Carer interview questions: the PrimeCarers video interview, and what families ask you

Our video interview is one of the checks every carer goes through when they register, alongside an identity check through Yoti, a right to work check, and an enhanced DBS check (or PVG in Scotland, Access NI in Northern Ireland) issued within the last 18 months. It is the only one of those that is about you as a person rather than about your documents. Carer resources has the rest of the guides for carers setting up on their own, and enhanced DBS and the Update Service and right to work checks for carers cover the two document checks in full.

PrimeCarers does not verify references, and it does not check qualifications or training. You can invite past employers or families to leave a reference on your profile, you write your qualifications and training in your own words, and a family can read them and ask you about them. That is one reason the family's conversation matters as much as ours: it is where your experience gets talked through properly, with the people who would be relying on it.

The two interviews are also different in who is being judged. In ours, you are the one being assessed. In a family's, both sides are deciding. You are self-employed, you choose which clients you work with, and a family meeting is as much for you to decide whether the work suits you as it is for them.

The two rules that trip people up are that the interview cannot be paused, and that recording starts on its own. If you start it with twenty minutes before the school run, or on a phone at ten per cent, you will be answering question nine with one eye on the clock. Treat it like a short appointment and give it the whole of the time.

The thinking time before each answer is short. It is enough to decide what you want to say and which example you will use, not to plan every sentence. When recording starts, it is fine to take a breath and begin. A calm, plain answer that describes something you did is worth more than a smooth one that could have come from anybody.

The retake is there for the things that go wrong in ordinary homes: somebody walks in, the dog barks, you lose your words halfway through. You have one for each answer. It is worth keeping in mind that the second attempt replaces a first attempt you have already given, so use it when the first one did not say what you meant, not to chase a perfect version.

Because the answers are recorded live, you cannot film yourself somewhere else and upload a clip, and you cannot read from a script without it showing. Nobody expects a performance. The people reviewing it are looking at what you say and how you talk about the people you care for.

Skills for Care, the workforce development body for adult social care in England, describes values-based recruitment as an approach that helps employers understand a candidate's values, behaviours and attitudes. Its guidance on assessing candidates lists values-based interviews and scenario-based discussions among the ways of doing that. You are not applying for a job with us, since carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed, but the reasoning is the same. Skills for Care puts it this way for people new to the sector: depending on the role, you do not always need qualifications or experience, and what matters is having the right values, behaviours and attitudes.

Skills for Care's own guide for people thinking about care work, What values do I need to work in social care?, groups the values into four areas: dignity and respect, learning and reflection, working together, and a commitment to quality care and support. It describes what good looks like in each. A few examples from it are worth carrying into any care interview, ours or a family's:

• listening to people and getting to know their needs, and respecting their right to make their own decisions about how they are supported
• speaking clearly and plainly, without jargon and without talking down to anyone
• being open about mistakes, taking feedback without getting defensive, and knowing your own limits and when to ask for help
• giving the person your full attention, and being warm, kind and reliable with them

That list is also a fair description of what people mean by care worker qualities and key skills. None of it needs a qualification, and all of it comes across in the way you describe your work and the people you have looked after.

The most useful thing you can bring is real examples. When a question asks what you would do, it helps to say what you did the last time something like it happened, and why. If you have not worked in care before, examples from looking after a relative, from volunteering or from any job where you dealt with people who were upset or unwell count too. Skills for Care makes the same point: experience from work, volunteering, caring for family or your own life can all show your values.

Taking the interview on a phone is fine. Prop it on a shelf or a pile of books so it stays still and your face is in the frame. Do a quick test with the camera app first to check the angle and the light, and that the microphone picks you up clearly without shouting.

Before you start, it helps to spend ten minutes thinking about two or three situations from your own experience that you could describe well. Think of a time a client was having a bad day, or a time you noticed something was wrong and had to decide what to do about it. You are not learning answers, you are reminding yourself of things that happened so they come to mind when you need them.

Dress as you would to meet a family for the first time. A clean top and a tidy background behind you are enough.

If something goes badly wrong partway through, such as a power cut or the connection dropping, contact PrimeCarers support and explain what happened rather than worrying about it on your own.

When you are ready to start registering, you can register as a carer on PrimeCarers, and the app takes you to the interview as one of the steps.

It helps to know what families are told before they talk to you. The guide PrimeCarers gives families on how to interview live-in carers explains that your identity, right to work and enhanced DBS have been checked and your online interview done before your profile appears, so their conversation can focus on fit. It suggests they ask you for real examples rather than general answers, and ask two or three "what if" questions, such as how you would handle confusion or a refusal, a medical emergency, or your own illness. It also suggests they talk plainly about how breaks will work.

The guide for families choosing a private carer suggests they write down what their relative needs before you arrive, talk you through a typical visit, show you round the home, and give you time to ask your own questions. It tells them it is fine to meet more than one carer before deciding. Some families will ask to see your DBS certificate and photo ID, and because we do not verify the references on your profile, some will want to follow them up or ask you for the name of somebody you have worked for. Having those ready saves time.

Your questions matter as much as theirs. The contract between you and each client says the client should give you full and accurate information, in advance, about known risks: mobility and handling needs, confusion or memory problems, behaviour that can be difficult, safeguarding concerns, infections, and hazards in the home. The family interview is the natural time to ask about all of it. A family who has thought about these things will be glad to be asked.

It is also the time to make sure you both know the terms. The PrimeCarers contract sets out that either side can end an hourly arrangement with 48 hours' notice, and a live-in arrangement with 7 days' notice once 168 hours have been worked. Bank holidays are paid at one and a half times your normal rate and Christmas Day at twice. A visit the client cancels is payable in full, except for unplanned hospitalisation, illness or another reason you both agree, and you can waive some or all of it if you choose. Travel and out-of-pocket expenses are only chargeable if they are agreed in advance, and expenses need receipts. The full contract is worth reading once before your first family meeting. Your rate is already on your profile before a family contacts you, so the interview does not need to become a conversation about price. What carers earn on PrimeCarers explains how the rate you set and our commission fit together.

If the meeting goes well and you both want to go ahead, what you agree is set out in writing through the platform, and that becomes the arrangement you work to. If it does not feel right, you do not have to take the work. How to succeed as a private carer covers what keeps families booking the same carer once you have started, and being reliable, and why it wins work covers reliability, which is what families talk about when they recommend a carer. If you want to see what is being asked for near you before you register, see the carer jobs open near you.