A Guide to typical care interview questions

If you are an aspiring care professional, or you already work in the field and are looking to change jobs, you may be interested in the most up-to-date questions that you could be asked in an interview situation when applying for a job in the care industry. Working as a carer can be an incredibly rewarding and varied role that offers something different every day. It is undoubtedly a challenging position, but with the right knowledge and training, you could be making a big difference to those who require home care.  

Here, we are taking a closer look at the types of questions you are likely to be asked when going through the interview process, as well as other things you should do to prepare for an interview, what questions you might want to ask in your interview, and how to find work as a carer in the UK. 

At Home Instead, our aim is to help people age positively and in place by bringing expert care to their home. For nearly 20 years, we have been providing the highest standard of care, and creating industry-leading training programmes for our Care Professionals that are accredited by nursing and medical professionals. Today, we are the world’s largest global home care network, supporting over 100,000 older adults with personalised, tailored care at home. Whatever questions you have about care work and the roles we currently have available at Home Instead, we can help. 

What questions will I be asked? 

Every care agency has their own application procedures, and each role will have its own requirements, so it is impossible to prepare in advance for the exact questions you will be asked in the interview – these will be tailored to the position you are applying for. You can, however, do your best to prepare general responses to some of the questions that may come up to help you think on your feet in the interview. 

Here are some of the types of questions you may be asked:

GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT YOU 

• “Tell us a little about you” – Many interviews begin with a general introductory question where you can give a brief overview of who you are and what has brought you to the interview. This can be a short answer, but it does help to prepare this ahead of time since it may be the first impression you give. Try to be succinct, confident and positive. 
• “What are your best 3 qualities?” – This question may be phrased differently, for example, they may ask something like “How would your friends describe you?”. Whatever the question, they will be looking to find out what sort of person you are. You can say whatever is truthful here, but if you can, use words that align with the role you are applying for; carers are usually required to be compassionate, patient, open-minded, organised, and so on.
• “What experience do you have in the care industry?” – They will probably know this information from your CV, but it helps to prepare a few lines about your experience so they can ask you more about this in person. Remember, not all care positions require you to have direct experience as a carer, so don’t be discouraged if you do not have this. 

Think of transferable skills you have learned in previous jobs, in school, or other times when you have cared for a family member, child, or someone else. Having no direct experience does not mean you will not get the job, as in entry level positions they will be looking to see that you can align some of your past life experience with a career in the care industry. 

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ROLE

• “What is your understanding of what a care worker does?” – The role you are applying for may be very specific, in which case you can tailor this answer to suit. Here, they will be looking to find out that you have read the job description and understand what will be expected of you in this role. This could be things like personal care such as washing and dressing clients, making meals, helping with continence care, keeping the client’s home clean and tidy, helping with mobility limitations, managing medication, and more.
• “Why do you want to be a carer?”– If you are new to this profession, they may be interested to know what attracts you to this type of career. This is to ensure you are a good fit for the role, so if you genuinely want to become a carer to help people, this should come across in your answer. 
• “What qualities do you bring to the role?”– Similar to the earlier question about your 3 best qualities, this is a chance to showcase the elements of your character that would make you a good carer. These could be things like kindness, positivity, being observant, communicating well, being sensitive to health conditions, attention to detail, and so on. 
• “What is your understanding of confidentiality and safeguarding?” – In an interview you may be asked about the importance of confidentiality in a care role, since you may be working with people in your local area and learning information about their health needs. Similarly, an understanding of safeguarding is important. This means protecting a person’s health, wellbeing and human rights, and enabling them to live free from harm, abuse and neglect. Both confidentiality and safeguarding are vital in the care profession, so even if you don’t know everything about them, you should convey a basic knowledge of how important they are. 
• “What is your understanding of person-centred care?” – Person-centred care, like what we provide at Home Instead, focuses on putting the person requiring care at the centre of the discussion to prioritise their quality of life, wellbeing, and sense of confidence and security. Person-centred care ensures that care is bespoke to the individual, and champions their desires and interests. 

