Kane

Interviewee: Kane

Interviewer: Kevin Harris

Date of recording: 25 July 2022

Recording location: on-line; interviewer in Barnsley and interviewee in Plymouth

Length of recording: 29:55

Subjects (key words): Exeter, Plymouth, Sheffield, university, pet-sitting, animals, zoology, Covid, LGBT+, nonbinary, independence, equality and diversity, skills, travel, zero-hours contact

Abstract:

[00:30] Born in Exeter before the family moved to Plymouth and stayed there completing their education up to ‘A’ Levels, before moving to Sheffield to start a degree in Zoology at the University of Sheffield.

[00:48] Parents pushed degree to unlock better career options. Both parents are graduates. Wants to work with animals, inspiration for a career in the zoology profession. Degree suited career aspirations as well as suited parental wishes. Parents disappointed in dropout sibling.

[03:33] Always been interested in animals. First informal work experience was baby-sitting pets.

[05:33] First official job at sixteen, delivering newspapers. Worked at festivals in summer after first-year of university. Difficulty of finding job in summer before university because of Covid lockdowns.

[05:49] Frustrating ‘Catch 22’, looking for jobs with no experience. Whilst at school it was difficult finding work because the student job market is saturated in Plymouth and employers demanded prior experience. Volunteered in charity shops. Hours lots of places required weren’t compatible with studying at school.

[07:50] Independence a job offers, and the skills it develops.

[08:05] Irregular paid work at university, helping with on-line open days and as a student ambassador. Currently works in the shop at the Student Union on a zero-hour contract. After graduation they would not want a zero-hour contract.

[13:10] Working conditions and training at Student Union are good; they are supportive round welfare and wellbeing.

[15:00] Has realised likes talking about subject: thinking of a career in media or education; had experience of teaching in a school as part of undergraduate modules. Was unable to take up internship recently due to major surgery.

[15:41] Confidence and communication skills have increased.

[16:12] After university, wants to travel and get experience of different sectors (e.g. animal care, conservation, education, media).

[17:27] Motivated by passion and experience, not money; with caveat that they have comfortable living standard. This is opposite to parents’ perspective.

[18:30] The recent operation was top surgery for chest masculinisation. The cost of this surgery has been a significant motivation for employment. Recovery time impacted on their ability to work. Flexibility of employers has been important.

[20:57] Welcoming of LGBT+ would be very important in future career and job searches. Student Union LGBT+ friendly. Experienced Plymouth as less welcoming of LGBT+.

[23:29] Negative experience of intolerance from a line manager at a previous volunteering placement. Found the courage to stand up to this behaviour, ultimately left.

[26:28] Considers diversity, equality and employee satisfaction important when considering future career.

[27: 18] Intends to gain life experience travelling, and building up skills - e.g. in leadership - once has graduated.

Excerpt

[00:04:54]

INTERVIEWER:

So have you actually been employed before coming to uni, do you have a job at the moment?

KANE:

Um, yeah, so I worked in part-time work at university, and I worked a few part-time jobs at university but they were never contracted, long-term jobs, they were sort of on-off work, um you know I worked, I would babysit and pet-sit for my road, um when I was younger and then, when I turned sixteen I spent a really long time trying to get lots of different jobs and didn’t have much luck, um, until, I think I did some newspaper deliveries, um for my area because they were quite desperate for staff, and I worked in festivals over the summer before university – no, it wasn’t the summer before university, it was the summer after my first year, e’cause before university, that summer, everything was locked down because of Covid, and it was really hard to get any kind of job.

INTERVIEWER:

So was that, was Covid something to do with why you didn’t have much luck with jobs when you were at sixteen?

KANE:

Um, partially, I think some of it was also I was lacking any experience in a job sector, and in Plymouth there’s a very high student population, there’s a lot of people who work part-time jobs. So it’s quite hard to get in and get a job when you don’t have any experience. So I ended up having to volunteer a bit at some different shops, um, charity shops before I could then get experience to work other jobs. And also I think my CV was a little bit – my Mum helped me write it, um, and she works in HR, and I think my CV was a bit too [professionally written] for the jobs I was applying to because it was quite, I guess packed out with things and I’d be like applying to work at a McDonald’s, and I think they would just be like ‘Ah, not really what we’re looking for’. I had a few interviews which was good but a lot of places wanted me to work like 25 hours a week, and I couldn’t manage that alongside school.