“Someone you can get along with” and “reliable” are words that you definitely want to associate with your caregiver, but finding a caregiver that meets these qualifications is never an easy task. The good news is that with the advent of Craigslist, finding caregivers has become exponentially easier.

Finding Caregivers on the Internet
At first thought, the idea of scouring the internet for a personal care attendant (PCA) might seem like a bad idea. “Who knows what kind of weirdos you’ll find!” is what the usual “not-comfortable with the internet” type of person might say. But you can take it from me that Craigslist is without a doubt one of the best places anywhere, online or offline, to find a great caregiver. I started doing my own PCA staffing via Craigslist about four years ago and it’s made my life much more enjoyable.

Before utilizing Craigslist, I relied solely on my area staffing agency who found their caregivers using newspaper ads and posting flyers on college campuses. The latter is still not a bad idea, but no one really uses print newspapers anymore to find jobs. Online is just the way to go.

How to Use Craigslist
Why is my life now more enjoyable? It’s the quality of people I‘ve found. If someone is computer literate they’re far likelier to be smarter, well-spoken in English (not always a “for sure” thing, but usually this is the case), and all of these things result in much better caregiving. Here’s a good “how-to” list on how to post a “Caregiver Wanted” ad on Craigslist:

1. Navigate to your city. Craigslist has done a stellar job of pretty much offering a section on their site for every city.

2. Go to the “Medical/Health” section under the “Jobs” area.

3. Begin writing your “Caregiver Wanted” ad. At the top right corner of the page you’ll see a “Post” link. Click it. This link will take you through easy-to-follow steps that will guide you to posting your ad (and don’t be surprised if you start getting responses within minutes).

Reminder/warning: In bigger cities (like NYC) they charge a minimal amount (a few bucks) for you to post a “caregiver wanted” ad. It’s annoying, but it’s still worth your time posting.

Tip: Be careful with the wording in your ad. Be very specific about what you’re looking for, for example: hours, what exact cares you need help with, hourly pay, if public transportation is near your home, how much you weigh (or how you do transfers), and also add a “Required Qualifications” list. I usually put 18+, only females, and a clean criminal background, as the agency I technically still go through (via the State) requires this.

After your ad is “live,” as I stated above, you’re more than likely going to receive an overflowing amount of interested applicants. How should you weed through them all? Look carefully at how they word their emails, if they even send resumes and/or references, and see how polite they seem in their email. You can tell a lot by an email.

Meeting Your Potential Caregiver
After you’ve found some PCA’s you’re interested in, set-up in-person interviews at a public location (coffee shops are great for this). And just tell them it’s just a “meet ‘n greet” sort of session to see if you two will jive together. You’ll be able to tell within minutes too. If they make continuous eye contact with you, listen to your interview questions, and ask pertinent questions, you know you’ve found a keeper.

So with that, good luck finding a good and more importantly, RELIABLE, caregiver. They are out there. You just got to be creative in your search techniques.