The right opportunity in the right place can make all the difference in the world.
January of this year was a really rough month. On a zero-hour contract where I just couldn’t get the shifts to keep us out of homelessness, caring for my partner, and trying my best to put myself back together after some grim life experiences.
I’d popped down to the job centre as per their request to discuss the inability for my current occupation to support our house or develop my skills. I told them that I was interested in a career as opposed to a stop-gap measure, and that as a young graduate I’d like to be put in touch with some of the companies who could help.
My work coach almost leapt out of her skin:
‘I think I know just the opportunity. There’s a company that a few of our jobseekers have spoken really highly of that could employ you through the Government’s Kickstart Scheme.’
I was curious and I asked for more details; ‘Business Development Associate, with an aim to market and develop the business with all that entails, 25 hours a week, etc etc…’
Truthfully, it was the first time my eyes had lit up like that in a while.
‘Aye, I’ll send off an email. The worst they can do is say no.’
Skip ahead to the interview. If this didn’t go well, it would have meant continuing the job search, and trying to avoid homelessness for me and the person I care about most in the world.
Shortly after the interview, I got the email saying that the CEO of the company, called Caritas Neuro Solutions, would be delighted to have me as part of the team. I cannot begin to describe to you the elation and relief it brought to our lives. Beyond having the money to remain in our flat, it also represented something else: a chance to reinvent myself as something more than an autistic transgender woman struggling to make it.
So, on a cold morning in February, I set off for my first meeting with the firm’s CEO, a charming, ambitious woman by the name of Leigh Fell. We sat down over coffee at a bistro in Edinburgh, and Leigh outlined where she wanted to take the company, the talent she already had on board, and how I would fit into the equation.
I was infinitely thankful it was work from home. It meant I could keep up my caring commitments and keep myself in good order too. It wasn’t long before I slowly started to feel… dare I say, ‘human’ again.
The talent that Leigh had curated for Caritas Neuro Solutions are some of the kindest and most patient I’ve had the privilege to work with. They supported me when I was feeling down about my work, and gave me strategies to make sure that my work was up to a standard that both the company and I were happy with. An effort has been made to achieve a compassion-focused culture from the get-go. A real priority is placed on the health and well-being of employees, with regular training in positive thinking techniques being part and parcel of every week’s routine, and trained, approachable mental health first aiders to hand a mere message away.
I’ve had the opportunity to attend aerial yoga, taken extensive part in mental health cohesion training, and have had multiple opportunities to get some face-time with the people who’ve seen me through into becoming the far more confident person that I am today. This is to say nothing yet of the way that working at Caritas has improved my professional life, my career prospects moving into the future, and my perception of myself.
And still, my skills continue to improve. I’m a far more competent graphic designer than I was at the start, a far more confident social media manager, lead developer, copywriter, and client outreach operative. Working at Caritas has given me the opportunity to wear many different hats in a professional setting, something else that I’m immensely grateful for.
It all came to a head at the Caritas Neuro 5th Birthday celebrations, commemorating half a decade since the company had been established. Seeing the stakeholders, professionals and my colleagues who make it all possible was a tremendous experience. A personal point of pride was having the flyers I designed on all the tables, something that a few people remarked on (even going as far as to ask me if I had studied it or have my own business in the field!). Needless to say, I left that evening with my difficult past firmly in the rear-view mirror.
I had finally arrived. I’d made it. I’d finally become a professional, someone worth employing, and someone worth telling that they’ve done a good job.
I’m about to move on to different pastures now, but I would be remiss not to think fondly of my journey and time at Caritas. I wouldn’t have held my own recently in the extremely competitive interviews with the COO and CFO of my new company if not for the skills and confidences I’ve been taught, and had the ability to self-teach, within the space that Caritas has to offer.
I’m extremely thankful for the Government’s Kickstart Scheme in doing exactly what the name predicates that it should. It kickstarted a newer, happier, and more optimistic life for me. It gave someone with raw talent and a hunger to make something of their life the ability to do exactly that, and provided the opportunity for me to work in a place where I genuinely believe in the mission and core values of the firm.
I cannot understate how game changing working at Caritas has been for me. If you’re ever looking to work somewhere that is accessible, supportive, offers all the training, skills and support you’d ever need in your role, is LGBT & neurodiversity friendly, and has a mission genuinely worth believing in, I’d posit that Caritas is one of the finest things to come out of Scotland in recent years.