This lesson will introduce you to the ins and outs of a family assistant position including the unique advantages and challenges of the job.

Although every job is different, there are common skills and traits that every family assistant needs. We’ll take a detailed look at what the essentials are, unpack what’s needed for niche jobs, and real world strategies for filling in any gaps you may have. 

This lesson includes two parts.

Overview of the Family Assistant Job Description
In this session, we’ll review why a clear, comprehensive family assistant job description is foundational to your success and the many ways you’ll use a job description in your search, your contract negotiations, and your everyday work.  We’ll take a detailed look at what a family assistant job description should include, the elements you should consider when deciding on what works for you and what doesn’t, and how to develop a job description template you can use in your search, your contract negotiations, and your everyday work.    

Helping a Family Write a Family Assistant Job Description
To create a fair, balanced, and workable job description, it’s often helpful for you and your employers to collaborate in its development.  This session will help you become an effective guide through the process so the final draft reflects your and your employers’ needs, wants, and expectations.

Family assistant jobs have always been a juggling act, requiring FAs to wear multiple hats, sometimes all at once.  However during COVID, in-home professionals took on expanded responsibilities out of necessity and as a result, the expectations of many employers and agencies grew.  For many, that expanded view has become the “new normal” that’s unsustainable and unhealthy over the long run.     

In this session, we’ll look at

• the difference between informal “do everything” jobs and true family assistant roles
• how to spot and avoid overloaded job descriptions that cannot be successfully filled by one person, saving yourself from burnout, a strained employment relationship, and inevitable failure in a job
• how to advocate for yourself with agencies and firmly and fairly set professional boundaries around what you will and will not do
• how to find creative solutions to gaps in coverage or services

Since there is no “standard” family assistant position, it’s up to you to ensure you have a comprehensive contract that provides you with the clarity and details you need to build a positive employment relationship and environment.  This lesson provides you with a customizable template and step-by-step guide for creating a contract that works for both you and your employers.

This lesson gives you a group of communication tools and tried and true strategies to use in whatever situation comes up from a conflict between you and your boss to giving feedback to a vendor to getting ready for a performance review. 

With Your Employers

A good relationship with your employer is essential to being happy in your job.  In this session, you’ll learn the must-have elements of a positive relationship, how to skillfully navigate and manage this nuanced relationship, tools and strategies for developing clear, respectful communication, no matter your employer’s personality or employer style, and the art of having professional boundaries and a pitch-in attitude.

With Staff and Vendors

Most family assistant jobs include working with other staff or vendors like the handyman, repair service, contractor, or caterer.  In this lesson you’ll learn the nuts and bolts of working successfully with those professionals and strategies for fostering collaborative environments and positive relationships.  

As a family assistant, you’ll work with a huge amount of information.  From to do lists to home details to shopping guidelines.  In this session, we’ll look what to include in your housebook, how to gather, organize, and store information, and use your housebook to support you in your role.   

In this lesson, you’ll take all you’ve learned in the course and put it to work in landing a job.  We’ll dive into how to identity potential employers, how to separate yourself from the competition, and how to best sell your services.