Corporate Skills that Transition Well into Professional Caregiving
A record number of Americans quit their jobs in 2021. Of the more than 4.3 million who left their work, many sought better pay, benefits, flexibility, and more rewarding careers. A career path that some turned to that brought respectable income, flexibility, and job satisfaction is caregiving. Professional caregiving is an excellent option worth considering, even for those transitioning from a corporate setting.
What is Professional Caregiving
Professional caregiving is when a trained caregiver provides care services to another person. At Visiting Angels, we primarily provide at-home services to seniors within the community. This type of care is when a caregiver goes to a client’s home to assist with nonmedical tasks such as light housekeeping, personal grooming, meal preparation, medication reminders, and transportation.
It’s vital to understand the difference between professional caregiving and family caregiving. Professional caregivers are trained individuals who service clients for an agency like Visiting Angels. A family caregiver refers to someone who cares for a family member. This person is often not trained as a caregiver and assists their loved one while also maintaining a separate career.
Corporate Skills in Professional Caregiving
If you spent time in corporate America, you might feel hesitant to transition into caregiver. You might worry you are not qualified or don’t have the proper skills to do the job. However, many of the top skills companies seek in corporate settings have applications to working as a caregiver.
Communication
Communication is how well you can explain and share information with others. In the corporate world, you primarily communicate with teams, managers, and clients in person, on the phone, or in an email. It’s similar when working as a caregiver. As a caregiver, you’ll need to communicate with clients, families, and other Visiting Angels employees. You’ll need to effectively communicate care plans, concerns, and questions both written and orally.
Leadership
Leadership encompasses many practical skills that help you influence or guide people to do their best. If you’ve worked as a leader within a company, you might rely on trust and relationship building to inspire employees to work hard. In caregiving, your leadership helps you build trust among your clients and encourage them to take care of themselves and be proactive about their health.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is how well you understand and manage your emotions. Emotional intelligence is also about how well you know the feelings of others. Individuals with vital emotional intelligence are empathic, compassionate, and caring. People with high emotional intelligence are typical positive thinkers who have positive tactics for relieving stress, sadness, and anger.
Flexibility
Flexibility is about how well you can adapt to changes. You should feel comfortable making changes to provide the best quality care, even if that means veering from your original plan. You may have to make on-the-fly changes to a client’s care plan or reprioritize your daily tasks.
Detail-Oriented
Someone detail-oriented has strong observation skills and notices the small things. Corporate workplaces love detail-oriented employees because they help them find mistakes or point out potential problems before they turn into errors. Detail-oriented caregivers see the little things about their clients. They pick up on subtle hints and have keen observation skills to notice if something is off with their client.
Getting Started with Visiting Angels
Do you think you have the skills to work as a professional caregiver? We’d love to connect. Our Farmington office hires full and part-time caregivers to serve clients in Farmington, Aztec, Bloomfield, Navajo Dam, Flora Vista, and the surrounding communities.
If you’d like to learn more about career opportunities with Visiting Angels, you can send us an online application or call us at 505.516.1150.