You‘ve posted an ad, received responses and invited your top candidates to interview for the position of caring for you at home. What should you ask of them?

-- How long have you been doing this kind of work?

-- Why do you like this kind of work?

-- What do you like best about caregiving?

-- What do you like least about caregiving?

-- What kinds of tasks do you enjoy?

-- Who have you worked with? Can you describe your experiences?

-- May I contact your references? (Checking references is a must.)

-- What specific tasks have you performed/can you perform?

-- What tasks are you unwilling to do?

-- Do you have transportation to get to and from work and to take me to doctor appointments and/or therapy?

-- How would you cover your shift if you were ill?

-- What would you do in case of emergency?

“Remember, when you hire a caregiver, you‘re inviting someone into your home to be with you many hours a day. You have to like that person and feel comfortable with him or her. Your personalities need to jibe. If you are quiet and don‘t like to talk much, don‘t hire a chatterbox. If you like to discuss the news, hire someone who is also engaged in current events.

“Monitor your caregiver‘s performance, and if you‘re not satisfied, cut ties and hire someone else,” says Steven Z. Pantilat, MD, director of the Palliative Care Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco, in his book, “Life After the Diagnosis: Expert Advice on Living Well With Serious Illness for Patients and Caregivers.”

This article appears in the summer 2017 issue of Cancer Care magazine.