How To Become A Senior Care Assistant

Whether you’re lacking the confidence to apply, or not sure exactly what the role will entail, Claire is here with the advice you need to help you become a Senior Care Assistant!

Topics Covered In This Article

Introduction

Demonstrate Your Passion

Know Your Stuff

Teamwork Is Key

Be Sure You Are The Right Candidate

Never Give Up

Ask For Feedback

Conclusion

Introduction

Hi everyone, welcome back to another blog.

My name is Claire Carmichael, and I'm a general practice Nurse.

However, I do have over 12 years experience in the healthcare sector.

And one of those positions was as a team leader, which is kind of equivalent to a senior Care Assistant.

It's the same sort of role, it's just a different title.

So this is why I wanted to do this video today on just some little tips and advice on how you can become a senior Care Assistant.

And I hope it helps.

Demonstrate Your Passion

Tip number one, show your dedication and passion for the role.

So if you're already a Carer or a Healthcare Assistant, whatever the title is, wherever you are, that they're all kind of the same thing, the same roles, they're just different titles in places.

So just show your dedication to the role and your passion for the role and the job that you do every single day.

Because if you're showing your dedication and your love for the job they're gonna think, actually, this is a really good person that we can promote in a way.

Just because of how dedicated, how motivated you are already they can see that you're a hard worker and your work ethic is really, really good as well.

So they're gonna wanna snap you up in a senior care position.

Not only that, but also if you can show that you're stepping up your game as well.

So if you're going above and beyond for the people you care for, your team around you, you're helping out, you're taking on a little bit more responsibility without anyone even asking you, you can use that to your advantage as well in your application to become a senior Care Assistant as well.

Know Your Stuff

Tip number two, so make sure you know your stuff.

Make sure you know your local policies, your guidelines, your procedures, everything there is to know, like in the background of where you're working.

Also, different protocols as well that you might have to follow.

So for example, if you had a patient resident service user, whatever they're called, wherever you work, if they were unwell, who would you refer that to?

Would you contact the doctor, for example, would you contact the district Nursing teams, the community teams?

Know the protocols for when something goes on or if an emergency sort of happens in your area, know the process and the protocol to follow.

Also things like paperwork that you have to do.

So risk assessments, anything like care plans for your patients, anything extra like that you wanna know about as well, 'cause that's something they'll expect you to do, I think, as a senior Care Assistant.

So for example, when I was a team leader, I had to do all of the care plans for our residents.

I had to sort of schedule activities and things like that and organize all of that. I had to make sure that all the paperwork was up to date in everybody's documents.

And that was just an extra responsibility as a senior sort of Care Assistant or team leader.

So just be prepared for that sort of thing as well.

Also, in some places as a senior Care Assistant, you are trained to do medications.

So think about that side of things as well.

I know when I was a team leader, I was trained to do the medication side of things, so we would just follow the medication charts or the MAR charts, I think it's called Medication Administration Record.

And we would follow that, but you will have specific training to be able to do those things.

So don't worry too much about that.

If that's one of the job responsibilities that you'll be doing, they will provide you with all of the training to be able to do that.

But I was just putting it in there just to make you more aware of the different responsibilities you might have as a senior Care Assistant.

Teamwork Is Key

Tip number three.

This tip is more about team working, so you have to be a really good team player.

You have to get on with your team, different personalities, you have to be prepared for any sort of conflict that you might have to deal with, whether it's with your residents or service users, patients, or if it's with your colleagues and maybe management side of things, know how to handle that sort of situation and know how to handle the pressure of it.

'Cause it can be quite scary when you've got two people arguing in front of you. And you're just like, "oh my gosh, like, what are they even arguing about?"

It can be quite challenging I think, to manage that sort of situation, but think about how you personally would manage that.

Have you ever had to deal with that and use that as an example as well, if you're applying for a position and if they ask you about it in your interview or on the application form, you can say that these are the things that you've done and been put in place as well.

But also you wanna be that good role model.

You want to support your team.

You wanna be that person that people come to because they trust you with information.

So you wanna be that person, that first point of call for someone to come to, if they've got any problems or worries or concerns, you wanna be that trusted person that they think, actually I can go to that person because I really trust them and I value their opinion.

You want to be that sort of person and you wanna be the sort of person that's gonna encourage your team to be their best selves as well.

Because that's what leadership is all about, is about encouraging others and inspiring others to become their best selves.

So that the whole team is just a happier and everyone feels motivated and inspired.

And they're gonna do a good job at the end of the day if they feel that in a team.

But not only that, if you're working as a Carer already and you're applying for a senior care position within the company or the trust that you work with, they might ask your colleagues.

They might say, okay, what sort of a person you are, what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are.

They might check you out from your colleagues.

So it's really important to make sure that you get on with everybody you work with.

Be Sure You Are The Right Candidate

Tip number four.

This one is all about your qualifications and experience for the post.

So first thing you need to do is have a look at the person, specification, and the job description as well, to see what is required of you to be able to apply for the post.

Some people expect GCSE levels, A levels. Some people want an NVQ level, two and three.

So have a look to see what qualifications that they expect from you.

However, I know when I applied for my post, I couldn't do my NVQ level three in health and social care until I was in that role.

So I applied for the job first, I got it.

And then I did the NVQ as I was working as a team leader.

So they might train you up to do this.

