5 Personal Qualities That Will Make You An Amazing Care And Support Worker 

Looking for a new gig? With the world of work changing and our approach to job satisfaction evolving, fresh opportunities for an exciting new job could be on your horizon for 2022. 

And if you want that job to be something fulfilling that actually makes a difference, a career as a care and support worker might be for you. Care and support workers make a difference every day by supporting people living with disability, older people and veterans. It’s a dynamic sector and no two days are the same, but primarily you’ll be helping people live full lives and achieve their goals. 

There’s a huge amount of opportunity within this fast-growing sector, including one-on-one care and support roles and roles in administration, management, and allied health. If you’ve ever thought about becoming a care and support worker, or about changing careers to something where you can truly make a difference, consider this your sign to take the next step and investigate some of these roles. 

The good news is that a lot of the everyday skills and attributes you probably already have can help you get hired in this sector, so you’re already on the right track just by being you! Here are five personal qualities that will help make you an amazing care and support worker.    

1. You Care About People

To be a care and support worker, you need to be the kind of person who genuinely enjoys supporting people and seeing them achieve their goals. Care and support workers don’t just assist people with day-to-day tasks like meal prep, although that can be a part of it. More accurately, you’ll be helping the people you support live full lives. 

That might involve supporting them to attend social outings with their friends, outdoor activities, live gigs or sporting events. Or, it might involve hosting recreational activities for older people living in residential care. If you enjoy sharing experiences, developing strong relationships, and celebrating success with people, you’re well-suited to a care and support role. 

2. You’re Adaptable    

When you’re working in a one-on-one role within the care and support sector, you’ll often have to be flexible and open to change. Sometimes that will be working hours that suit the people you’re supporting, like helping them get ready for work or school in the morning or going to social events with them in the evening. It might also be assisting an older person with meal prep one day and driving them to an appointment the next. 

There’s a certain degree of problem-solving involved in these jobs to make sure you’re where you need to be, when you need to be, to best support the people you work with. That makes the care and support sector a good fit if you love flexing that part of your brain. 

3. You’re Patient    

Like any job, care and support work can be challenging at times. If you’re patient and empathetic towards the things other people need and want, you’ll thrive in this aspect of the job. 

Communication and compassion are also important in care and support roles, as you’ll be tailoring the work you do for each person you work with. To do that, first you need to be able to understand their unique perspectives. No two people you work with are the same, and everyone will have their own big and small goals. If you’re able to tap into what other people are feeling, that’s a big step towards a successful career in the sector.       

4. You Put Safety First

It’s not just your wellbeing on the line when you’re a care and support worker — that’s why it’s so important that you pay attention to, learn, and follow safety protocols. It’s a big part of the role, one that will touch every other task you perform, so detail-oriented people will thrive here. 

Sometimes this will involve staying safe when you’re supporting people in performing daily hygiene tasks like dressing, bathing, and eating. Other times it will involve keeping their personal details confidential and understanding the restrictions about how, when, and to whom you can divulge them. 

At the moment, it also involves following infection-control protocols to help keep you and the people you work with safe from C COVID-19.

5. You’re Proactive

Although you’ll work closely with people every day, a care and support job also requires you to take a lot of initiative. Whilst you’ll receive support from your employer and peers, you’ll often be working independently. That means multitasking, finding solutions to problems, organising your time, communicating, and understanding people’s needs on your own. 

However, this also gives you lots of opportunities to take ownership of your role and shape it how you want. It also means you’ll form strong relationships with the people you work with, which will make supporting them and celebrating their successes even more fulfilling.       

At the end of the day, it’s a win-win scenario for everyone involved. 

Keen to learn more about how your existing personal qualities can get you hired as a care and support worker? Check out the available care and support jobs all over the country and get started in an exciting and fulfilling career path that will make a real difference in people’s lives.       

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The care and support sector is now hiring! With a job in aged care, disability, or veterans’ support, you’ll find career pathways and work flexible hours while you learn. Now hiring at www.careandsupportjobs.gov.au 

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Images courtesy of Australian Government