Tips on Becoming a Successful In-Home Care Helper

Getting started on your job search as a caregiver

If you enjoy helping others and spending time with older adults, your skills and talents are in high demand, but finding in-home care work can still be challenging. On Herewith we give Helpers the opportunity to make the most of the high need for senior care, by connecting you with private senior care clients.

In this article, we’ll share a little bit about what you need to get started as you’re planning your career in caregiving, from benefits to working with seniors, to top skills you’ll need, and how to successfully get hired for senior care jobs.

What are the benefits of working with seniors?

As you consider becoming an in-home care Helper, your options for employment are plentiful. You can help older adults who live independently at home or in facilities, such as assisted living, nursing homes, hospice, or rehabilitation centers.

Here are just a few of the benefits to helping seniors on Herewith:

• Independence—work when you want, for clients you choose, earning an average of $20-30/hour
• Lots of job opportunities to fit every schedule
• Rewarding work, connecting with people in your community
• Simple, easy tasks, such as running errands, chatting and providing companionship, and doing light tasks around the house
• Better pay than other gig work, with no hidden costs

Becoming a Helper on Herewith is easy and free—Herewith never charges Helpers for finding work or using the platform. Get started by creating your free Helper profile, clearing a complimentary background check, and then applying to tasks and jobs that work for your schedule.

Next, let’s take a closer look at the skills you need to get started working with older adults.

Top skills you’ll need to get hired for senior care jobs

If you’ve ever helped an older neighbor, grandparent, or aging parent, you have the skills to help other seniors too! As a Helper you won’t be providing any medical care, just helping older adults with everyday tasks and providing some friendly companionship along the way.

Top 6 emotional skills you need when working with older adults

Emotional skills are the most important qualification you bring to the table as a Helper for seniors. Emotional skills help you connect with others and build relationships—the key to happy, satisfied senior clients.

Here are the top six emotional skills to help you succeed in working with seniors:

1. Be flexible Every client will be a little different, so be ready to adapt and meet your client’s needs. 
2. Be a good listener As older adults go through changes to their health and lifestyle, they need someone to empathize with them and be understanding.
3. Be patientBeing patient shows respect, empathy, and understanding, which can help your client if they’re feeling down or having a tough time.
4. Bring a positive attitude Your attitude is infectious. If you are optimistic, your client is more likely to reflect that feeling and enjoy your time together.
5. Show responsibility Responsibility means demonstrating honest and ethical behavior. Showing yourself to be a reliable, responsible Helper is one of the most desirable qualities that families look for when hiring.
6. Show cultural awareness Cultural awareness empowers you to interact and work with people of different cultural backgrounds without judging them for their beliefs or lifestyles. Be aware of how your own beliefs and background can affect your interactions with clients and their families. 

Top 6 practical skills you need when working with older adults

At the heart of every Helper is the ability to be empathetic, kind, and caring. Compassion is the foundation of helping others, but there are a few essential hands-on skills that it’s good to practice too.

Here are six of the most useful, everyday skills for Helpers:

1. Good communicationCommunication is your best tool for success working with clients and their families. It helps you set good expectations, get answers to questions, and build a trusting relationship with your clients
2. Safe lifting techniquesOften you might be asked to help your client with tasks around the home, such as putting away groceries, doing laundry, or even helping your client get up out of a chair. It’s important to use proper lifting techniques so you don’t hurt yourself while helping your client. 
3. General home help skillsLife skills, such as cleaning, preparing food, grocery shopping, caring for pets, and other everyday tasks are important so that you can help your client with various tasks around their home. 
4. MultitaskingHelpers often need to do more than one thing at once, such as getting tasks done while also socializing and having a friendly chat with your client. 
5. Awareness of environmentWhile Helpers aren’t trained caregivers, it’s important to be aware of your environment when working with older adults. Watch for tripping hazards, spoiled food in the kitchen, or other things that might be cause for concern.
6. How to respond to an emergencyIn the rare case that something happens to your client, always make sure you know what their emergency plan is, whether it’s calling a family member or emergency services. 

Start your in-home care career on Herewith

Becoming a Helper doesn’t require health care or professional caregiving experience. If you have cared for an older loved one like an aging parent, grandparent, neighbor, aunt or uncle, you can be a great Helper!

Helpers on Herewith can find work providing simple, easy help for older adults with everyday tasks. You get to choose whether you do one-time tasks or ongoing jobs. Whether you’re just looking for flexible, rewarding part-time work helping others or you’re a professional caregiver with years of experience, you can find clients and jobs that match what you want.

