What experience qualities and traits are you looking for in a person?
See the page What makes a great support worker? as a starting point.
You need to include accurate information about your business, the nature of the job, the locations of employment, job title, employment type, and any specific classification.
Check your wording to be sure you are not in breach of any discrimination laws.
Note your job requirements, and draft the relevant position description, this needs to be a realistic overview indicating the skills needed to do the tasks required and encourage a broad range of applicants.
Adds should be brief, and direct applicants to your contact point. You might choose to run through some simple phone interview questions then go to a more detailed application by making a job description available. (Consider putting boundaries for calling times and indicate a cut off date, this helps contain the process for all concerned.) Then make a short list of applicants for interview and further consideration. This way you can refine as you go and so can they. You may decide to just go straight to asking for email applications, again consider boundaries have an email location to receive submissions and send job descriptions out from, with a cut off date for applications. Think about the possible volume of applicants and how you will receive, process and send follow up information. Knowing how to do a group mail out may be a useful skill to have.
At the end of the day it is about a good match as much if not more than a job, so keep going till you know you have a few keepers! Be really patient as this can take time, you may not think it is time you can afford but getting it right first means doing it less often. Have an interim support plan and options for when workers leave so things are not left long without suitable replacements, and have the temporary support you’ll need at the ready, so you do not set up a stressful scenario.
Here are some statements that can be used effectively to frame up an advertisement for support worker positions-
- Person-focused compassionate and professional? I am seeking a Personal Support Worker able to listen and provide assistance to a physically disabled person in activities of daily living and community participation. Someone with initiative wishing to learn and grow. Newness to the job or working world does not necessarily put you on a back foot, all applicants considered.
- Support worker needed must be well versed in developing effective relationships with people, able to anticipate and fulfil personal and developmental needs.
- A compassionate person willing to help build and maintain my capacity, able to support a dignified life style for me.
- A thinker with ability to follow management procedures when required and skill sets to support and care for high needs disabilities.
You have other options –like using an external agent who may recruit on your behalf (they usually charge a fee). Check to see that they have previously recruited for support workers, some agencies specialise in job or position types.
Tafe and community colleges have notice boards and specific placement requirements on some of there courses, so you may find this a useful place to go for a chat.
In my experience you can find people who are not trained and fall outside given formulas to be a great match, so consider carefully what skills you really need and be open to a personalised approach, because at the end of the day these are people you or your loved one will be relating to and spending considerable time living with.
A helpful statement – “recruit for attitude and train for skills”