Questions to Ask a Potential Support Worker
So you’ve decided to personally conduct interviews for a new support worker.
Conducting the interview can be especially daunting if it’s your first time; however, they’re rarely easy, even for someone who’s been through the process before.
I’ve been on both sides of the interview table. Over the decades I’ve asked and answered almost every question you can think of. While there are trends that come and go, there are some common threads.
Most questions tend to be competency based. Having spoken with a number of support workers, participants and carers, this seems to especially be the case for support worker interviews.
Competency-based question are obviously critical.
Things like accreditations, expertise, experience, availability, for example, will help you determine whether they can do the job you’re wanting to engage them for.
Some people will also include scenario-based questions, such as “How would you handle a certain situation”, which will add another layer to the questions of competency.
Personality-based questions can also be important. Aspects such as whether a support work is a natural introvert or extrovert can be important depending on the situation.
Values Based Questions
This is an area that’s often overlooked, and I would suggest one of the most important areas to cover.
Engaging a support worker that’s the right fit goes beyond the skills and experience they have.
Finding someone who is professional is obviously important; however, due to the high interpersonal nature of this type of work, finding someone who has values that align with a person and their support network is also a critical element.
Someone who is person-centred in their attitude (they see the person that they’re caring for as a person first and foremost), is one of the the most important elements.
Depending on your own personal situation, values such as respect, integrity, honesty, collaboration and accountability are often the most desirable in a support worker
Here is a sample of questions that I’ve found really useful in fleshing out these types of values:
“Tell me about a time where you’ve been proud of a person that you’ve been working with?”
“Describe a situation or activity when working with someone that you’ve found the most rewarding.”
You can also throw in question that is unrelated to support work; for example, an open-ended question, such as:
“What motivates you?”
“What lead you to support work?”
“Out of your personal interests, which one do you enjoy the most and why?”
“Tell me about a time when you went the extra mile for someone.”
The purpose of these values based questions is to:
Determine if their values align with yours;
Give you some confidence in hiring someone with less experience. If you find someone with well aligned values, however they don’t have a lot of experience, it can - in some circumstances - give you confidence to give them a chance;
Learn more about the type of person they are, as values are innate traits, whereas skills can be taught and developed in some circumstances; and,
Help you flesh out applicants that are trying to just tell you what you want to hear. It’s easier for you to see their true intentions with answers to value based questions.
And finally…
Watch their body language and facial expressions when they answer your questions, as these can tell you as much as their words themselves.
If possible, have a second person that you trust sit in on the interview with you. It’s very difficult to take notes and concentrate on the answers at the same time, so ask a friend or family member to help.
This is not an exhaustive list - there are plenty of good resources out there - but next time you’re planning to conduct interviews and decide to do it yourself, try throwing in a few values questions in the mix.
It will ultimately help you make the best choice you can.