It’s straightforward to switch to First for Support

It’s straightforward to switch to First for Support

It’s straightforward to switch to First for Support

First for Support specialises in providing care for children, teenagers and adults in a variety of placements across Hampshire and Dorset. We are proud of the excellent support we give to all our service users, and we can’t give that excellent support without you! Hiring the right people is key and that’s why we care so much about getting the process right.

Here, we walk you through every step of our recruitment process, from when you first get in contact with us to when you start your first placement as a Support Worker or Care Assistant. We also give you interview tips and talk about the kind of placements we offer.

We will value you, care about you and your career, and will be there to support you whenever you need us. 

How to Contact First for Support

You can get in touch with us via this brief form on our website which will send us a message with your contact details. Or, you can apply for a job directly through the job vacancy page on our website. You are also welcome to email us or give us a call (scroll down to the end of this article for all our contact details).

The process

Initial contact

Once you’ve got in touch with us, we will give you a call. This is just to have a quick chat and ask you a couple of questions to make sure that you’ve got the experience to provide the right support to our service users, and to get a feel for whether you will be a good fit for working with our company. Then, we’ll book an interview in with you and ask for your CV.

Sending over your CV

Before we have an informal interview with you, we need you to send over your CV. Don’t be put off by this, it doesn’t have to be anything long and fancy. We just need to see your full work history, your skills and education, and learn a little bit about yourself.

Face to face interview 

This is when we get to meet each other! After our initial phone chat, and when we have read through the CV you sent in, we sit down together and get to know each other a bit better, talking about your experiences and the skills you’ve picked up. We love to hear your stories as this tells us a lot about who you are and how you handle situations.

Documentation

If, after this interview, we both decide that working with First for Support will be right for you, we will need you to provide us with all your documentation. This will include your proof of ID, proof of address, any right to work documents that you have and your DBS. if you’ve got a DBS Certificate registered on the UK government’s Update Service, we can check it for you. You should also send over any relevant and in-date training certificates that you have, along with your other documentation.

References

When we’re happy with all your documentation, we’ll move on to checking your references. You’ll have given us the contact details for your references on your application form, and we’ll contact them directly. We’ll need references that cover your last five years of employment. Some of the residential homes that we work with are Ofsted registered so they require full referencing. This process varies in how long it all takes but we’ll keep you updated along the way.

Placement

We’ve met, checked that all your documentation is in order, received your references and you’ve completed any First for Support online training that’s needed. Now, we discuss your availability for shifts and your preferences for the kind of placements you would like and will be a good fit for, and you hopefully get to start work quite quickly. 

How long the whole process takes, from the first time you contact us to when you get your first placement, varies depending on how long it takes to check your documentation and get your references back. Having your DBS on the Update Service speeds things up.

Interview preparation

Be positive

Having an enthusiastic attitude and a sunny nature is really important. There’s nothing to be nervous about. We’re on your side and won’t be trying to catch you out and we won’t grill you too much! It’s just a chat about your experience and for us to get a feel of who you are as a person – what kind of fit that you will have within the sector we work in. We want this to be right for you as well as for us.

Promote your skills

When you have your interview with us, remember to think about what skills you put on your CV and try and relate back to that as much as you can. Your CV should be a true reflection of you and we’ll be looking for consistency between what you’ve put down on paper and how you are in person. For example, if you wrote that you have good communication skills, think about how you can bring this up in the interview to demonstrate your good communication skills. 

Detail your work experience

Your CV needs to cover the whole time period from when you left school until the present day, with every job that you’ve had. If you have had any breaks in your work experience, for example for studying or for childcare, it’s important to include these details to explain those gaps. During your interview with us, we will go through your CV and make sure that all the dates match up. We will also talk through your experiences.

Share your stories

It’s often really enlightening for us when you bring to life any challenges that you’ve been through or ways that you’ve dealt with different situations. It gives us a good feel for what kind of person you are and the ways that you approach your work. It also shows us how you follow procedures and rules in different circumstances. It often highlights skills that you’ve demonstrated in certain situations that you may not even realise you had. 

Research the company

If you are joining First for Support as an agency worker, at your interview we will explain all you need to know about how we work as a company, our processes and how everything gets done. If you are going for a permanent position, we will send you the job description for that company. If you’re confirmed for an interview, we would strongly suggest that you take the time to do a bit of research and find out about the company you’re going for an interview with. The company will appreciate your efforts and it could make you stand out from the other candidates. 

Talk to us

If you are going for an interview, we can help you to find out information about them. We can also advise you on what they are looking for and what you might want to make sure you mention in your interview. We will have read through the job description as well, so we can make sure that you’re the right fit, and we will hopefully be able to give you some useful tips to help you be the best you can be in your interview.

Throughout the interview process, we can help you to feel confident and prepared, and make sure that the process goes as smoothly as possible.

Different types of placement

Residential Children’s Homes

Residential Children’s Homes house several children of a variety of ages. The children may have a traumatic background and/or emotional behavioural difficulties. They may also have learning difficulties.

What type of work will I be doing in a Residential Children’s Home?

You would be expected to help with general housework, encouraging the children’s independence by motivating them to keep their room tidy, help them with their homework or anything else they’ve got going on in their lives. You would also take them out on trips and generally keep them active and entertained. 

Schools

We have placements in schools for children with extra learning difficulties who may need extra support. We also support children with autism and challenging behaviour.

What type of work can I expect to do in schools?

You would be expected to support the child whilst they do their schoolwork, help to control their behaviour and manage their behaviour if they start to have an incident. You may possibly need to help them to go to the toilet if that’s something that they need support with. You are there to help with the day to day running of the school but your focus will mainly be to support the child you are there for.

Post-16

Post-16 placements are for care leavers who are in the transitional period between a residential care home and living independently. They may also have extra learning difficulties or autism, but they are generally young adults who have a traumatic background, with emotional and behavioural difficulties as well.

What work will I be doing with post-16s?

In post-16 placements, your main job is to promote independence so that the service users have an idea of what to expect when they leave the system. Your job is to help them to become a well-rounded and functioning adult, knowing how to keep their home clean, pay their bills, go out and find work and so on.

One to One

Some of our placements are on a one to one, assisted living basis. In these placements, people are living pretty independently, they just need that extra bit of support at home.

What type of work is involved with one to one support?

In a one to one placement, you would be expected to give a helping hand wherever it’s needed. Your client will be mostly independent, they just need a bit of encouragement and support. It’s about giving them that little extra push to do things for themselves, rather than taking over and doing everything for them. You’re there to assist them if they go shopping, or do other activities that they can’t fully take on by themselves.

How First for Support can help

We would be guided by your relevant work experience and your preferences, to choose the best placements for you. If you have previously worked with children, we would place you with children. If you have worked with young adults or adults, we would place you with a similar group. If you are willing to work with either, or would like to try a placement with children for the first time, or with adults for the first time, we will support you in broadening your experience. We could place you in a less demanding environment to help you get used to a new situation. Whatever the circumstances, we always have your best interests at heart. We check your skills and your experience, listen to what you would like, and find the best fit for you.

How you can contact First for Support



We really care about our candidates and look after our staff, supporting you every step of the way from day one.

Bea, our Director, or our Recruitment Consultants, Ellie and Natalie, would all be happy to help you:

ellie@firstforsupport.co.uk or 07572 704595

natalie@firstforsupport.co.uk or 07496 824425

bea@firstforsupport.co.uk or 07305 808857