Interviewing a caregiver is unlike any other hiring conversation. You aren’t just evaluating skills — you’re deciding whether you’ll be comfortable leaving your mother, father, spouse, or child alone with this person for hours at a time. The right questions make that decision clearer, fast.
The list below works whether you’re interviewing a private caregiver or meeting the caregiver your agency has proposed for your case. Read through it before the meeting, mark the five or six questions that matter most for your situation, and build from there.
Shortcut
If you’re working with a reputable agency, most of the experience and background questions below will already have been answered during intake. Focus your meet-and-greet on soft skills, personality, and scenario questions — those are where the match is made.
Experience and training
- How long have you been a caregiver?
- What kinds of clients have you worked with most — seniors, dementia, post-surgery, disabilities?
- What certifications do you currently hold (HCA, CNA, CPR, First Aid)?
- When did you last do in-person training on safe transfers or dementia care?
- What’s the hardest caregiving situation you’ve handled, and what did you learn from it?
What to listen for: specific stories, not generic answers. A caregiver with real experience will talk about actual people and situations — the difference between “I’ve worked with dementia clients” and “My last client had sundowning and would get agitated around 5 p.m., so we moved dinner earlier and it helped.” That kind of detail is what separates a confident personal care attendant from someone who’s just been on the job a long time.
Personal care and daily living
- Walk me through how you help someone with a shower who is unsteady on their feet.
- What do you do if my mother refuses to bathe today?
- How do you handle incontinence care with dignity?
- Have you done catheter care, colostomy care, or feeding tube care? (Note: non-medical caregivers generally do not perform these tasks; this question tells you about their scope awareness.)
- How do you prepare meals for someone on a special diet — low-sodium, diabetic, soft foods?
- What’s your approach to a client who forgets they just ate, and asks for dinner again?
Dementia and cognitive decline
- How do you respond when a client with dementia is convinced someone is stealing from them?
- What do you do when a client asks for a family member who has passed away?
- How do you redirect agitation or sundowning?
- Have you worked with someone who wanders? What did you do about it?
What to listen for: calm, creative problem-solving. The best dementia caregivers never correct or argue — they join the person in their reality and gently redirect. If you hear “I tell her she’s wrong,” keep looking.
Safety and emergencies
- What do you do if my dad falls while I’m not home?
- What do you do if you walk in and he’s on the floor?
- What signs would tell you to call 911 vs. me first?
- Have you ever had to call 911 for a client? Walk me through what happened.
- How do you document what happens during a shift?
Soft skills, personality, and fit
- What makes you good at this job?
- What kind of clients do you work best with?
- What kind of clients are hard for you?
- Tell me about a client relationship you’re proud of.
- What do you do if you and a client just don’t click?
- How do you handle it when family members disagree about care?
- What do you like to do for fun? What do you like to cook?
The “fun and cooking” questions sound casual, but they’re the ones that predict how the daily rhythm will feel — and they’re exactly the territory of companion care. You want to hear warmth, curiosity, and specifics.
Logistics and scheduling
- What days and times are you available?
- Can you do overnight or weekend shifts if we ever need them?
- How far are you willing to travel in Las Vegas?
- If you’re sick, how will you let us know, and how early?
- What’s your policy on arriving on time?
- Do you have backup childcare or other arrangements so you can reliably show up?
Medical boundaries and honest limits
- What tasks would you not be willing or allowed to do?
- What’s your understanding of non-medical vs. medical care?
- If my father needs his insulin, who handles that?
- What would you do if a prescription clearly wasn’t right?
You want a caregiver who knows their scope. A great answer to the insulin question is: “I can remind him it’s time, but I wouldn’t give the injection — that’s a medical task. Depending on the situation, that’s a family member, a visiting nurse, or the client himself.” If you’re not sure where the line is, our quick read on the difference between non-medical and medical care covers it in one page.
Character and history
- Why did you leave your last caregiving position?
- Have you ever had a complaint or termination from a client?
- Have you ever had a background check issue we should know about?
Privacy, finances, and trust
- How do you handle access to a client’s cash, credit cards, or bank information?
- What’s your policy on using the client’s car? (For Family Personal Care caregivers: we do not drive clients. Other agencies may or may not allow it.)
- Would you be comfortable with a security camera in the home?
- What do you do if you find medication missing?
Scenario questions — the most important five
- “It’s 7 p.m., my mom is refusing dinner and saying she wants to go home — even though she’s already home. What do you do?”
- “My dad just stepped out of the shower and lost his balance. He’s on the floor but he’s conscious and complaining about his hip. What’s your first step?”
- “It’s your third day on the job and my mom tells you she doesn’t want you here. What do you do?”
- “You notice a bruise on my dad’s arm that wasn’t there yesterday and he doesn’t remember how he got it. What do you do?”
- “I’ve asked you to make sure my mom takes her 5 p.m. pills, and she says she already took them and gets annoyed. How do you handle it?”
Questions you should expect them to ask you
A good caregiver interviews you, too. If they don’t, that’s its own red flag. Expect them to ask:
- What’s a typical day like for your loved one?
- What are their likes, dislikes, and routines?
- Who are the family members I’ll be in touch with?
- What’s the goal here — are we trying to keep them home long-term, help them recover, or take pressure off you?
- Is there anything specific that would be a deal-breaker for me as a caregiver?
Let the agency do the heavy lifting
Interviewing caregivers is exhausting — and if you’re hiring privately, you’ll also be the one verifying references, running background checks, setting up payroll, and handling taxes. A licensed agency like Family Personal Care has already screened and trained every caregiver before they walk in your door, and we run the hard conversations about scope, boundaries, and documentation on your behalf — including when a family needs respite coverage in a hurry.
Already vetting agencies? Pair this interview script with our 8 questions to ask any Las Vegas home care agency — together they cover both the caregiver and the company behind them.
If you’d rather skip the private-hire process entirely, call us at (702) 906-1999 and a coordinator will hear what you need and walk you through the next steps.