Being a care worker can be hugely rewarding but is equally challenging too. It takes skills and qualities that can’t always be learned or taught in a classroom. Some skills and qualities can be developed through life experience and possibly through experiencing your own life challenges. Working with vulnerable adults is a privilege – especially when you are able to do this well and you build up a rapport with a client.
- Confidence – if you walk into your clients home and don’t speak to them, it will be harder to build up a rapport and build trust. Relationships with clients are paramount to a successful outcome for the care package. If a care worker doesn’t feel confident to use equipment, that will, in turn, make the client nervous. Clients want to know that the person coming to look after them knows what they are doing and will have a conversation with them.
- Sensitive – being able to pick up on clients feelings will help you be a better carer. People don’t always tell you if they’re having a bad day or their pain is higher than normal. Clients may also want to share details about their lives and being able to listen and build rapport will help a great deal.
- Caring – One of the most important parts of being a care worker is actually caring for the people you are going to see. This can be challenging as you must also keep a professional distance and deal with clients when their circumstances change. Clients may be isolated and talking to you may be a lifeline. Reducing loneliness is a vital part of the job and can improve a client’s overall health and wellbeing.
- Flexible – Our clients need support 365 days of the year, and sometimes other staff become ill and the work still needs to be done. Carers may need to change their days off at the last minute or pick up a few extra calls to help out. Of course, carers also need time off to recharge their batteries, but if all staff do a little bit extra, that means it isn’t left to one person all the time.
- Reliable – carers need to turn up for work consistently to ensure clients see the same workers regularly. The clients need to know you will consistently carry out the tasks they need you to.
- Sense of Humour – a little bit of humour can help make a day a little better. Laughing is the best medicine!
- Attentiveness – if a care worker goes to see a client and is sitting on their phone the whole time, that isn’t going to stop them feeling lonely or get the vital tasks done that need to be done. Attending to the client and making sure all their needs are met makes a huge difference to people feeling connected and also helps the carer notice if something isn’t quite right.
- Communication – talking to the client is vital to make sure the carer builds a good rapport but its also essential to report back to the office staff what is happening, particularly if you are working in people’s homes. Missing medication, a lack of appetite, refusal to get washed, dressed or changed are all signs that someone may not be well. Good communication is also vital so that the next person who goes in knows what has happened and what may need to be looked out for.
- Friendliness – would you like someone unfriendly coming into your home? No, I wouldn’t either. Being open and approachable can help build the relationship and trust so the client feels able to tell you when something isn’t right.
- Experience – You don’t necessarily need experience of care to be a good carer. Experience of life can help a great deal, especially if you have had challenges of your own. This will help you to relate to the situation that the client is in.
- Dedication – For many care workers, caring for others is part of who they are as a person. They’re always looking to help others before they help themselves which means that care teams can be very close to each other as they help each other out.
- Passion – A passion for helping others gets you through a hard day at work
- Positivity – If you can see the positive in a negative situation, care work is for you. There is always something good even in the darkest of situations. If you go into your clients house and you’re miserable, they will feel more miserable too.
- Empathy – another quality that will help you work with vulnerable adults. If you can put yourself in the shoes of someone else, care could be for you.
- Desire to learn – there’s always something new to learn in care, whether that is to do with different medications or if its to do with a condition, you can never know everything and wanting to know more is vital to providing a good quality service to your clients.
- Go the Extra Mile – sometimes care workers need to pick up extra calls, make a trip to the chemist or ring for an ambulance. A willingness to go the extra mile will make a huge difference to the lives of those you are there to support.
- Open-Mindedness – people who need care come from all different backgrounds – they may be disabled, older, transgender, an ex-offender, divorced, religious, non-religious, have strong political beliefs or none. You must be able to relate to people from any background.
- Organisation – you need to be able to get to your clients house on time every day you are at work and this might mean getting your children ready for school, making sure the car has enough petrol, making sure your elderly parents are looked after, making sure you have had breakfast or a number of other tasks before you get to work. It is vital that you are organised. You may also have a number of different tasks to complete once at work and if you’re not organised this can mean that it is harder to manage all those tasks on time.
- Calmness Under Pressure – sometimes things go wrong and you will need to be able to respond appropriately and make sure the right help is available for your client at the right time.
- Patience – Your client may take a long time to speak, eat or move about. Patience is necessary to make sure you don’t rush your client.
- Critical thinking – You may need to work out the best thing to do in a situation and being able to see the issue from different perspectives and evaluate what might need to happen is a key skill
- Respectful – dressing well and speaking politely to the client is vital to make sure you build a good relationship with them
Do you think you would be a good fit for a care worker role? For more information and to apply, you can find our care vacancies here.