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Whilst all care workers will tell you that no two days are the same, there are still certain duties that you can expect to carry out on a daily basis!

Morning routine 🌞

As a care assistant, you’ll be starting your day early since some of your clients won’t be able to get out of bed without your help.

In the mornings, you’ll typically be helping clients get washed, bathed and dressed, and also preparing breakfast, and prompting any morning medication.

Afternoon routine 🍛

Afternoons consist of helping your clients with their lunch, personal care, and running any errands such as collecting medication or grocery shopping.

Afternoons are great to assist with some light housework such as laundry, dishes or hoovering. You’ll also have clients that need help exercising in the afternoons.

Evening routine🌛

As the evening approaches, you’ll need to ensure your clients eat well, and take any necessary medication.

You’ll also be helping with personal care as you help your clients get washed and into bed!

FAQs

What does personal care consist of?

Depending on the level of care that’s required, you may need to assist with toileting, emptying commodes, and also bathing clients.

What’s the hardest part of being a care worker?

Some clients may be more challenging than others. Some may require more physical assistance, and others may have brain disorders such as alzheimers which can result in behavioural issues. 
📲GET IN TOUCH What career-related questions do you have? Tap REPLY below to submit a question 👇

You obviously don’t want to be in a position where you spoil your chance of being hired because of your answers. This is important in video interviews as well as face-to-face interviews. We are here to make sure your answers don’t make a wrong turn during the interview!

Here is a list of things you should avoid saying during a job interview –

⛔ Bad mouthing your former employer or boss

You want to be perceived as someone who is easy going and definitely not as someone who had several altercations with their boss or co-workers at their previous workplace. Your chances of getting hired are a lot more if you come across as a person who is easy to work with.

So definitely don’t mention stories when you got super pissed with your manager and threw a chicken wing on his head while working at a KFC! 

⛔ “I’ll do anything”

Even if you are desperate for a job, never show it to the recruiter. Give them good reasons to hire you instead of giving them the impression that you will do any job available. Focus on the required skills and the experience you have. 

⛔  “I am a fast learner”

If the recruiter asks you “ how can you provide value in our company?” don’t just say “ I am a fast learner”; elaborate on the point and give them examples of situations where you have demonstrated it. This could be from personal or professional experience. 

⛔ “My lack of experience may be a problem but…”

You may be fresh out of school or changing career directions, but avoid starting an answer with “my lack of experience may be a problem but..” as this highlights your weakness rather than your strengths and signals to the employer that you are not really sure whether you will be able to execute the job or not. 

We suggest you read about the industry beforehand and look at examples of possible interview questions. Display confidence and portray a ‘can do’ attitude throughout the interview. 

⛔ “I have no questions”

If you have no questions, it creates a negative impression and might give recruiters the idea that you haven’t prepared well and conducted detailed research on the company. If you have done your research, it is highly likely that you will have some questions.

Welcome to chapter 2 of the Surviving COVID series: finding job opportunities.

When it comes to looking for new work post-lockdown, it’s important that you have realistic expectations. Job vacancies that used to only attract a handful of applicants are now attracting hundreds, sometimes thousands, of applicants.

So in all honesty guys, now is the time to apply for jobs that you wouldn’t normally have considered. This will likely mean putting your ‘dream job’ to one side until the market picks up again.

I’ve grouped some jobs together that have similar and transferable skills. These jobs are all live on our app – so get applying!

🌟 POOL A: IT / admin / customer service skills

👉Admin assistant

👉Administrator

👉Personal assistant

👉Data entry

👉Payroll

👉Warehouse operative

👉Receptionist

👉Customer service agent

👉Waiter/waitress

👉Bartender

👉Sales assistant

👉Health care assistant 

🌟POOL B: physically demanding, practical & logical skills

📌Driver

📌Warehouse operative

📌Warehouse picker and packer

📌Kitchen porter

📌Labourer

📌Loader

📌Installer

📌Furniture assembler / fitter

📌Handyman

📌Maintenance assistant

📌Painter

📌Housekeeper

📌Cleaner

I hope this has given you some inspiration about different jobs you could be applying for.

Things to remember:

👉This doesn’t have to be your ‘forever job’

👉Every ‘no’ is one step closer to getting a ‘yes’

👉It’s common to get 50+ rejections these days – don’t lose heart

TOP TIP💡 Remember to search for different job titles that mean the same thing. For example, a ‘Picker and Packer’ could also be advertised as a ‘Warehouse Operative’.

See you guys in the next chapter: Avoiding redundancy!

Psst…Do you have a success story to share? Please comment below to help motivate your SonicJobs friends 👇💫

This is a very relatable question for graduates – research has shown that only half of UK graduates actually end up getting a job related to their degree.

So if you’re one of those grads that has no industry experience, here are 4 different ways to make your CV relevant and get your foot in the door!

👩‍🎓Keep in the loop

Staying up to date with your industry shows you’re genuinely passionate about it. Are there any reputable journals you can subscribe to? How about becoming an active member of some online groups that relate to your degree? What courses can you take to sharpen your skills? Shout about this in your CV!

