Career Advice

There will always be a demand for care workers, but what is the best route into this career path?

The care sector offers many skilled workers across the UK the opportunity to pursue an enriching and highly respected career. There will always be a demand for care workers, but what is the best route into this career path?

Star Employment Services explore the multiple options open to skilled workers who have interest in entering the care sector, by taking a deeper look into the ideal profile of a care worker, the qualifications and experience needed, and what kind of career progression a care worker can expect.

What does a care worker do?

The main role of a care worker is to attend to the specific needs of and provide support for people who require assistance in their daily lives. The work of a care worker will vary from client to client. Care workers are often needed when their client is not able to get the assistance they need from family or a guardian, or has special requirements than only a formally trained care worker can help with. Care workers work a variety of shift patterns and can either be based in a dedicated facility, such as a care home, or work on call.

Key duties will usually include:

• Working with clients, their next of kin and other professionals to identify their particular needs, and develop a specialist plan to meet their needs.
• Providing personalised care to their clients, and administering the correct procedures for any physical or mental difficulties.
• Aiding a client with errands or tasks that they may struggle with, such as shopping, cooking or studying.
• Providing appropriate emotional support to clients and their families, and guiding them through any issue they may have.

What are the key statistics I should know about the care sector?

According to government statistics, the average care worker will work between 30-40 hours a week, often on a shift pattern, and will earn between £12,500 to £20,000 per annum.

New starters will have a wage of between £12-16k, with qualified junior workers earning an average of £17-19k. Senior support officers or other senior roles in the care sector will earn upwards of £25k, and some form of further qualification is often expected in order to progress to senior positions.

What skills and attributes should a care worker have?

To be successful in this position, having a passion for helping people is essential. You will need exceptional communication skills and must be tactful, patient and sensitive with your clients at all times, especially when dealing with challenging circumstances (e.g. bereavement, behavioural problems, etc.).

Other key skills and attributes include:

• A friendly and approachable nature with a good sense of humour
• Ability to build relationships and to make others feel comfortable and at ease
• The ability to keep calm under pressure, as clients may sometimes be aggressive or anxious, or you may be faced with an emergency
• Critical thinking and problem solving

What kind of qualifications do I need to become a care worker?

You can actually start in the care sector on a part-time basis, with no specialist qualifications required. Individual care authorities will have their own set requirements, such as a minimum number of level 2 qualifications (e.g. GCSE Maths and English).

All care workers will need to complete a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) test. This was formerly known as a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) test. If you wish to pursue adult social care in England, you need to gain the Care Certificate as part of a 12-week induction programme provided by your employer. The certificate can be completed online as a distance course. Within 6 months of starting in children’s residential care, you’ll need to have or get the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare or equivalent.

You can also get into the care sector through a Health and Social Care apprenticeship or a level 2 qualification that leads to a job, such as a BTEC course or NVQ. There are also level 3 and degree courses that care workers can undertake, in order to move into senior roles. Some of these courses are often known as Health and Social Care, Childhood Studies, or similar. In a lateral move, experienced care workers will often get the opportunity to study for nursing degrees should they wish to.

What kind of career options do I have if I become a care worker?

In the care sector, the career progression path is clear – you can start in junior care positions before working up to senior support roles in a variety of sectors. To speak to a member of our team and find out more about starting a career in the care sector, or to find out about current vacancies register your cv today.

Preparing for an interview? Take a look at six of the most difficult interview questions and how to answer them

Let’s face facts: interviews are not fun. Spending the best part of 30 minutes upwards trying to convince somebody that they should hire you for a job, so you can earn money and build a career, can put you under a lot of pressure.

So how can you make interviews easier for yourself? While we don’t advise memorising answers and reciting them like a robot to future interviewers, practice DOES make perfect. It’s worth knowing what the trickiest questions are to answer and the best approach to take with them to impress your prospective employer.

Here are six of the most difficult interview questions and how to answer them:

1. What can you tell me about yourself?

Keep it succinct and avoid rambling. Keep to a structure of five things about yourself that you want to highlight and say a couple of sentences on each. Don’t repeat anything you have already explained in depth on your CV and cover letter. Give a positive insight into what you are like as a person. Discussing your interests and ambitions away from work can help humanise you and show your interviewer what kind of person you are.

2. Can you list your strengths?

Think of three skills you do well that you can back up with evidence. Have a concrete example of a time you have demonstrated a strength ready in your mind. For example: “I think I am a strong communicator, because my colleagues chose me as a representative to discuss introducing a rewards scheme with management and I was successful. I am able to put ideas forward clearly and politely.”

