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Residents get to interview candidates for jobs at home
RESIDENTS at a care home are sitting in on interviews to help choose their carers.
They have been given a free rein to ask the questions that matter to them most – as well as answer any queries from the interviewees themselves.
Manager Kim Mckay says residents are relishing it.
She said: “They can be quite frank and ask quite difficult questions, which is ideal when you’re conducting an interview.
“It has also given them the opportunity to find out things that are important to them, which has given them a sense of purpose.”
The innovative idea came to Kim when a resident walked in while she was conducting an interview with her office door open.
She said: “I have an open door policy so the residents can come and talk to me whenever they like.
“When someone walked in while I was doing an interview I thought it was a good idea to get him involved in the process.
“It went really well and all three of us really enjoyed ourselves.”
Since then Kim has involved several residents in more than 10 interviews and plans to continue the scheme.
The manager said the idea as well as being good for the residents has proved “really beneficial” in providing her with the chance to see how applicants interact with the elderly.
Terry Hickson, 77, helped interview Nayyer Ahmed for the position of unit manager. He asked questions such as, “Are you loud?”, adding: “We don’t want anyone loud.”
He also asked about punctuality, saying: “We don’t want people turning up 15 minutes late.”
Joyce Wilkinson, 96, and Renee Mallinson, 87, interviewed candidates for the position of activities coordinator at Aden View Care Home in Huddersfield earlier this month.
Joyce said: “I was really excited about being involved. I’ve never done anything like this before.”
Renee added: “I was thrilled to help. It reminded me of being back in the day, when I had a sweet shop, a butchers and a farm. The interviews were not so formal back then.”
After her interview, Nayyer said: “I’ve never had a client in the interview process. It was really nice for Terry to be involved.”