What I look for in a new hire

• Name: Jeff Salter, 42
• Company: Caring Senior Service, San Antonio, Texas

A true passion for the elderly is a must at Caring Senior Service, an in-home care franchise with 45 offices and 1,375 employees nationwide.

Professional experience is important, but we also inquire about firsthand encounters caring for seniors. Someone who sees caregiving as more than just a job will give detailed descriptions about a client or family member.

I've felt a passion for caring for the elderly since I started the company in 1991. It's why I go to work every day, and I want to be sure that it's the same for everyone else here.

We hired one caregiver because she told us that when she was about 8 years old, she would get in trouble for "running away from home," when in fact she'd been riding her bike to the local nursing home to talk with the seniors and entertain them. She is still great at that, even now that she has been promoted to an administrator.

Another candidate described handling clients with dementia. Rather than spewing industry terms, she expressed how she keeps calm and can sympathize with clients with dementia, which can be extremely difficult. She's outstanding, and now trains caregivers for that area.

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