Caregiver phone screen questions
Caregiver screening is about reliability, comfort with personal care, and whether the candidate can actually get to the client. The best caregivers are often not the best interviewees, so ask for examples and let them talk.
Eight questions, and what to listen for
Ask them in this order. The first two sort the pool; the middle ones show judgment; the last ones settle logistics before anyone books an interview.
- 1
Do you hold a current HHA, CNA, or PCA certification, and in which state?
Listen for: The credential and the state. Many agencies also accept experience without a credential for companion care; know which roles need which.
- 2
Tell me about the last two people you cared for and what a typical day looked like.
Listen for: Specific tasks, hours, and how long the placement lasted. Long placements are the best predictor of reliability.
- 3
Can you perform transfers, toileting, bathing and lifting assistance, with or without reasonable accommodation?
Listen for: A direct yes or an honest limit. Do not probe for medical details.
- 4
Have you cared for someone with dementia? Describe a hard moment and what you did.
Listen for: Patience, redirection, staying calm. The story matters more than the vocabulary.
- 5
What is your availability, and are you open to live-in or overnight placements?
Listen for: Match to the roles you fill. Live-in availability is rare and worth flagging immediately.
- 6
Do you have a valid driver's license and reliable transportation?
Listen for: Clients are spread out. A candidate without a car limits which placements they can take.
- 7
Tell me about a time a client or family member was upset with you. How did you handle it?
Listen for: De-escalation and escalation: calm the moment, then tell the agency. Defensiveness is a warning sign.
- 8
Are you able to complete a background check and provide two references?
Listen for: A quick yes. Hesitation usually means something to discuss before you invest more time.
Red flags on the call
- Cannot describe a past client in any detail
- Unwilling to do personal care for a role that requires it
- No transportation for an in-home role
- Speaks poorly of previous clients or families
Keep it short
Five questions, four to six minutes. Caregiver candidates are usually applying to several jobs at once; a screen they can finish between shifts gets finished. Save the deeper questions for the interview, where the candidate has already answered these once.
Ask whether the candidate can perform an essential task with or without reasonable accommodation; do not ask about disability or medical history. Avoid age, family, religion, national origin and other protected characteristics. See the EEOC's hiring-question guidance.
Be the caregiver candidate for three minutes
We call your phone and run a real three-question screen for Golden Hours Home Care, a home care agency in Tampa. Your scorecard is emailed to you exactly as a recruiter would see it.
- 1Do you hold a current HHA, CNA, or PCA certification, and in which state?
- 2Tell me about the last person you cared for and what a typical day looked like.
- 3Can you perform transfers, toileting, bathing and lifting assistance, with or without reasonable accommodation?
Your phone is about to ring at
Joe from Golden Hours Home Care will introduce himself and ask three questions. While you talk, try a few things:
- Cut in mid-sentence and notice the pause
- Give a vague answer and hear the follow-up
- Say you are not interested and hear it wrap up
Your scorecard lands in your inbox about a minute after you hang up.
Run this exact screen for every caregiver who applies
Create a role in PhoneScreen with these five questions, share the link, and every candidate gets the same screen the moment they call. You read the scorecards. First 10 screens are free.
- 1Do you hold a current HHA, CNA, or PCA certification, and in which state?
- 2Tell me about the last person you cared for and what a typical day looked like.
- 3Can you perform transfers, toileting, bathing and lifting assistance, with or without reasonable accommodation?
- 4Have you cared for someone with dementia? Describe a hard moment and what you did.
- 5What is your availability, and can you reliably travel between client homes?
Common questions
Many of our caregivers speak Spanish or Haitian Creole. Can the screen run in their language? +
Yes. The candidate picks the language on the apply form, the interview runs entirely in it, and you read the transcript and scorecard in English.
Can I use this exact list? +
Yes. The five-question screen above is the CareScreen template. Create a role, paste the questions or use the template, and share the link.
Screening for home care agencies · More roles: home health aide, forklift operator, CDL truck driver, line cook, restaurant server, cashier and retail associate · Why the same questions for everyone