You might not have that experience or that qualification, but that doesn't mean that you won't be accepted for the role.

Just make sure you show all of those transferable skills, all of the experience and just completely shine and wow them and they'll think, yeah okay, we can hire this person and we'll just train them up.

They'll be great.

But don't worry because if you haven't got the qualifications needed for the post and they won't accept you because you haven't got the qualifications, look at how you're gonna get those qualifications.

You know, there's no timeframe on your dream. If this is your dream job, this is what you wanna do.

Then put in those stepping stones that's gonna help you get there. Please don't give up and think, oh, I'm not gonna apply because I haven't got the qualifications.

Look at how you can get those qualifications.

Look at different courses online that you can do, have a look at the local colleges and things like that.

To see if there's any courses you can go on to help you get there.

Don't just give up for the first hurdle, please, because you know everything in life.

Like if you've got a goal, it's not easy, you can't just overnight just whizz and achieve your goals.

It is hard work sometimes.

And sometimes you need to do a little bit of preparing, a little bit of extra things to help you get there.

And sometimes it's not an overnight process.

It might take you a year, it might take you two years, but it doesn't matter how long it's gonna take you to get there because that time's gonna pass anyway, whether you want the job or not.

Like say you wanna apply for the senior care position, but you haven't got the qualifications.

What are you gonna do?

You're gonna do something else that you may not be happy in, just because you haven't got the qualifications.

No, do that temporary if you want to, but get the qualifications, get all of the experience that you need to apply for the job and then apply for it because that time's gonna pass anyway, whether you do something about it or not.

So you may as well put it to use, follow your heart, follow your dreams and smash your goals.

And just a little personal story as well.

So for my team leader position, I had to apply twice for it.

The first time, I didn't get it, I was just completely written off.

And it was mainly due actually to confidence more than anything.

They just didn't see that I was confident enough for the role, they didn't think I was there yet for that role.

I went through the interview process and everything and I didn't get it.

And I thought, no, I'm not gonna take this.

I'm gonna work at it, work at myself, reflect, do what I can to get that confidence and get those skills up to scratch, to be able to get this role.

And I did that for a few more months.

And then the next time it came up again, I applied and I just smashed the interview and was able to show them, then, actually I am ready for this.

Never Give Up

So yeah, never give up on your dreams.

It doesn't matter how many knock backs you get, keep going, because eventually you'll get there, which leads me on nicely to tip number five, never give up on your dreams.

I've already said it, don't give up on those dreams.

You will have so many knock backs, I know, like I said, from a team leader post, I had two knock backs, same with university.

I didn't get into university to do my Nursing straight away. It took me a few attempts just because I was really bad at interviews to be honest,

I was really bad, I get nervous and I let the nerves get the better of me.

And it's just something I've always struggled with, but I am much better now I think at it, because I've managed to switch off that switch that cares what other people think. And I think that was the key for me anyway, I was carrying so much what other people think of me, thinking they're gonna judge me.

They're gonna do this, they're gonna do that.

The minute you flip that switch off and think, "do you know what? It doesn't matter with this person cares about me. I know that I've got these skills and I've got this mindset and I've got this and I'm gonna achieve my goals", The minute you flip that switch, it's life changing.

It's the same as my videos and my blogs.

One tip that somebody gave me is, when you're putting stuff out there, when you're going for something, don't think about what other people think, don't think about who's gonna see your videos or anything like that.

You have to flip that switch off and just do the best you can, because that way, it's just gonna be a massive benefit.

And as soon as I started changing the way I think about that, I feel a lot more confident speaking in front of people and do my videos and in interviews, it's helped me massively.

It might not be the way forward for you, but it's finding what's gonna work for you and helping you achieve your dreams at the end of the day.

Ask For Feedback

And another little tip just included in this about following your dreams, is if you do get that knock back, ask for extra feedback, I've always done this.

I've always asked for more feedback.

This is how I know it's always been a confidence thing with me.

So it's just getting that feedback, reflecting on your interview or your application or anything like that.

Just reflecting on yourself and thinking, okay, what can I do to overcome this?

What can I do to be better next time?

What can I change?

Is there anything I can do to help me in the process?

Is there anyone else that can help support me?

So your friends and family, but definitely asking for feedback so that it can help you build and structure and help you grow as well.

And also as well, like you can use that in your next interview.

Like, there's always that question, what are your weaknesses?

So you can say, okay, so one of my weaknesses was, I had really awful interviews.

My mind goes blank.

I feel very unconfident and it's something that's always fed back to me.

I've now reflected on this and I've put this in place to help me overcome that.

That'd be amazing because with those sorts of questions and interviews, they like you to recognize your own weaknesses because it means you're emotionally intelligent if that makes sense.

So they like you to build on that.

They like you to recognize the weakness, but then they like you to have an answer for it or have a solution for the weakness.

They don't like you to say, "oh yeah, I'm bad at this."

And that's it, you leave it there you say, "okay, I've recognized that this is one of my weaknesses. However, I've done this, this and this to put this in place to help me overcome that weakness."

That is gonna get you top brownie points, 100% guys, so yes.

Sell yourself, sell yourself well, show that passion, overcome your fears and go for your dreams.

Conclusion

So I hope I've given you enough tips to help you think about becoming a senior Care Assistant, some little things to help you along the way.

So that's it from me, I shall see you all next time; Good luck.