My "experience " isn't good enough

[wardrobescmose]

I applied for a job as a health care assistant at my local hospital outpatient department
It said no qualifications but maths /English desirable and some experience in a care setting would be helpful

I have grade B in maths /english
I was a full time carer for my gran with dementia
I did this for 10 years
It was hard and I did it alone
Washed /dressed /fed /medications etc

I've been told because it wasn't paid care work it's not classed as experience

Feel a bit deflated
I did everything a paid carer would but I had no respite and no money for it

Not really a question but feeling a bit sad
I know I could do this job

@Bjorkdidit on the add it said welcoming patients in the outpatient clinic ,making sure treatment rooms are clean and tidy
Basic communication with patient's

It also said would I be willing to work towards a health and social care level 2 (I said yes)
Then it said after completing I would get tasks such as observations /weight /blood pressure of patients

Whether the care she did was good enough is a bit of a moot point given no experience was necessary! Its also discriminatory way of assessing an employee as women are more likely to be in that role and unpaid which is an interesting take on the recruitment practices. If you wanted to take it further I would look into their recruitment guidelines and what can and can't be used as experience. The feedback they gave you is irrelevant given it wasn't a requirement of the job

Wow well I applied for a care worker role at home
Basically in your area
Got a interview on Friday
It was so fast

It might be helpful to reply saying thank you for the feedback and asking for clarification as to whether experience was necessary for the role or not, since the advertisement had said that it wasn't, in the context of whether or not you should apply for similar roles in the future.

You may then get some feedback about whether it would be helpful to seek out private (but paid) care experience or whether they simply had a high number of applicants to the position and it was that other people were more experienced on this occasion.

Remember just because you can do a job, doesn't mean it will be offered to you and you don't know whether there was another job applicant who had surplus skills to the job's requirements. Outpatients is much more sought after than working on the wards. The people who get those roles tend to stay in them for decades because no need to do nights, weekends etc.

Do not do this. Lying on your CV is fraud and could get you sacked even if you were employed.

Well done on getting another interview .

Can I ask about the first job - did someone actually tell you that your experiences wasn’t good enough ? Or did they say that it didn’t count because it wasn’t paid?

Or did they actually write these words in an email ?

It's not so much that the tasks involved in caring for a family member don't count, it's that you haven't got experience of a range of people and their different conditions & circumstances. Or of looking after multiple people at once.

Pleased to hear that you have another opportunity and I hope it works out for you.

If you apply to the NHS in future be prepared to answer scenario based questions about confidentiality, team working, safeguarding, and commitment to developing further. Demonstrate that you can communicate with people with communication difficulties with empathy and that you understand the need for record keeping.

Tell them that you found caring for family members rewarding, and realise you have a lot to learn.

I’ll second what others are saying (not NHS but I interview for public sector roles)

you met the criteria. If it was a test, you’d have passed

unfortunately, it isn’t a test, but a winner takes all competition. It’s very likely you will have lost out to someone who has been doing exactly that job for a few years. For us at least, you get an interview if you meet the criteria. They are pretty much saying that they considered your experience good enough.

but you absolutely will lose to someone who is already doing that exact job.

The thing is there will be people applying for the same job who come with references from previous jobs which you can't supply.

They don't know the level of care you gave your gran, or if you actually sat at home playing video games for a decade and are only now trying to get a job, obviously you haven't, but people who have had paid employment in that time have proof they have worked, which you don't.

Incredibly frustrating I know, and another way in which women (society's default caters) suffer in the workplace.

The job probably went to someone who already works there in a slightly different role. eg someone who works on one of the wards but wants outpatients because of the less unsociable hours.