What skills & qualities does a good carer need?

For those curious about a career in the care industry, it is helpful to understand what skills and qualities could make you a good fit for the job when applying for roles and when carrying out the everyday tasks involved. Developing your knowledge and skill set in these areas can help set you apart as an excellent carer. 

Here, we are taking a closer look at the role of carer, the skills you could benefit from learning, and the personal qualities that could help you make a difference in the lives of older people in need of care. 

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 our services and the roles we currently have available, we can help. 

What skills does a good carer need to have?

If you are considering a career as a carer but believe you may lack the relevant qualifications for this role, do not let this deter you from pursuing opportunities as it is not necessary to hold any particular qualifications or experience to start your journey. At Home Instead, we do look for certain qualities in a potential carer (more on this below), however we can provide all the training required to help you take the first steps into this role, build your confidence, and learn the particular skills we consider essential in providing high quality care. 

It is always useful to have some experience of working in a care setting, or of interacting with older people – for example, you might have previous personal experience caring for a family member, or perhaps you have volunteered in the past – however, having no experience does not mean you cannot seek a role as a carer provided you are willing to learn and work hard. 

At Home Instead, we are partnered with the world’s very best training organisations to offer advanced professional development opportunities that open up a number of career pathways for carers. Our exceptional training is a great place to start when learning the foundations of your carer skill set, and building your confidence to continue developing as one of our trusted Care Professionals. Our training is: 

• City & Guilds assured 
• Continual Professional Development certified
• Partnered with Age UK, Alzheimer’s Society and more

We also hold two Princess Royal Training Awards for our dementia training and end-of-life training, so starting your career with us can help you to progress and continually develop your skills. 

What personal qualities would benefit a carer role?

Even with no past experience and no qualifications, there are people that easily stand out as fantastic carers due to their personal qualities, and we are always interested to hear from people who have the compassion, patience and understanding required for such a role. 

Some of the personal qualities that compliment a role in the care industry include:

• • Compassion and empathy: These are key qualities of being a good carer, as they enable you to walk in your clients’ shoes and try to understand their situation. Caring for others, having a genuine desire to improve their wellbeing, and identifying with the feelings of the person in your care are all important parts of a carer’s nature.  
  • A desire to help others: Having a dedication to help others is important for this role as it can be demanding at times, so feeling an underlying sense of purpose with the work that you do is key. If putting other people’s needs before your own is a part of your personality, a carer role could be for you. 
  • A friendly demeanour: A home carer’s job is visiting clients in their homes, so turning up with a warm, open, friendly demeanour is always a positive attribute. Your visit should be something the client looks forward to, so a good bedside manner can help them feel positive, less withdrawn, and safe with their carer.
  • Patience: Patience is an essential trait for aspiring carers, as the role can be challenging at times and may cause some frustrations. Some clients could push back against certain aspects of care, or could suffer from conditions that make them a lot slower at moving, talking and more. Give them space and time to be as independent as possible by not trying to take over or rush them.
  • Sensitivity: You should seek to preserve the client’s dignity as much as possible, so being sensitive to situations involving personal care issues is key. Also, having sensitivity can enable you to say the right things if the client is having a hard time with a diagnosis or another element of their health. 
  • Respect: Understanding that you are in the client’s home is important. Continue to treat them with respect as the homeowner and take their decisions seriously while treating the home as a professional environment. While it is acceptable to build a casual rapport with the client to make them feel at ease, take care not to treat the home as your own, use unacceptable language, or overrule the client’s decisions. 
  • Open-mindedness: As a carer you will be working with people from diverse backgrounds, so staying open minded to their decisions, wishes and beliefs is important, and making sure they feel heard. 
  • Organisation skills: A carer’s job is incredibly varied, and takes a lot of organisation to stay on top of what is required for multiple clients in various locations. You may have a number of activities or appointments to coordinate, unexpected needs, and carefully timed medication-related visits. Having a knack for calendar organisation and management will stand you in good stead for your carer role. 
  • Communication skills: Communication is a key skill in many jobs, and this is especially important for carers. You may be working with clients who struggle with their communication, sight or hearing, and you will need to figure out the best ways to speak to them so they understand you and feel heard in return. 

• Work well under pressure: There will always be elements of pressure in the care profession, and sometimes you may need to deal with emergencies and urgent needs. It is paramount that you can work to a high standard despite the everyday pressures of the job.

• Observation skills: Working with clients who have various health issues means it is important that you remain vigilant when checking on them. Observing how they are feeling and how they appear is crucial, as you may be one of the few people interacting with them each week and therefore it is up to you to discover any possible early signs of ill health, and to escalate this in a timely fashion so the relevant healthcare professional can help. 

• Reliability: As with any job, reliability is important. When you have an older person who is counting on you to take care of certain essential aspects of their day, such as making them dinner or helping them with incontinence care, it is imperative that you show up on time ready to help them. 
• Positivity and a sense of humour: Caring can be a tough job, particularly when dealing with clients with serious health conditions that limit their abilities. While empathy and compassion are important, positivity and a sense of humour are equally valued by clients in order to keep them in good spirits and in a positive mood no matter what ailments they face. 

Flexibility: As a carer, no two days on the job will be the same. Understanding the need for flexibility in your role is key to ensuring you can help everyone you need to help, and respond to last minute changes in plans. The role of a carer is rarely a 9-5 job as clients will require help at various times throughout the day and night. While your work-life balance is important, an element of flexibility can make you a better fit for the care profession.

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!