A change of career

Nicola Carter used her time on maternity leave to reflect on what she wanted from life and decided a change of career and move into home care support was needed.

“It’s the best move I’ve made, a lovely job with wonderful clients,” said Nicola. “It’s so rewarding to come home at the end of a day and know they are safe and comfortable in their homes.”

At school Nicola wanted to be a midwife but didn’t gain the required grades and so began her working life as an assistant in a shop developing photographs.

She then studied at college to become a hair and beauty therapist and worked as that for two years before leaving to start a family and get married.

“Whilst I was raising my family, I did a lot of thinking about what I wanted to do and a friend mentioned Caremark Mansfield and Ashfield were advertising, so I thought I’d give it a go,” said Nicola.

She admits she found it difficult at first and wondered if she had made the right choice, but within a few weeks that all changed.

“It suddenly just clicked into place, I think I realised everyone is different and you have to be flexible in your approach,” said Nicola.

“Once you relax and get to know a client, build up that trust you can understand what is important to them and support their individual daily routine.”

Caremark can adjust weekly hours to accommodate most people’s personal schedules. Some might only be able to manage a day or two a week whilst Nicola is delighted that she’s able to work up to 60 hours some weeks.

“There are three of us who share the same run so that gives us the chance to really get to know the clients,” she said. “We know them well and so can tell if someone is just having a bad day or if something is wrong.”

Nicola’s dedication was recently recognised at the annual Caremark Mansfield and Ashfield awards night when she was named Carer of the Year alongside her colleague Claire Trotter.

“It was lovely to win the award with Claire, it’s nice to be appreciated for your efforts,” she said.

Outside of work Nicola likes spending time with her five-year-old granddaughter Sienna, socialising with friends and holidays abroad. She’s enjoyed visits to Turkey and Portugal recently and hopes one day to get to Mauritius.

And reflecting on her own move into the care sector, she has some advice for anyone thinking about joining Caremark, “I’d definitely say give it a go. There are always people on hand to help and if you stick with it, you’ll get there.”