3 Tips to Finding New York City’s Best Home Care Jobs
“The best caregivers want to work for the best home care providers.”
The home care industry is experiencing its fastest growth in history and New York City is among the leading cities for full-time and part-time home care jobs.
With so many potential opportunities, why shouldn’t you work for a home care agency that values your work and your love of providing compassionate care?
Whether you're looking on indeed.com, mycnajobs.com, or in the local paper, finding the right home care employer can be tricky. Too often, job postings look exactly the same. How can you be sure that the employer you pick will actually keep its promises? Read on for four simple tips on how to find the best home care jobs in New York City.
The Trouble with Home Care Jobs
For decades, most seniors and people with disabilities have preferred to age at home, and the COVID-19 pandemic only increased that desire. But for far too long, caregiving has been undervalued. Too often, people assume care work is “easy,” or that care work is the last resort for people who can’t find other jobs. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Anyone who has ever worked in-home care or hired a caregiver for a loved one knows how important the work is and how much skill it takes. Companionship and support with activities of daily living mean the difference between remaining safely and happily at home or moving to a facility, and most caregivers do the work because they love helping people.
Because of these misconceptions, care workers are often neglected, and their contributions are overlooked. But change is coming. The pandemic put a spotlight on the importance of care at home. And with insufficient available caregivers to meet the need for services, caregivers have more choices and more power to demand better job quality.
If you are a dedicated caregiver ready for change, here are four tips to help you spot the best home care jobs.
Tip #1 - The Best Home Care Agencies Care about Caregivers!
What kind of language do employers use in their job postings?
- Do their job postings look like every other home care agency?
- Do they highlight sign-on bonuses but then skip over job features and benefits that actually make for good jobs, like respect, communication, flexibility, and/or work-life balance?
- Do they claim to be the “best” or “highest quality” employer but then provide no actual examples or proof?
- Do they say, “No experience needed”, but don’t give information about training and safety measures?
These are all sure-fire signs of an employer that is more interested in getting caregivers in the door quickly than investing in people who want to grow with their company. Good home care employers in New York City will give concrete examples that show how they’ll look out for you, and that you're not “just another caregiver” moving through their revolving door.
What to look out for: Language that demonstrates understanding and appreciation for your work, and job features and benefits that prove it.
Tip #2 - The Best Home Care Agencies Care About Your Wellbeing
As a caregiver, you work hard and deserve the peace of mind knowing you can take time if you get sick or need a break. But too many home care companies don’t offer any benefits. In fact, only one-third of independent and franchise-run home care agencies provide some form of benefits like travel reimbursement, major health, dental, or sick leave. You should look closely at each agency’s benefits and weigh them against your needs.
Taking care of your whole self and having a work-life balance are ingredients for a rewarding career in home care, and just like every other professional, you deserve benefits!
What to look out for:
- Paid Time Off
- Paid Sick Time
- Holiday Pay
- Bereavement, and Jury Duty
- Paid Travel Time
- Workers Compensation
- Disability
- Paid Family Leave
- Health/Dental insurance
- 401k
- 1199 Union Membership Benefits
- Continuing education
- Legal Support
- Member Assistant Program
- Immigration Services
- Free Training and Guaranteed Employment
- Financial Support Programs
- Tax Preparation
- Worker Ownership
Did you know, our agency, Cooperative Home Care Associates, offers all of these benefits and more?!
Tip #3 - The Best Home Care Agencies Provide Growth Opportunities
The best home care employers see your potential and want to help you achieve your personal and professional goals. Beyond caregiving, does the agency offer opportunities to get more involved in the business? Does the agency hire caregivers for internal office roles, or do they always hire from outside? Do they offer opportunities to learn more about the back end of the business?
The best home care agencies will know that caregivers have a lot to offer and many talents that can help the business grow. Here are Cooperative Home Care Associates:
- We offer full time, part time, and temporary work to meet caregivers' individual career goals.
- 40% of our office staff were at one time home care workers
- We have a paid per mentor program and senior aide program offering unique career advancement opportunities
- Caregivers are regularly invited to participate in advocacy efforts and to speak at local and national events to promote the importance of home care work
- All caregivers are invited to become part-owners of the company and have their voices heard in important organizational decisions
What to look out for: Opportunities to learn and get involved in other areas of the business beyond caregiving, use your many skills, and gain diverse knowledge and experience.
Today there are fourteen worker-owned home care cooperatives across nine states, employing over 2,400 caregivers, with 1,100 caregiver-owners (ICA Cooperative Summary, 2021)!
Did you know that Cooperative Home Care Associates CHCA) is a worker-owned cooperative home care agency, and one of the largest worker-owned companies in the country? Take a look at our current career opportunities.
What is Best for You?
Caregivers are essential workers. You are the backbone of our economy, and you deserve to work at a company that sees your value and puts its money where its mouth is. Whether you choose to work at a worker-owned home care agency or not, you deserve to be treated with respect and to be supported to do your best work and be your best self.
We hope you find these tips useful as you consider your current employment or search for a new employer.
