Hired After Caregiving: How I Landed a Job in 10 Days!

When you’ve spent over a decade caring for someone, the idea to return to work after caring can feel impossible. I had no recent CV, no formal experience to point to, and zero confidence. Yet within ten days of my first application, I was hired after caregiving for the last 13 years. This post explains exactly how I went from blank page to job offer and maybe that can help you too.

Why I Had to Start the Job Hunt

My decision to search for paid work was driven by financial necessity and the need for purpose and routine once more. Even though I did not feel ready, I knew returning to work after my mum’s death and after caring for her for so long was essential for my own mental health.

Finding Direction with Careers Wales

The first real step was admitting I had no idea where to begin.  I’d suggest finding one good careers website, so you’re not overloaded with information. Careers Wales, recommended by a friend, Lynn, turned out to be the one for me, as it had an excellent section dedicated to options for people returning to work.

Options for Returners

Personal Statements

Interview Questions

This was a scary part for me because it had been so long since my last interview. The website gave concrete examples of typical questions to expect which helped calm my nerves a bit!

Overall, this resource gave me structure and a place to start. The information was not limited to Wales based jobs and could apply anywhere, definitely check it out if you can.

Framing Caregiving as Real Work

Next, came writing a CV or a personal statement which felt like facing a blank canvas. I had no formal entries for over ten years, but I did have years of practical experience in caregiving, especially in administration, scheduling and healthcare coordination. These were key areas I focused on

Key Caregiving Responsibilities

• Developed communication skills and adapted to someone with communication challenges
• Scheduled appointments with doctors, therapists and support services
• Managed medication schedules, budgets and all administrative tasks including liaising with government and health care departments
• Advocated for Mum with agencies and clinicians by researching best practices for dementia care
• Worked under pressure and solved crises at any hour of the day or night with support from family and social media friends
• And much more

I described each responsibility as if it had been part of a paid role using action verbs and focusing on outcomes. It felt odd but honest because caregiving is work.

Applying for Roles: Process and Practicalities

I targeted two roles, one in the NHS and one in the civil service to start with and ease myself into the process. This was my approach

• Draft every answer in a document to avoid losing progress due to timeouts
• Highlight each essential criteria in the job advert and match my examples directly to it
• Keep language plain to explain caregiving tasks in professional terms
• Proofread everything with someone else e.g my brother to catch errors and strengthen phrasing. I hadn’t realised how informal my writing had become.

Within two days I had submitted both applications. I applied for the NHS role just before the weekend deadline and heard I was selected for interview the following Wednesday. A week later I went for the interview.

Tools I Used to Prep for Interview

Company Websites

I read their values statements, recent news and strategy pages, and everything about the specific job so I understood their priorities.

LinkedIn

I looked up the profiles of anyone mentioned in the application process to get a sense of their backgrounds and likely questions.

TikTok and YouTube

Short clips gave me practical tips on answering questions, body language and managing nerves.

AI Tools

I fed in the job descriptions and my draft CV/statement, asked for sample interview questions and STAR answers, then rewrote everything in my own voice.

Careers Wales

I revisited their examples of interview questions and model answers for further practice.

Looking the Part for My Interview

I wanted to look like a professional, I hadn’t worn makeup in over ten years, so I booked in at Boots No7 beauty counter and went shopping for comfortable interview clothes. I found a lovey dress and then went for my consultation.

I explained I had an interview coming up and just wanted a light professional make up routine. She assessed my skin type, listened to my preferences, and applied a tinted moisturiser rather than heavy foundation. She spent nearly an hour showing me how to use each product and by the end I felt wonderful. My brother even commented on how I was glowing.

I bought the recommended products and practised applying them from a quick reference photo I took that day.

On interview day I wore my hair down instead of tied back, wore that makeup, wore my new dress and carried twenty pages of notes to read while waiting in the car.

The Interview That Felt Like a Disaster

I walked into the room over prepared and got quickly unnerved. My voice shook, I spoke too fast, and I jumbled my examples despite all my practice. The interviewers were two calm, friendly people asking reasonable questions that were meant to get to know me rather than trip me up. I tripped myself up and left convinced I had done badly.

I drove to Mum’s grave in another city and sat with her to say I had messed up. On the motorway I called my brother to share how I thought I had failed. He reassured me I probably performed better than I realised. I did not believe him.

The Offer

I was still driving home from the cemetery when the call came offering me the job. I was stunned and struggled to concentrate as I was driving. I foolishly blurted out that I had just told my brother how badly I thought I had done. She laughed and said congratulations. I accepted on the spot. After thirteen years away from office work, I would be working again.

Tips for Other Caregivers Returning to Work

1. Treat caregiving as real work
   Use action verbs and focus on responsibilities and outcomes
2. Use official job resources
   Sites such as Careers Wales, Civil Service jobs and NHS Jobs give clear guidance and support
3. Leverage free tech tools
   If you’re not confident in e.g your writing then use AI tools like Claude, Perplexity AI, Gemini, or ChatGPT that can help generate questions and help you draft statements but rewrite in your own voice, LinkedIn helps with research and YouTube/TikTok provide practical prep tips
4. Prepare emotionally and practically
   Rehearse answers, do things that raise your confidence, choose an outfit you feel good in and practise breathing exercises to calm nerves
5. Know you can return even if you are grieving
   I was still raw, but the application process gave me purpose and confidence. Grief remains but I am moving forward because I have to.

Do something small every day, like send an application, write a variation on your personal statement, or practice interview questions. Remember a career gap is not a weakness, you have done meaningful work and now you can use that to start something new.

Final Thoughts On Being Hired After Caregiving

I never imagined a job offer ten days into my search, but I am so grateful I was hired after caregiving for so long.

I am now working there, and they have such a great team and it gives my day purpose. I’m no longer wallowing in my grief in the house alone. I’m surrounded by people. I’m talking to people on the phone. I’m getting to know people. I’m using a different social skill set than I had before. And I’m using my brain in a different way. And it’s something that I would wholeheartedly push for other caregivers after caring to do if that’s what they want.

By breaking the job hunt into small steps, calling my caregiving real work and using every available resource, I found my way back into employment. If you are thinking about your own return to work after caring, know that your skills matter and that the first step however wobbly can lead to something new. Good luck!

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