Meet Catherine - one of the FSCS' newest recruits

Age-friendly Employer: FSCS

Catherine Goodier

New Recruit

Catherine Goodier

Current role: Communications Executive
Age at time of interview: 54
Time at FSCS: 8 months

Catherine always dreamed of working in PR, and that’s one dream that came true. During a fascinating career, she’s reinvented herself multiple times. But perhaps the biggest challenge came when she was job hunting in her 50s. Here, she shares her tips on being brave, finding work, and making the most of every opportunity that life offers you.

One of my dreams as a child was to be the Bionic Woman so I could run really fast and jump 50 foot haystacks. Another dream was to work in PR. I never got to be the Bionic Woman, but I did end up working in PR!

From rap stars to royalty

My PR career started in 1994 when I began working for a film distribution company in Soho. I was there for seven years before I was head-hunted by a start-up PR agency in Berkshire. After that, in an interesting diversion, I did PR for a famous rap star and then moved on to work for The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. This included doing the PR for the tenth anniversary of the death of Princess Diana. Next, I spent two years in the press office at Leonard Cheshire Disability, then joined the press office of Blind Veterans UK. I took care of the charity’s monthly member magazine which involved producing a 52-page printed magazine, an audio magazine, a Braille magazine and a digital magazine. It was a great challenge and I really relished it.

The tough side of looking for work in my 50s

In 2018, I left my job with Blind Veterans UK and thought I would just fall into work, because that’s what had always happened previously. September passed, October passed and I had a few interviews in the November. But either they weren’t right for me or I wasn’t right for them. It was completely disheartening because I was applying for jobs that I knew I could do and where I had the relevant experience, but I just wasn’t hearing back. I’d never been in that situation before and was starting to feel quite broken. In the new year, I had a few interviews, but it never felt like the right fit. I became more and more despondent and started to really feel my age.

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The turning point: a vision of marble pillars

So I had a word with myself. I thought, “OK, I’d like to work more in finance.” I’d never worked in the City before and envisaged an office with marble pillars.

Then I saw the Communications Executive job at FSCS. I knew about the organisation already and thought it did good work. What surprised me was that when I completed my online application, I wasn’t asked to submit a copy of my passport or driving licence. They weren’t asking for proof of my age. That was different!

A simple application process

After that, everything just flowed. The whole application process was really simple. The interview was long, because it was competency-based, but the two people who took it made it really enjoyable. I remember thinking, “I really want to get this job. I want to work with Lila and Suzette and be part of what’s going on here.”

And still, no one had asked for my ID or proof of age. I found I was down to the final three applicants and then I had to do a verbal reasoning test, a little maths test and an English test. Soon after, I came out of the cinema one Friday and got a call to say I’d got the job.

Getting on board

When I arrived at FSCS, I met Colin, who’s responsible for on-boarding. He gave a really simple presentation that was so clever and detailed that in a morning I came away knowing about all the different departments and how they work together. That proved key because it meant that from day one, I knew who my ‘go to’ people were.

Then I had a series of tests about the organisation every morning for three weeks, so I became more and more immersed in FSCS. Straight away, I felt, “I’m part of the team and this is where I’m going to stay.”

FSCS is 100% on your side

David Blackburn and his HR team are incredible. They really look after you and want you to succeed – everyone here is absolutely 100% on your side. They want you to stay until retirement, and maybe beyond, because there is no such thing as retirement these days! So you’re offered retraining so you can learn new skills. They want you to be happy, to fit in and to feel part of the team.

There’s no doubt that FSCS is an age-friendly employer. They genuinely want to make the workplace as inclusive and diverse as possible.

What's Great About The FSCS?

We do work that changes people’s lives

I recently spoke with three customers who each thought they had lost their pension money. FSCS refunded their money in full and that was great to hear. One man said, “If I hadn’t received the money from FSCS I would have carried this worry to my grave.” He wouldn’t have been able to retire and now he can – he’s 62.

You can work from home

I haven’t chosen to work from home yet, but people my age – in the mature bracket – can work from home as a rule rather than the exception. So if someone thinks they’d get more done at home, or they can’t face the commute, FSCS trusts them to do that. I think that’s amazing.

Friendly working environment

The culture and the working environment at FSCS are very friendly. That’s another thing I love about being here. Everyone just wants to do their best, and to help others out so they can do their best work too.

“It was a really simple application process - everything here was simple!”

Catherine Goodier
Communications Executive, FSCS

Catherine's Advice to Others

Look for an age-friendly employer

I always tell friends my age who are struggling to find a job, “Don’t be despondent. Don’t give up. Look for an age-friendly employer. Look at Renegade Generation’s age-friendly employer profile.” If I’d known about the age-friendly employer profile, I’d probably have spent four months less on job hunting!

Sometimes you’ve just got to be brave

Quite often in my career, I’ve had to convince people to be brave and persuade them that the risk would be worthwhile. At the same time, I knew that if it didn’t work out, my job would be on the line. But the biggest risks have always been worth taking. That includes landing a major role for Blind Veterans UK at the Festival of Remembrance in 2015 and filming blind veterans at the Bastion Memorial Wall as part of the Service of Remembrance.

Learn from the younger generation

It’s been excellent to take part in reverse mentoring at FSCS and have the chance to learn from someone who’s decades younger than me. Calid is a super cool guy in my team who’s in his early 30s and he mentors me so I can learn from him. As well as everything he’s taught me, it’s helped me feel even more included here and reinforces my feeling that this is somewhere I want to stay.

Creative writing, writing plays, podcasting, country walks

Just a few of Catherine’s interests and side hustles