Don’t recite a long list of adjectives, e.g. I’m trustworthy, a team player, ambitious, hard-working, etc. While these are good attributes, they are attributes desired by every employer – you wouldn’t stand out from the crowd.

3. What are your weaknesses?

The cliché answers are that you ‘have no weaknesses’ or giving yourself a backhanded compliment (“I’m a perfectionist”, “I take over other people’s work”). This will not impress interviewers.
Focus on an area of work that needs to be improved and discuss your strategy for how you will improve it. For example: ‘My current weakness is my writing ability. I have increased the amount I read every week and try to teach myself a new word every week. I’m also looking into doing a business writing course.’

Alternatively, you can discuss how you overcame a potential downside of your greatest strength. For example: ‘My work ethic is praised lot and I often work overtime to get a job finished, however this sometimes impacts the quality of work that I do because I rarely ask for help or take breaks. Recently, I’ve started keeping a log of work I do every day, to keep track of how much I do and see if I need help with anything.’

4. Can you provide an example of how you’ve contributed to effective team working? What makes you a good team player?

Teamwork is a vague skill. There are many situations in the workplace that count as teamwork, such as building bridges between two employers that don’t get on, collaborating on projects, or giving training to a colleague.

Think about examples of your past when you’ve demonstrated strong people skills with your colleagues and management. Alternatively, you can choose an example that is not from your professional life. It could be from club or organization you belong to. Highlight the positions of responsibility you had and how you supervised others.

5. What has been your greatest achievement?

Your answer could relate to any achievement, but should show how you applied skills that are relevant to the job. Think about a time when you’ve won an award, organised an event, done something new or overcome a fear. For example: “I ran the London Marathon and planned a fundraiser, which contributed £1000 to my total. I organised a charity gig at my local pub, and had to source local bands, find a venue, plan food and a raffle, and order tickets for print.”

Avoid unspecific achievements that many people who are applying for the same job would have also achieved, such as graduating university or finishing college.

6. Describe an occasion what you had to adapt in the face of a difficult situation?

Choose a specific occasion to describe in detail that had a positive outcome. If you struggle with this, follow the STAR technique: Situation, Task, Action and Result.

• Present the Situation – what is the dilemma or problem that you faced?
• Explain the Task – what needed to be done to change the situation?
• Describe your Action – what did you do to complete the task?
• Show the Result – what where the consequences of your action?
• Sticking to these four points helps you structure your answer and keep focus on the question.

Mastering the technique of answering these questions should help you become more confident with interviews. All questions that you are asked try to test how you would handle the job. Make sure you know your CV and cover letter by heart and have plenty of examples to give to show that you would make a good employee. It’s just as important to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

Do you feel as if your career is heading in the right direction?

How do you know if you’re ready for a career change? It isn’t always easy to tell, especially if you have been comfortable in your job for a long time. There will always be highs and lows during your working life. It is important to trust your gut instinct however. Sometimes, you just feel like it is time for a change.

There are lots of career opportunities out there. There is more flexibility and room to progress and climb the job ladder. If you feel you have hit a brick wall in your journey, it is important to actively do something about it. You have the skills, the talent and the experience- all you need is a little motivation. Think about your personal ambition, evaluate your job and work through your potential.

If you can relate to any of these signs, perhaps it is time to rethink your career direction.

1. You no longer learn new things

If you are no longer learning new skills and gaining experience, a job change could be the answer. It is important to be training along the way, and building your portfolio up. If you have reached a point where you are no longer adding to your CV, you should be looking elsewhere at your options. Leaving a hole in your CV with no developments will not look good.

2. Your wage is not increasing

Do you feel like you always putting in extra effort for nothing in return? If so then chances are, it is time to move on. Your wage should reflect your worth. If you have been in your role for a steady amount of time with no sign of a pay rise, rethink. By failing to secure a promotion, you risk under-selling your professional services.

3. You are bored

You can do your work with your eyes shut and feel unenthusiastic about it. This means you should probably look for a new job. As humans, we enjoy a challenge and there is nothing wrong with wanting to better yourself. Don’t look back and regret not taking a risk. Do you really want to do the same tasks day in day out forever?

4. You are overworked

Sometimes, someone can be taken for granted.If you always deliver results, other colleagues can rely upon this too often. Your workload may slowly start to increase over time. Think about how happy you are. Can anything be done to solve this issue?

5. You don’t get on with your boss

Not seeing eye-to-eye with your boss can be a problem. This may show you are unsettled and need a career change. In secret, you may believe you could do the job better than they can, which can be frustrating. Know when to back down, and set your sights on a new career.