How Do I Become a Personal Caregiver?

In many countries, a certificate from an accredited school is required to become a personal caregiver. Employers are often home care companies or agencies looking for not only educationally qualified caregivers, but those who possess experience and a reliable, caring personality. Making sure you possess all of the desired credentials and characteristics as well as regularly applying to home assisting companies in your area can help you become a personal caregiver.

Getting your training from a properly accredited school that offers practicums in community care situations can be the best way to earn your certification. Since practicums are actual workplace situations, only with extra supervision for students, this can count as experience in the caregiver field on your resume. Make sure to highlight your accomplishments in the practicum in the past tense in point form on your resume such as "Toileted, bathed, cooked for and fed elderly homeowners." You can also include any particularly high marks you received in a caregiver personal care aid course as well as especially positive quotes from an instructor's comments on a paper or quiz.

Doing informational interviews with home care agencies and companies in your area, either by telephone or in person, can give you future contacts to send resumes to and/or inquire about any job openings. Don't ask for employment applications or openings during an informational interview, though as this should be strictly for them to know that you want to become a personal caregiver. You could say, if the topic is raised by the interviewer, that you do hope to possibly work for this company if and when there is a caregiver opening.

Whether you are in an informational or employment interview setting, you should always be prepared to ask intelligent questions about patient care. Focusing on the client and his or her needs can show your interest in the occupation as well as qualities such as compassion and respect that many employers in the caregiver industry look for in applicants. In addition to being able to ask relevant questions, you should also be prepared to give a genuine, compelling response when you're asked why you want to become a personal caregiver.

Keeping yourself in good physical shape is crucial when you are seeking to start and maintain this kind of career. Lifting people during bathing and toileting can put pressure on your back which may result in injury, especially if you aren't healthy. Spending hours cleaning, doing laundry, taking a client shopping, fixing meals and helping with feeding and grooming can be physically demanding, especially when you may be working with more than one client during the course of a day. If you want to become a caregiver, you must also care for your own health so you're at your strongest and fittest to handle the job.