that you would use every day
- After your jobs/experiences put your qualifications from most recent to last
If you’re an ace with a computer, you might want to insert a small photo of yourself at the top of your CV. This is not essential and, if you do add one, go for a picture that’s professional-looking and recent.
If computers are not your thing and you’d prefer to write your CV by hand, that’s fine too. However, a friend or relative may be able to help with the technology. It’s always worth having a few spare copies of your CV if that’s possible.
You don’t need to go into huge detail about what you’ve done. The bare bones will be enough. You can fill us in with examples of your experience when we meet you.
The Interview Process
After applying for Comfort Keepers, a member of our recruitment team will screen your CV and, if you appear to be a good fit, they’ll give you a call. During this initial chat, we’ll want to check your availability and find out a bit about your background.
We’ll need to know when you might be able to start with us and whether you have other commitments that prevent you from working at certain times. Many of our homecare team already have other responsibilities they have to meet in their lives.
This does need to be a deterrent to getting a job with us at all. On the contrary, we have plenty of homecare hours available to fit with almost any lifestyle. We just need to know that, moving forward, there’ll be a minimum level of consistency in your availability.
Put Yourself at Ease
It’s natural to feel nervous or apprehensive about a job interview. There’s a lot at stake, not least the fear of rejection. Having a dry mouth is a common problem so always keep a glass of water handy for the chat and interview we’ll have with you.
Many people can even suffer a little from something called “imposter syndrome.” They’re usually high-achievers who doubt their own talent despite their many accomplishments. Think of it as modesty gone awry- it’s more common than you’d think!
For example, we employ lots of carers who’ve been exceptional stay-at-home parents in the past. Although they may not realise it, they have significant transferable skills that are a great fit for a job in home care. Here are some of them:
- Time management
- Light meal preparation
- Managing conflict if they’ve been looking after several children
- Staying calm under pressure
- Being an expert negotiator
- Finding creative solutions to problems
- Listening to and empathising with another person
- Caring for someone who’s unwell
- Picking up and dropping off for appointments or errands
There are plenty of other skills and experiences you may have under your belt that you didn’t pick up in a homecare setting. You may though find that, on reflection, these essential qualities will be highly appropriate and useful when working as a carer.
Practice a Few Responses
What can really help in the preparation for an interview can be a practice session either with a friend or by saying your answers out loud to yourself in the mirror. Rehearsing your answers can be a real confidence-builder. Choose a few questions such as these:
- What homecare-related experience do you have?
- Why is your personality a good fit for becoming a carer or home help?
- How would your current lifestyle fit with a career in home care?
Once you say things out loud, it helps you to formulate your ideas. You’ll find that by saying them once, you’ll feel far more relaxed in a more formal setting. Always have a few real-life examples from your own life experience to draw upon and share.
Think about one or two times in your life when you’ve managed to make a positive impact in the life of someone else. It could be a random act of kindness or a simple gesture. It doesn’t need to be a huge, major event. Small examples tend to work best.
It’s worth remembering that those conducting an interview will want you to get the job you’ve applied for. They’re looking to recruit and they want you to succeed. Their goal is to see you shine rather than to catch you out.
The Interview and Further Training
After our screening call, we’ll let you know whether you’ve been successful. If you are, we’ll send you an email with a link for you to choose an interview slot from our calendar. Should you have any trouble at all, just let us know and we can book you in manually.
If we are conducting the interview online, we will contact you at the time you’ve selected the relevant date. The interview will take around 30 minutes to complete.
Training lies at the heart of everything we do. We’ve therefore designed a series of questions that are there to provide you with some initial instruction in home care as the interview develops. That means that even before you begin working for us, you’ll be getting to grips with some of the basics.
Becoming Part of the Homecare Team
Once you’re through the interview stage, we’ll give you access to our online training platform. There are 7 hours of online training to complete within 5 days. Following this, we’ll need you to be available for 2 days of practical training in the classroom.
Here, we’ll cover a range of topics that include Manual Patient Handling and the basics of personal care. There’s the opportunity for you to get your new contract as part of the induction process.
We’ll be able to explain to you how we assign shifts and how you can apply for leave. We’ll also give you information about the support we’ll be able to give you back at the base while you’re working in the homes of our clients.
After this, we’ll assign you paid shadow shifts so that you can follow one of our more experienced carers on site. You’ll be able to get a really good feel for the role and the relationships our carers build up with their clients.
You’ll then be all set to join the team for real and take your place on the roster as a member of our highly valued homecare team.
Connect with us
Firstly: To begin starting care for your loved one or find out more about Comfort Keepers, click here.
Secondly: To join our incredible award-winning team, you can apply now by clicking here or emailing your CV to recruitment@comfortkeepers.ie. Applying for Comfort Keepers has never been easier.
Lastly:
Every person has an inner spark. It’s something age and illness cannot take away. That’s why, at Comfort Keepers, we go beyond daily care needs to nurture those unique qualities. We wish to bring about a sense of hope, connectedness, purpose, and most importantly, joy. From 1 hour of care per week to 24/7 complex care, Comfort Keepers’ clinically-led team have got your care needs covered.
More than just a job. Make homecare your career by applying for Comfort Keepers today.
Connect with us
To begin starting care for your loved one, you can click here.
To join our incredible award-winning team, you can apply now by clicking here or emailing your CV to recruitment@comfortkeepers.ie