👩‍🎓Attend networking events and webinars

Not only will attending industry events be a great thing to show in your CV, but it will also broaden your industry connections.

👩‍🎓Create a portfolio of work

Nobody’s asking you to be an expert, but after completing a degree you’ll definitely have skills to showcase. For example, marketing graduates could create a sample marketing campaign. Or language grads could write an article to show their linguistic ability. Get creative with this 😊

👩‍🎓Volunteer

Even spending just 2 weeks volunteering in your industry is a fantastic way to gain experience and show that you’re serious about pursuing a career in your chosen field. Employers want to hire passionate people – and volunteering is one way to show how passionate you are!

After completing any of these steps, make sure you rave about them in your CV and cover letter to show just how enthusiastic you are about your industry!

 1️⃣ UNFORTUNATELY, THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!

As we open up again, many of you will be moving into new roles. For waiting staff, unfortunately the customer is always right. If the customer insists that you made a mistake, rectify it without argument. You may be right and the customer wrong but you always want to leave a positive impression. 

2️⃣ KEEP YOUR MENU GAME STRONG

When new customers come to your restaurant, they will usually ask you for popular dishes people order or options with specific ingredients in them. Therefore, it is extremely important that you are well versed with the menu. That way you will be able to suggest what’s good and look like a professional while doing it.

3️⃣ YOUR VISUAL APPEAL

You may have stayed up with your buddies the night before, getting drunk but don’t let that show when you get to work. Nobody appreciates the smell of hangover and especially not your customers when they are ordering food!

4️⃣ BE FRIENDLY BUT NOT FRIENDS

You don’t want to appear to be too pushy when you are trying to make your customer feel comfortable. We suggest you come up with some common lines that can help you comfortably navigate through conversations with them without getting awkward! 

For example, when your customer is done eating, you could ask them “How was your meal?” Or “How was our service today?” and if they have any complaints, try to solve it for them. 

5️⃣ THE ART OF UPSELLING

You don’t want to make it obvious that you are trying to upsell. If you make it too obvious, your customers usually realise it. Be smart about it. In many situations, you can figure out their budget by noticing if they order drinks and the quantity they order. Make sure you don’t try to upsell to a regular customer as they already know what they want, and it could actually be bad for the business.

We hope you kill it as a waiter on your first day and give an amazing first impression! Let us know if this was helpful in the comments section below!

Looking to be a waiter? You can find several jobs on our SonicJobs app, apply now!

Hey guys 🙋‍♀️ welcome to chapter 1 of our Surviving COVID series: Budgeting.

So far, the U.K. has seen over 190,000 redundancies. With the furlough scheme set to end in October, there are likely more to come.

Some of you may already be unemployed, so we want to help you manage your money as carefully as possible during this difficult time.

Step 1: Download mobile banking. It’s healthy to get in the habit of looking at your account often, and knowing exactly how much money is in there on any given day.

Step 2: Work out your monthly expenses. Here’s a list of some of the things you’ll need to take into account:

👉 Rent/mortgage

👉 Phone bills

👉 Car insurance

👉 Subscriptions like Netflix, Spotify, gym membership

👉 Council tax

👉 Gas, electricity, water, wifi

Step 3: Where can you make savings? Perhaps you’re eligible to reduce your phone bill, or maybe you can cancel some direct debits. They may seem like small savings, but they all add up.

Step 4: What’s your budget? Set a weekly budget to spend on food, transport and any other unexpected expenses. 

Step 5: Make extra cash. What items in your home could you sell on Facebook marketplace? Here are a few ideas:

👉 Clothing

👉 Furniture

👉 Kitchen items

👉 Garden furniture

👉 Tools

Whether you’re unemployed or not, it’s essential you get your finances in check to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

Good luck with your budgets! I’ll see you over in chapter 2 where we’ll be examining new job opportunities you could consider 💥

Welcome to the final chapter of CV Creation: Getting your CV out there!

First of all, let’s take a second to acknowledge that the job market is not what it used to be. It is fiercer than ever before. 👀

But instead of being discouraged by this, realise you can overcome the hurdle by applying more effort and a different approach to your job hunt.

So here are some daily actions you should be taking to speed up your job search:

✅ Check SonicJobs and job boards for new vacancies

✅ Turn on SonicJobs and job board notifications

✅ Proactively check company websites for vacancies

✅ Call companies to ask about positions

✅ Register with several recruitment companies

✅ Apply for jobs daily

✅ Email your CV to companies that aren’t advertising

✅ Drop your CV off into local companies 

✅ Reach out to employers on LinkedIn

Now if you’re serious about finding a job, you need to write a structured daily plan and stick to it. How many of these activities will you commit to on a daily/weekly basis?

❓How many calls

❓How many applications

❓How many CV drop offs

❓How many LinkedIn messages

Job Search Tips

👉 Create a list of 30 local companies that you can contact over 2-3 weeks

👉 Always try to address the manager whether you’re doing a CV drop off, calling the company, or writing a cover letter

We know it’s tough out there right now for all you job seekers. But the sooner you realise that job hunting has changed, the better!