Plus, if you’re interested in growing your career as an in-home caregiver, we partner with Care Academy for caregiver training and certifications. These professional caregiving skills can help you get hired for higher paying tasks and ongoing jobs on Herewith.

3 Steps to get hired as a Helper on Herewith

To find work helping seniors on Herewith, the first step is to create your Helper profile.

Your Helper profile is basically your resume and a friendly introduction all in one. The info you share in your profile, such as your pay rate, availability, schedule preferences, distance you want to travel, and skills, help you match you with clients that meet your needs. Get our top tips on a strong Helper profile to help you get hired.

Here are the three keys to success that will help you get booked by clients on Herewith:

1. Complete all sections of your profile, including your free background check. Learn more about background checks for caregivers.
2. Add a nice photo to your profile. Get our tips for a great caregiver profile photo.
3. Check your Chats tab everyday for new messages from clients who might want to hire you. Learn more about chatting with clients.

Your profile is how new clients get to meet you, so it’s important to put your best foot forward by showcasing your skills, personality, and experience.

After your profile is set up, the next step is to apply for tasks and jobs in your area! Download the Helper app to your phone so you can keep on top of your chats and applications from anywhere.

Top FAQs on becoming a successful Helper on Herewith

Herewith Helper basics:

Herewith Helper is a free platform and mobile app where you can find jobs or gig work helping older adults with everyday tasks.

• No experience required, just enjoyment of helping others
• Work as much or as little as you want
• Set your own pay rate in your profile
• Easy to use app for managing your job search, bookings, and pay
• Free online training if you want to sharpen your skills as an in-home caregiver

How much can I make as a Helper?

Helpers make an average of $25-30/hour, but there are a lot of ways to make more. It depends on your skills, what kind of tasks you like to help with, and the typical wages for in-home caregivers where you live.

Can I set my own hours as a Helper?

You can set your availability on your profile and apply to jobs and one-time tasks that work for your schedule. If you get hired for ongoing jobs, you will chat with your client to set your work schedule.

Can I work with more than one client?

Of course! Most Helpers work with multiple clients. You can set your desired schedule and availability in your profile to make sure you’re working the hours you want. With one-time tasks, you can fill up any extra hours with quick side gigs and same-day payment.

Where can I get the Helper mobile app?

• For iPhones, download from the App Store here
• For Android phones, download from the Google Play Store here

How to get hired for senior care jobs on Herewith

There are two ways to get hired as a Helper on Herewith:

Apply to jobs & tasks on the app:

Create your free Helper profile (including a fast, free background check). Once your profile is complete, you can apply to any job you see posted on the Herewith app!

Learn more about how to apply for senior care tasks and jobs on Herewith.

Families request you directly for jobs & tasks:

After you create your Helper profile, families can reach out to you directly with job offers and task bookings. If they love the look of your profile they’ll send you a message, so if you’re looking for work, we recommend checking your chats everyday. 

Remember, on Herewith, you’re your own boss, working directly for your private senior clients, whether it’s just doing a task for an afternoon or it’s an ongoing job.

How do I accept a senior care booking/job offer?

Whenever a client decides they’d like to offer you a job/book you for a task, we’ll send you a text SMS, push notification, and email.

1. Tap the link in the message and accept or decline the job/task. If you miss the text, you’ll still see the job offer whenever you log in or open your app.
2. The link will open up the job offer. Tap Accept > then review the offer details and confirm by selecting Yes, accept.
3. If you exit the screen, you can see the offer anytime by going to your Bookings tab. (See the next section in this article for more details on viewing your job offers.)

In order to confirm the booking/job offer, make sure you select the account where your payment will be deposited. Visit our handy guide to getting paid as a caregiver for help setting up your payment preferences.

After you accept an offer, you can view it in your Bookings tab. A red circle notification on the tab indicates new bookings added to your list.

Where can I find my job offers from senior care clients?

If you don’t accept or decline a task or job offer right away, you can find it by going to your Bookings tab. Tap on the Review offers button at the top, then scroll through your offers to accept the ones you want.

Pro tip: Respond to offers as soon as you can. Clients often offer the task or job to multiple Helpers at the same time. Offers are first come, first served, so responding quickly helps you get the jobs you want.

Additional resources for starting your in-home care career

Once you’ve landed your first senior care job, be sure to check out our guide to your first day as an in-home Helper.