Being the baby

Victoria Collier
Jul 25, 2017 · 5 min read

Attracting more young people to work in adult social care is often seen as one of the solutions to the on-going recruitment challenge faced by the sector. The arguments for this approach — not only in terms of the statistics but in terms of the benefits young people can bring to a workforce — are pretty compelling for employers. But are they compelling for young people?

Imagine yourself as an enthusiastic, motivated teenager or twenty-something. You’re thinking about a career and fancy exploring adult care. You have a lot to offer. You’re kind, compassionate, eager to learn and excited about making a difference to people’s lives.

In preparation for completing job applications, you do a bit of reading about the sector. You stumble upon various reports and articles about how the sector desperately needs young recruits because lots of workers are approaching retirement and most of the workforce is in their mid-40s.

Oh. Suddenly it might not look so appealing. You try to imagine working with people who are, for the most part, at least twice your age. What if they patronise you? What if they don’t think you’re capable? What if you’re left out? After all, they’ll have more in common with your parents, or grandparents, than with you!

What will be colleagues be like?

Building relationships with colleagues inside and outside the workplace is often such an essential part of enjoying your job. You think about your peers in other sectors who’ll tell you stories about their exciting, cool new workmates. The bars in town they’ve been introduced to; the fun they had last night; all the laughs and jokes they have at work. Are you starting to rethink your career choice?

Well don’t! And here’s why.

I’ve almost always been one of the youngest, if not the youngest, person in my team. And I look young too! A double-whammy. I won’t lie, sometimes it isn’t easy being a youngster and very occasionally people judge me on my age.

Shortly after leaving university, I had a job interview at a community centre with the manager and a board member. After introductions, the conversation went something like this:

Board member: How old are you?

Me: 21

Board member: 18?

Me: No, 21 (Did he mishear me?)

Board member: Oh, right (Looks unimpressed and writes ‘21’ at the top of his notes and circles it. Repeatedly.)

The centre manager looked horrified and quickly moved on.

At the time, I didn’t realise quite how inappropriate the question was and didn’t have the confidence to challenge it, but I knew he shouldn’t have asked it and I knew he thought I was too young.

***I should say at this point that although I didn’t get the job, it wasn’t just about my age. It was a fair decision — I didn’t have the skills or experience to do the centre, or the people accessing the centre, justice.***

Now, that doesn’t paint a great picture does it? But ten years on, that is the only time I’ve felt like someone actively held my age against me. Yes, the odd person has underestimated me — but that just gave me the opportunity to show them they were too hasty in their judgement.

Around the same time as that interview, I started volunteering at a small, local branch of national charity. Very few fellow volunteers were under 40, most were retired, and several were in their late 70’s or early 80’s. Some of the Directors were a little unsure about me at first, questioning whether I was there to be a dedicated volunteer, or whether I just wanted something to put on my CV, but it wasn’t long before they saw that dedication to the charity and determination in my career were not mutually exclusive. The fact that I wanted to develop was actually beneficial to them and I was asked to take on additional responsibilities and became a Deputy Director.

So in answer to the questions ‘What if they patronise me?’ and ‘What if they don’t think I’m capable?’… They’ll probably be the odd person that underestimates you or misjudges you. But those people won’t stop you from achieving. They won’t stop you from doing a good job. And they’ll quickly come around. But that’s down to you.

What about having things in common with my colleagues, then? Do I ever feel left out?

I attended a training course a few years ago where the trainer spoke briefly about how we form relationships. He argued that we form relationships — whether in relation to romance, friendships or working relationships — because of share values and a sense of what we consider important, or right/wrong. Before joining the world of social care, I worked in supported housing, but the concept of recruiting people for their values is applicable in both sectors. I’ve formed solid working relationships, and great friendships, with colleagues regardless of their age. I expect this would be true in other sectors too, but good social care workers (amongst other things) are non-judgemental, inclusive and supportive. So, if a young person is nervous about fitting in, they shouldn’t be. No, I haven’t always found common ground with everyone I’ve worked with, but then again, who does?

What about my friends having fun at work with their new, similarly-aged, colleagues without me? Or the stories of their team nights out?

I can’t answer this without referring to my current team mates. I’m still the baby of the bunch at 31, but if you think you can’t have fun with colleagues 10–30 years older than you, you haven’t been in our office when we’ve had a team meeting. I think we’ve been told on occasion that it sounds like we’re having too much fun!

And team nights out? All I can say is ‘Cheers!’

So, a message for young people wondering if they’ll get along in this older workforce: Yes, you absolutely will. And a message for employers trying to attract young people: Show them how they’ll fit in, what they’ll get out of it, and how much fun it will be along the way.

Victoria Collier

Written by

Project Manager in adult social care learning and development. Learning to tweet and blog. All views are own.

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