If you up your game and adopt the steps laid out in this course, it won’t be long before you start seeing progress.

Good luck!

Hey guys 😃 Welcome to Chapter 5 of CV Creation: Cover Letters!

Firstly, well done on making it this far 👏 By now, your CV should be in top shape so let’s crack on with crafting an amazing cover letter!

👉 Paragraph 1: Intention of letter

Simply state that you’re writing to apply for X position as advertised on X website.

👉 Paragraph 2: Overview of experience

Summarise your relevant experience and skills. You want to incorporate keywords from the job advert. Example:

I have 4 years experience working in fast-paced, customer-facing roles within the hospitality industry that developed my customer service skills. I handled complaints, and also dealt with cash and card payments.

👉 Paragraph 3: Specific achievements

Sell yourself and explain how you were an excellent employee in previous jobs using examples that are measurable if possible!

🖋 What were your achievements?

🖋 What was the toughest part of your role?

🖋 Were you given noteworthy responsibilities? 

🖋 What ideas did you bring to the company?

👉 Paragraph 4: Close

Thank the hiring manager for their time and consideration, and express your final interest in working for that company specifically.

Cover letter FAQs

❓Should I address my redundancy? Absolutely. After paragraph 2, explain the reason for your redundancy and state that this is in no way a reflection of your work or ability, as they will see from your achievements (detailed in paragraph 3).

❓What if I don’t have any experience in the industry? Focus on your transferable skills in paragraph 2. Example: ‘Although I haven’t worked in retail before, I have 2 years experience in customer-facing roles within hospitality working under busy conditions, handling complaints, and striving to deliver an excellent customer experience.’

❓How long should my letter be? No longer than one A4 page.

Get cracking with your cover letters guys! I’ll see you in Chapter 6 where I’ll give you tips on getting your CV out there!

Hey guys 😊 Welcome to chapter 4 of CV Creation: CV Mistakes!

Now that you’ve created your CV, today’s chapter is all about giving it that final check for any mistakes that could hinder your application.

So before you start sending your CV out, grab a pen and a coffee, and let’s check your CV for these mistakes ☕️

👉Spelling errors You’re not a fan of grammar, are you? Well, why don’t you install the Grammarly extension? It’s free and this will pick up on any mistakes in your CV!

👉Generic CV Have you remembered to tailor your CV to the job? Highlight the key skills in the job ad and incorporate them into your CV.

👉Scruffiness You want your formatting to be consistent. List each job like this:

Sales Assistant, Homeware Land, London, Apr 2019 – May 2020

👉Long-winded Your CV should be no longer than 2 pages! Use size 11 font and make sure you use 3-6 short bullet points per job instead of long paragraphs.

👉Listing references Don’t write out your reference details. Just write ‘References can be provided upon request.’

👉Too personal The only personal details you need to include are Name / Address / Email / Tel. There’s no need to include your gender, ethnicity, DOB or marital status.

👉No hobbies Hobbies are a really important part of your CV and something that employers value. Include 3 hobbies and a short line to elaborate.

👉Wasted summary Avoid clichés in your summary – this is your chance to make yourself stand out in a few sentences. Mention your relevant experience and achievements!

Once you’ve checked your CV, I’ll see you over in Chapter 5 which is all about cover letters!

With love,

Julie 💜

It can be somewhat confusing to answer competency-based questions if you don’t prepare. Competency-based questions let a recruiter understand your reaction to certain problems or situations you have faced or might face on the job. A good answer here can be the difference between getting a job or not. These questions are asked in video and phone interviews, as well as face-to-face. 

The S.T.A.R (situation task action result) technique is the perfect strategy to prepare for such questions and stand out at the interview stage. Practising some example questions before you go will help you give a successful job interview. 

🌟 S.T.A.R TECHNIQUE: SITUATION – TASK – ACTION – RESULT (EXAMPLE Q&A)

➤ Q – “Can you give me an example of a time when you faced pressure at work and what you did to handle it?”

➤ A – “While working as a care assistant for my previous organisation, my colleague suddenly fell sick and had to take a week off. I had to take on some extra responsibilities as we were understaffed but I managed well working longer hours and taking fewer breaks. There were days I had to work twelve-hour shifts but it was all worth it as we received no complaints regarding our services and all the patients were taken care of.”                

In the above answer, we explained all aspects of the S.T.A.R method in order of –

➤ Situation – Your colleague fell ill and took a week off which increased your workload.

➤ Task – Increased responsibilities (you could talk about the tasks you had to do in that situation)

➤ Action – What you did to fix the issue: working longer hours and taking fewer breaks 

➤ Result – Benefit for the business: you handled a greater number of responsibilities and delivered increased customer satisfaction. 

💬 SOME MORE EXAMPLE QUESTIONS

❌  “What do you do if a team member refuses to do his quota of the work?”

💪 “Give me an example of a situation when you showed initiative at your workplace?” 

😡 “Can you give me an example of a situation when you had to deal with an angry customer? How did you resolve the situation?”

If you have any more questions for us, please don’t hesitate to send them our way. We will be happy to help you!