PAST EXPERIENCE

• “Provide an example of a time you used teamwork well.” – Past experience questions are included to expand on your previous experience in a care setting. This does not need to be specific to the care profession (although examples of this are best if you have them), you can use any previous experience in past jobs, school or university, or even examples from your everyday life that you think are relevant. 
• “Provide an example of when you cared for someone in the past”– If you have worked as a carer previously, this is your chance to run through what you did in your job before, the type of care you provided and why you enjoyed it. If you have no previous caring experience, you can share examples from your own life, such as checking in on your grandfather twice a week, looking after your sister when she was a young child, or managing the end-of-life care of a beloved pet – even something like this is worth mentioning to help show your compassion and desire to help others. 
• “Provide an example of a time you had to work under pressure”– As above, you can choose an example from a previous care job or another time. The goal here is to convey that you were able to think clearly and perform duties well under pressure. 
• “Provide an example of a time you helped someone” – Care interview questions are often chosen to give you plenty of chances to share relevant examples of how you would do the job well, so this question is a great place to bring up any examples you have of times when, without your help, someone would have struggled or suffered. It doesn’t matter how big or small the gesture of help was, it is about showing your penchant for putting others first. 

EXAMPLE SCENARIOS

• “What would you do if a client collapsed?” – Scenario questions are common in interviews, and they are used to have you think on your feet and come up with an answer that shows you would make good decisions under pressure. For this question, you can calmly talk them through the steps you would take if you came across a collapsed client in their home, or if another emergency situation arose. Don’t worry if you don’t know the official protocols – they will be listening more for how you would use common sense and initiative to help the client. 
• “How would you handle a situation where a client is confused, upset or scared?”–This scenario question will be less about the physical steps you might take, and more about how you would reassure a client who is having these feelings. Many carers will look after people with dementia, and this scenario is common when doing so. Show how you would communicate with them in a calm, collected way.
• “What steps would you take to maintain a client’s dignity during care?” – In the care profession you may be looking after older adults that lack the ability to get washed and dressed for themselves, and go to the bathroom alone, which means preserving their dignity is of the utmost importance. Even if you have not been in this scenario yourself, you can use this question as an opportunity to show how you would handle certain situations, how you would show them compassion, and how you would stay positive regardless of the difficulties faced. 

LOGISTICS

• “What is your availability?”–The interviewer will want to know that, as well as being a good fit for the role, you can commit to the hours they need covered. In the care profession, flexibility is important as many carers will need to work changing shifts and random hours to ensure clients are cared for throughout the day and night. You can make it clear if you have other commitments or if you can’t work nights, but it will work in your favour to let them know you can be flexible where needed. 

How do I find work as a carer? 

If you feel ready for a carer interview and want to start applying to carer roles, there are many agencies available with job openings on their website. Care jobs tend to come up often, and this fast-growing industry has an estimated half a million extra job opportunities expected by 2035, so even if you don’t see the ideal job opening in one of your local agencies, don’t be afraid to reach out to them directly to express interest in future positions. 

At Home Instead, you can apply to become a Care Professional on our website and be contacted when we have available roles. We have partnered with the world’s best training organisations to offer advanced professional development opportunities that can open up a number of career pathways for those in care roles. By starting your journey with our exceptional training, you will build the foundations of a great career in care work that will give you the skills and confidence to continue developing as one of our trusted Care Professionals. 

We are City & Guilds assured, Continual Professional Development certified, partnered with the likes of Age UK and Alzheimer’s Society and we have won two Princess Royal Training Awards for our dementia training and end-of-life training. With our industry leading training, support and mentorship, you will be best placed to progress to further opportunities within the sector. 

You can learn more in our article: Progression Of Care Careers In Home Care and if you have any questions about becoming a carer with Home Instead, reach out to our friendly team. 

We’re an award-winning home care provider and part of a worldwide organisation devoted to providing the highest-quality relationship-led care for older people in their own homes. Learn more about joining our team today, or see if the bigger step of becoming a franchisee could be right for you.