2.3 million Americans are looking for a career change in 2022. Take advantage of The Great Resignation by showing job seekers from these backgrounds why home care should be their next step.
The bad news: We’re in the middle of the Great Resignation. By October of this year,4.2 million Americans had already quit their jobs, and that isn’t slowing down.
The good news: This may just be the answer to cure the largest caregiver shortage in history. Here’s why.
Over half of these newly unemployed workers are actively searching for a career change in 2022. That equals 2.3 million fresh sets of eyes who are ready for your agency to introduce them to the home care industry.
While major chains like Amazon and Walmart are offering unprecedented sign-on bonuses and tuition reimbursement, you can compete by offering what these employees are really looking for. We’ll cover what that is for a:
1. Tour Guide
Here’s why they’re great:
You may be surprised to see tour guides on this list, but the best caregivers are those who know how to slow down with their client and appreciate life as it goes by.
In addition, tour guides cultivate a comfortable guest experience and can convey a lot of information in a fun and engaging way. With impeccable memorization and quick research skills, tour guides will be fast learners who are easy to train. Their ability to stick to a strict itinerary guarantees they will prove to be punctual and reliable caregivers that clients can count on.
Clients will gravitate towards caregivers who will help them both enjoy their journey and appreciate their past.
What they’re looking for:
Tour guides participating in The Great Resignation are likely looking for a more stable, year-round occupation. As 71% of all tour guiding positions are seasonal, those with a tourism background require multiple side-hustles to stay afloat during the off-season.
How to attract them:
Job seekers with tour guiding interests will appreciate being given a guaranteed minimum number of hours they can expect to work year-round, so they can plan their year in advance.
2. Housekeeper
Here’s why they’re great:
Although home care is literally in the name, it is a term easily taken for granted when considering who to hire. Caregivers ranked household basic skills as one of their most requested training courses.
Housekeepers are trained to make every house feel like a home, perform daily errands without disturbing the owners, and are experienced maintaining client confidentiality. Not only do these job seekers have impeccable organization skills, but they also have the innate ability to keep the integrity of an owner’s aesthetic.
Over 90% of Americans over the age of 50 plan to age in place, but they may not be able to take care of their home the way they used to. Clients will appreciate caregivers who enable them to stay in their own homes by doing the housework for them.
What they’re looking for:
The best housekeepers are invisible; they likely don’t get to see their work pay off, nor do they get the opportunity to witness the difference they make in their clients’ lives. People with housekeeping experience are looking for a position that allows them to connect with their clients and build relationships with those they help.
How to attract them:
Emphasize the real relationships that develop between a caregiver and their clients. Housekeepers will appreciate knowing that caregiving allows them to see the fruits of their labor and reap the rewards of a lasting interpersonal connection using skills they’ve already spent time to develop.
3. Nanny
Here’s why they’re great:
Who better qualified to facilitate an enjoyable aging journey than those who have been trusted to raise someone’s child into adulthood? Nannies are trained to build a relationship with the people in their care that last a lifetime.
Job seekers with a childcare background come with exceptional multitasking skills. They put the needs of others in front of their own and manage the schedules of everyone in their care.
Skilled in the art of persuasion, nannies will quickly become your go-to caregiver and your clients’ trusted friend.
What they’re looking for:
You know a nanny has successfully done their job when the children no longer need them and they are assigned to a new family. As a result, this type of occupation frequently doesn’t allow for career advancement or opportunities to learn new skills.
How to attract them:
Prove to these job seekers that you will invest in their professional growth by showing your caregivers have a career ladder. Implement a mentorship program to foster your employees’ potential and enable caregivers to work their way up your agency into leadership roles.
4. Personal Trainer
Here’s why they’re great:
The CDC recommends those over the age of 65 engage in at least 2 and a half hours of moderate-intensity aerobic activity a week, including two days of muscle strengthening activities. Yet sometimes, the only exercise clients want to perform is the uphill battle of protesting doing it.
With their natural ability to motivate, personal trainers will be able to convince even the most independent clients to try new routines and tackle all the activities of daily life. As personal trainers motivate people to become their best selves both mentally and physically, they are prolonging and increasing their quality of life.
What they’re looking for:
Personal trainers enjoy improving the lives of others and want to see the results of their efforts. These job seekers would be excited by the opportunity to work with clients who could benefit from the motivation to exercise and increase their nutrition education.
How to attract them:
Attract these job seekers by showing the ways their skills will improve their clients’ quality of life.
In addition, you can offer them on-the-go training courses to fuel their passion and invest in their professional development.
