Your ‘Profile’ is your ‘CV’ – we will build it for you and it will help you find work.
When you start your registration process with us as a Live-in Carer, you will be asked to fill out a registration form. The aim of the form is to gather important information about you, so we can build your home carer profile.
Your Livein Carer profile acts as your CV when looking for work through Access Care. Therefore, it is important to ensure the information you provide on your registration form shows your personality, experience, and training accurately. In this article, we will explore the different sections of a livein carer profile and what you can do to make your domiciliary carer profile stand out from the crowd.
Your Photo:
When registering with us to find Live-in Care work, we will ask you to provide a picture of yourself to add to your carer profile. Your picture will be the first thing your potential client sees when they open your profile. Therefore, it is important that you provide us with a nice, good quality picture of yourself. Here are some guidelines on what makes a good carer photo:
A winning smile – when taking a picture for you profile, make sure you are smiling. The main reason for this is that one’s emotions can be easily affected by those around them. If you are smiling in your carer profile picture, the client viewing your profile is more likely to have positive feelings towards you. If you have a straight face in your picture, the client may not experience the same level of positive feelings.
From the shoulders and upwards – It is important to get the framing of your picture right for your profile. If you take a full-length picture of yourself, it will be difficult to see your face properly. On the other hand, if you take a close-up picture of your face, the camera may distort your features and not accurately represent what you look like. The best way to frame your picture is to take a picture of yourself from the shoulders up at arm’s length.
A neutral background – it is best practice to take your picture against a neutral or plain background. The focus of the picture should be you and not what is behind you. Try taking your picture against a white wall or other neutral background.
“About Me”:
The aim of this section is to tell your potential client about you, so they can get to know a bit about you before accepting you into their home. Some things to consider when writing your “About me” is:
The length – The length of your “About Me” section is key to writing a successful passage about you. Too short and you will not include enough information. Too long and it will be an information overload. Our advice is to keep it between 100 – 200 words.
The content – What you write about in this section will contribute to your potential client’s first impression of you, so be sure to include positive and useful information. This can include information about your personality, family, work ethic, hobbies and interests, cooking skills, and why you love being a home carer. Make sure to spell check your passage and you are happy with the information you are sharing.
“My Personal Profile”:
This section is directly below your “About Me” paragraph and includes your personal details and information. This includes, but is not limited to, your name, phone number, email, date of birth, and known allergies. We will gain this information from your registration form, so please make sure you fill this out carefully and accurately.
When your live in carer profile is presented to a potential client, we will send them aversion of your carer profile that hides your sensitive personal information (e.g. last name, phone number, email, and date of birth). This means they cannot see this information until they select you for the job.
“Living With & Caring for Pets”:
Many of our client’s have pets they cherish and want to find a living in carer who is comfortable to live with and/or care for their pets. During your registration day, we will ask you if you are happy to live with and/or care for client’s pets. It is important that you answer this question honestly, as we need accurate information to successfully pair you with your ideal client.
“What Others Think of Me”:
This section is reserved for your testimonials. Testimonials are a review of you and the service you provide from the person you are providing the service to.
To gain testimonials for your profile, we call your client or their next of kin to see if they are happy with the service you are providing. If they are happy, we will ask them to write some nice words about you. We then add these words to your profile along with who provided the testimonial and what month and year it was provided.
Testimonials are beneficial to you as a home care worker as they demonstrate to other potential clients what you are like and how you care for a client.
During your registration we will ask you for details of a character reference and the kind words they provide about you will be featured in the testimonial section of your carer profile. We do this to ensure you have one testimonial on your profile before you start working.
Levels of Experience:
This aim of this section is to clearly convey your experience in specific conditions to your potential client. On your registration form, you will be asked to rate your levels of experience in accordance with our rating system. The system is as follows:
L – A little (under 1 year of experience with the condition/equipment)
M – Moderate (anywhere from 1 to 3 years of experience)
A – Advanced (3+ years of experience)
Please make sure you consider your experience levels carefully and accurately as these will help us match you with a client. If you are modest about your experience levels, you may miss out on job opportunities. On the other hand, if you over-sell your experience you may get selected for a client with a condition in which you are not confident.
Recent Training and Qualifications:
In this section, we proudly display the live-in care training and qualifications you have received along with the date you received them. We do this to assure your potential client that you are fully qualified to provide them the care they require.
Before you can complete your registration with us, we will ask you for valid training certificates. The minimum training you require to register is:
Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults
Medication Training
Moving & Handling
First Aid
Your certificates in First Aid and Moving & Handling must be from either a practical training session in a classroom or an interactive training session over video call.
If you do not have valid care worker training, then we offer a care course. You can participate in this training if you are renewing out-of-date qualifications. If you have never done the above training before, you will need to do a complete care course held in a classroom.
Driver Status:
Due to your client’s needs and wishes, they may require a livein carer who is able to drive.
During your registration, we will ask if you a couple of questions about driving. These are as follows:
Can you drive?
Do you have your own car?
Can you drive a manual, automatic, or both?
Are willing to drive your clients in your car?
This information will be displayed on your carer profile for your potential client to see. If you can drive and are willing to be presented to our client’s as a driver, we will ask you to provide us with pictures of your driver’s license for safety purposes.
If you cannot drive, do not worry as we have many clients who do not require a live in carer who can drive.
Criminal Record Checks:
To be able to register with us, you must either have a DBS on the update service or be happy for us to apply for a DBS check on your behalf. If you are not a UK resident, we will carry out a police check in your country of residence.
If you have convictions on your DBS, please declare during your registration and we will ask you to write a statement about your convictions.
If you do have convictions on your DBS, it will be highlighted in this section. We will not disclose on your profile what your conviction is, instead we will advise anyone viewing your profile to ask the office for more details.
Self-Employment Status:
In this section we highlight your self-employed status. If you have not worked as a self-employed living in carer before, we will ask you to register as self-employed with the UK government. Once you register as self-employed and your application has been accepted, you will gain a unique tax reference number(UTR), which will be displayed in this section of your profile.
If you need to register as self-employed, let us know and we can send you a link where you can apply online. Once you have applied, you will need to send us proof of your application and when your application has been accepted you will need to send us your UTR number.
Please bear in mind, if we do not receive your UTR number after 10 weeks of being fully registered with us, we will make your file in-active until we receive your UTR number. It is important to have a UTR number as a self-employed carer as it reassures both us and your potential clients that you are paying your tax correctly.
Self Employed Live-in Carers Insurance:
To be able to work with one of our clients, you must have self-employed carers insurance. We ask all our carers to be insured before going to care for our clients as the insurance protects you from:
Accidental injury to any person in relation to your work
Injury to yourself as a result of your work
Loss or damage to property
Allegations of negligence or abuse
You do not need a self-employed carers insurance policy to register with us, but you will need it before going to work. There are many insurance companies out there to choose from and these will be discussed with you during your registration. If you need help arranging an insurance policy for your work, please let us know and we would be happy to help.
Throughout this article we have gone through all the sections on our live-in care worker profile along with the purpose and importance of each section. We hope that the information provided in this article has given you some ideas on how to make your carer profile stand out from the crowd. Remember, this is your chance to find Live-in Care Work Fast!
If you do have any more questions about the care worker profiles, we would be happy to answer - call us on 01264 319399.
Best Wishes
Alex
Bookings Consultant