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Direct Payments > The Recruitment Process
The Recruitment Process
Writing an advertisement
- Write a short description of yourself/your child using positive language
- Write what you require the person to do (a job description)
Other points worth considering when writing the advertisement
- Specifying Race or Gender
Under the Race Relations Act 1976 you can advertise for a person of a particular racial group and under the Sex Discrimination Act 1795 you can advertise for either male of female.
However, this can only be done where appropriate. For example it would be appropriate to only employ a female for a 15 year old girl who needs intimate care (nappy changing)
- Using a computer to design the advertisement
It is very useful to design and print your ad on a computer. You can always ask someone you know to help you with this.
Keep the advert short, to the point and easy to read. Run off a number of copies
How and where to advertise for a PA/Carer
Spreading the word verbally is a powerful way of advertising – mention what you are doing to friends, support workers etc
Give them a copy of your advert to jog their memory. Most people will offer to ask around for you.
- Post your advert to suitable places in your locality
Make a list of places where you may find suitable people in your area, eg – local schools, day centres, voluntary organisations
Send your advertisement with a covering letter to as many places as you can and ask them to display it on a notice board for you.
- Other places to advertise if still no response
Adapt the wording of your advertisement so it fits on a postcard and display on the notice board/in the window of –
-your local shop
-supermarket
-post office
-local church
-health centre
-community centre
You could also place an advertisement with your local job centre. If there are local support groups who publish newsletters, it would be worth advertising with them. Sometimes there can be a small weekly charge for this.
Local newspapers and magazines are another option, but you will need to spend money for these.
How people who are interested can contact you
- It is advisable not to give out your address – just indicate the locality in which you live
- Use your telephone number (using an answering machine is very useful)
- possibly ask your local social services, family centre or support groups if you can use their address for responses to be sent to and arrange to collect it or have them redirect it to you
- when people call, you should send them the following by post or email:
- a job application form
- a job description (as detailed as possible)
- a person profile
- a specific date for documents to be completed by
- You may want to fill out the application form over the phone? and send the rest of the documents out separately.
How to shortlist interested applicants for interview
- Go through the application forms and decide who you would like to interview
- Keep in mind what sort of person you are looking for and what you would need them to do
- Ask a partner or friend to help you
Interviewing
- If you are using direct payments to employ someone you know, it may not be necessary to interview them
- Venue - if you are worried about privacy and safety, you may prefer interviewing in a public place. Eg– job centre, local community centre, social services building or family centre
- Make sure the room is comfortable and you won’t get disturbed. If you’ve chosen a public place, you may wish to have a second, less formal interview at your home.
- Interview with another person, ie – your partner or friend
It is helpful to discuss your views with someone else
- Take notes – this will help you to remember what each candidate has said and will avoid getting details muddled of different candidates.
- Allow approximately 30 minutes for each interview
- Allow a short break in-between seeing candidates
- If you are interviewing for a carer/PA for your disabled child it is essential to involve them in the interview process click here for more information about this
- At the end of the interview you need to tell the candidate how you will let them know if they have the job. You may wish to do it writing as turning people down for a job can be a difficult situation over the phone.
- If people call you wanting feedback about why they didn’t get the job, it is worth emphasising the strengths of the suitable candidate rather than making critical comments about the unsuccessful candidate.
- You should make your decision after interviewing. Use your notes and person that you were interviewing with to give you balance in your decision making. Remember you need to feel like you will get on with this person and be able to trust them.
Questions for the interview
- Use open questions at the interview, these will give you more that just yes or no as an answer. They encourage the candidate to give you a more detailed answer.
Open questions normally begin with who, what, where, when, why, how…
- If the candidate does not give you a detailed enough answer, it’s always worth asking them to expand on their answer and give it in more detail
- Ask questions based on a realistic scenario, eg- ‘what would you do if….’
- You should base some of your questions on the experience of the candidate and their ideas of doing a task
- Draft up some specific questions based on each candidate’s application form. You may want to ask them about what they did in a previous job(s) or about gaps in their employment which is not explained on their form
- It is important to give the candidate the opportunity to ask you questions about yourself, the job and the working environment. This will give you another chance to clarify the job details.
- If the candidate does not ask questions, it is worth taking time to go through the job details in more depth
Checks and references
These are the final steps before officially letting the suitable candidate start the job
- Should be used for the recruitment of all personal assistants, even when you know the person really well if you are hiring a PA for your child
The Carers and Disabled Children Act (2000) makes it clear that the system of direct payments should not place a child in a situation where they are at risk from harm. Click here for more information
- On your application form, ask the applicants if they agree to being checked through the new Home Office agency, the Criminal Records Bureau and if they are willing to pay for this check.
- Your local authority will do the actual check on your behalf and they will give your prospective personal assistant a form to complete which is countersigned by the local authority.
- You will need to follow up on the 2 references the person gave you on their application form. Write to them in the first instance.
- You can just write to the referee(s) asking for a reference or ask specific questions. Here’s some suggested questions you may want to ask:
- if the referee is an employer – dates worked, duties, sickness record, reasons for leaving, pay etc
- reliability and honesty
- strengths and weaknesses
- understanding of and ability to maintain confidentiality
- ability to cope in a crisis
- would they recommend the person?
- Follow up phone calls are usually helpful to give the references extra credibility
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