5. Esthetician/Hairdresser
Here’s why they’re great:
Raised in a generation where it was social suicide to go out in public with curlers in your hair, clients may have some hesitancy allowing a stranger to perform personal hygiene tasks. Families respect and remember the caregivers who treat their relatives like a friend and help them feel comfortable in their own skin.
It has been said that getting a haircut is cheaper than therapy. Those in the beauty industry are known for their ability to listen as they create a relaxed and comfortable environment for their clients to open up.
Estheticians and hairdressers are trained to maintain an individual’s dignity as they help people look and feel their best.
What they’re looking for:
Estheticians and hairdressers are used to working on an appointment-only basis where the amount of pay depends on how many tips or cancellations they received. They are constantly meeting new people and working with dozens of new clients a day who all have drastically different appointment requests.
If they’re looking to change careers, they may be seeking a steady schedule with consistent clients so they can plan ahead and know what to expect.
How to attract them:
Let them know the minimum number of hours they can expect to work each week so they can create a consistent schedule. These job seekers will appreciate clear communication and expectations. They’re also likely used to forming long-term relationships with repeat clients, so let them know how many clients they will be assigned and give them opportunities to form a bond with their regular clients.
FREE RESOURCE
Focus your recruiting on the right candidates with the Targeted Recruitment Strategy Tool
6. Line Cook
Here’s why they’re great:
While it may seem like a trivial detail, caregivers who can cook and offer a well-balanced home-cooked meal are highly sought after. In fact, one client care manager shared how her team wanted to fire a chronically late employee. However, the client wanted him as their primary caregiver just because the meals he prepared were so delicious.
According to her, “It was eye-opening to recognize how much of this client’s experience with our agency was shaped simply by the quality of this caregiver’s cooking. Line cooks have experience working on a team in a fast-paced environment and can cater to personal nutritional needs as they become your client’s favorite part of the day.
What they’re looking for:
The food industry involves brutal hours that can be unsustainable for the sake of mental and physical health. Line cooks who are switching careers may be searching for occupations that offer a better work-life balance with more reasonable hours. They will be attracted to companies who respect employees’ well-being and time.
How to attract them:
Attract these job seekers with a manageable schedule that allows them a portion of personal time to spend with their own family during normal hours. Be clear that their well-being is your priority and encourage caregivers to take advantage of their PTO.
7. Restaurant Server
Here’s why they’re great:
Snickers’ slogan, “You’re not you when you’re hungry,” rings true for restaurant workers and caregivers alike. Servers work well under intense pressure to provide quality service while navigating “hangry” customers.
Their ability to memorize helps them balance multiple orders with very specific requests. Servers are hyper-vigilant to the needs of their customers, with proven time-management skills as they balance multiple to-do lists at once.
What they’re looking for:
Similar to line cooks, restaurant servers are used to working late hours and surviving off tips in a room full of hangry people. As a result, restaurant servers leaving their industry are likely seeking a job with a steady schedule, more predictable client interactions, and consistent income.
How to attract them:
Those with serving experience will gravitate toward companies who are transparent about the estimated annual salary range and offer a clear estimate of the hours they can expect to work.
Additionally, many servers leaving the restaurant industry are looking for a clearer career path and room for advancement. Communicate in your job postings how you support continuous learning for your employees.
8. Customer Service Representative
Here’s why they’re great:
Anyone in customer service knows that, despite the infamous saying, the customer is rarely right. However, those who excel in customer service ensure each customer leaves satisfied and ready to leave a positive review.
Those with a customer service background are trained to handle complaints and manage conflict daily, making them perfect to solve problems without needing to escalate issues to management.
What they’re looking for:
Those who work in customer service are at the frontlines and receive constant complaints over corporate policies and prices outside of their control. These job seekers are looking to provide customer service that satisfies their clients with the authority to make it happen.
How to attract them:
Set your customer service job seekers up for success by showing them they’ll have the tools and authority they need to actually serve clients. They will appreciate being prepared with an adequate amount of training that helps them enter the home care industry equipped to provide excellent service.
While conflict management skills make for a great caregiver, perform 90-day reviews to check in on how these caregivers are doing to see if they are being treated kindly and feel satisfaction in their role.
Become a 5-Star Employer
These occupations are full of potential hires perfectly suited to transition into the home care industry—they just don’t know about you yet. Get the word out and watch your qualified applications increase.
74% of job seekers read at least 4 reviews before forming an opinion of a company and deciding where to apply for a job. Become an agency people compete to work for by improving your online reputation to appeal to the 2.3 million Americans who will be searching for a career change in the new year.
The Great Resignation may just be the unexpected way you combat the caregiver shortage and hire your next best employee.
