Whether you’re stepping into your first aged care role, seeking career advancement or looking for a job with more work-life balance, thorough interview preparation is key.
Preparing well not only boosts your confidence but also ensures you highlight the compassion, teamwork, and adaptability that aged care employers value.
Don’t forget to prepare for the interview more broadly. We’ve compiled tips for interview preparation with common questions which you can read separately. Some quick tips are to remember to research the organisation, reflect on your past experiences, and practice answering common questions.
Aged Care Interview Questions
Personal & Career Questions
- In your view, what are the essential responsibilities of a care worker?
- What personal qualities do you bring to the role, and how have they contributed to your success in aged care?
- Why do you want to work in aged care, and what relevant experience can you share?
- What do you find most fulfilling about a career in aged care?
- What are your salary expectations and long-term career goals in aged care?
- How did you come across this care worker opportunity, and what do you hope to achieve if selected?
Experience & Skills Questions
- How do you keep yourself updated with current best practices and evolving standards in aged care?
- Can you discuss your experience in providing personal care while ensuring the dignity and respect of residents?
- What is your understanding of dementia, and how would you adapt your care approach for someone affected by it?
- What does person-centred care mean to you, and how do you apply it in your day-to-day practice?
- What is your process for managing medications safely for multiple residents?
Situational & Behavioral Questions
- Can you share an experience where you worked with a team to develop or refine a resident’s care plan?
- Describe a time when you mentored or trained new staff to help them integrate into the team.
- Tell us about an occasion when you learned a new care technique from a colleague.
- Describe a situation in which you had to deliver challenging news to a resident or their family. How did you manage it?
- How do you address family concerns or complaints while maintaining trust and professionalism?
- Can you describe how you prioritize and manage your schedule when caring for multiple residents?
- How do you approach end-of-life care to ensure both residents and their families feel supported?
- Share an example of when you had to swiftly adapt to a change in a resident’s health.
- Describe a scenario where a resident declined assistance. How did you handle the situation?
- Can you recount a time when you managed challenging behavior from a resident and the steps you took?
- Tell us about an instance where you resolved a conflict with a colleague regarding resident care.
- In an emergency, how have you supported your team to ensure resident safety?
- How have you handled high-pressure or stressful situations in your career?
- How would you respond if a resident appeared upset or confused?
- Describe an emergency where you had to think quickly. What was the outcome?
- How would you react if a resident experienced a sudden fall or health issue?
- When confronted with two urgent situations simultaneously, how do you determine which one to address first?
Answer using the STAR Method
There isn’t one perfect way to answer interview questions, but the STAR technique is the one we recommend to provide a clear framework for structuring your responses. STAR stands for:
- Situation: Start by setting the scene. Explain where you were working, your role, and the context of the situation.
- Task: Describe your specific responsibility in that scenario. What was the challenge you needed to overcome?
- Action: Detail the steps you took to address the challenge. Focus on the skills and techniques you used.
- Result: Conclude with the outcome of your actions. What was the impact, and what did you learn?
An example response using the STAR method.
- Situation: In a previous role, I observed that a resident was frequently anxious during meal times, often refusing to eat and showing signs of distress.
- Task: My goal was to alleviate the resident’s anxiety and ensure they received proper nutrition.
- Action: I took the time to speak with the resident to understand their concerns, discovered they felt overwhelmed by a noisy dining environment, and then collaborated with the kitchen and dining staff to create a calmer atmosphere during meals.
- Result: The resident became more relaxed during meal times, their nutritional intake improved, and the overall dining experience was enhanced for other residents as well.
Preparation Is Key
Remember to not make it too rehearsed, delivering your answers in a genuine way is also important.
While the exact questions may differ, preparing for the most common questions and thinking of specific scenarios to use as examples within the STAR Method means you can more easily adjust your answers during the interview.
Looking For More Assistance?
If you’re an aged care worker looking for a more personalised approach, get in touch to see how we may be able to assist you in finding the right role.
We can also assist aged care facilities to recruit the right aged & healthcare staff, get in touch today.
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