How to Find Nursing Assistants

A compelling job description can help you attract great candidates. Start with a brief introduction to the facility at which they would be employed and briefly outline the job specification.

Following this, provide a more detailed list of the duties and responsibilities the nursing assistant will have to fulfill, along with the qualities, skills, and minimum qualifications applicants should have.

Since recruiting nursing assistants with the desired qualifications and character traits, such as patience, compassion, and physical stamina can be difficult, be sure to highlight the positive aspects of the role and in particular the institution and working environment they can expect.

The high physical and emotional demands of the job coupled with low salaries and long hours lead many nursing assistants to make a career change at some point.

A nursing assistant job description template will provide much of the boilerplate information you'll need, such as responsibilities and qualifications, making your task a bit easier.

Start by posting to popular general sites, like Indeed, which is among the most well-known job portals, allows for free regular postings, and receives large amounts of traffic. CareerBuilder, which is also one of the most trafficked job sites in the U.S. is another great choice.

You'll also want to make sure that your post is picked up by Google for Jobs, allowing it to show up in search results. This can greatly increase the number of people who see your job. You can get it picked up by Google by having someone properly format it on your website, or by using a service that creates a properly formatted jobs page for you automatically.

Depending on the number of qualified applications you receive through general job boards, you may also want to post to sites specific to the healthcare and nursing industry. Most of these will require you to pay for posts, such as CareerVitals, NurseRecruiter, or Nurse.com Job Board.

Before you invest too much time by conducting background checks and scheduling phone interviews, you'll want to screen your applicants and filter out unqualified candidates. You can do this by sending a short email asking a few basic questions to verify key details, such as:

• When and where did you complete training as a nursing assistant?
• How long have you worked as a nursing assistant?
• Are you available to work early and late shifts, including weekends?

This way, they cannot ignore your questions. If you're worried that your applicants may not be responsive to an email, you may want to try delegating someone to make short phone calls to ask these questions.

Once you have pre-qualified a selection of candidates, it is advisable to conduct background checks to verify their certifications, employment history, criminal record, and other application details. There are a variety of software platforms that offer background check services you can use to do this.

Since nursing assistant requirements vary by state, you'll want to be sure to check whether candidates meet these specific requirements. Nursing assistants often need a state-issued license or certification and must be on the state registry in order to work in a nursing home. Some states may also require them to have additional credentials.

Scheduling short phone interviews is a great way to trim down the selection of candidates you'll be inviting for an in-person interview. During these interviews, you'll ask the candidates to give you a brief account of their experience and qualifications and review the answers they provided to the screening questions to ensure these match up.

At this point, you should also find out what the applicants expect in terms of compensation and benefits, as well as the reason they left their previous employer. This may already reveal whether the candidate's expectations are in line with what you can offer and expect of them.

Example questions:

• Why do you want to work as a nursing assistant?
• This job is both physically and emotionally demanding. How do you manage and deal with these strains?
• How do you deal with difficult and uncooperative patients?
• Are you available to work full-time, including weekend shifts?
• What do you expect with regards to compensation and benefits?
• Are you willing to attend further training and continued education?

While you will want to make sure that candidates are suitable for the position in terms of their character and abilities, and that their expectations match what you have to offer, you'll also want to look out for anything that might disqualify them.

At this stage of the recruitment process, you will have most of the information you need to assess the competence and suitability of promising candidates. You'll want to review their motivation for wanting to work as a nursing assistant and reassure yourself that they have the required skills and know-how, and exhibit desired character traits and qualities.

This should include compassion and patience when working with patients, as well as emotional resilience and physical stamina. You should also go over the salary structure and benefits you offer in detail and discuss the typical shifts and working conditions candidates can expect.

In the healthcare industry, drug screening before hiring nursing assistants is commonplace.

At this stage of the recruitment process, you will have most of the information you need to assess the competence and suitability of promising candidates.

You'll want to review their motivation for wanting to work as a nursing assistant and reassure yourself that they have the required skills and know-how, and exhibit desired character traits and qualities. This should include compassion and patience when working with patients, as well as emotional resilience and physical stamina.