From commerce to home care: how Rob’s career shift is changing lives

Rob Hendra spent decades in the fast-paced world of banking and finance before making a complete pivot into home care.

In 2020, he was studying to become a conveyancer and was focused on continuing his corporate career. All that changed when, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rob sadly lost his mother. Due to border closures at the time, he was unable to return home to Indonesia.

Experiencing the real-time devastation and direct impact on his family led to a shift in his perspective and he began to reevaluate what mattered most to him.

“I always wanted to look after my parents, but the reality was that I lived here overseas, and they lived back home. I could never care for them in that way,” Rob said.

Rob wanted to do his part to repay the collective debt to hospitals and honour the work they do to save and change lives. He began working part-time in a hospital while finishing his conveyancing course.

“During that period, I got to see a wide range of patients receiving treatment,” Rob recalled. “Particularly with the elderly, I got to spend more time having conversations with them and seeing how excited they were when family members visited.”

When an advertisement for SSI’s Home Care Workforce Program (HCWSP) appeared on his Facebook feed, Rob jumped at the opportunity. He sent in his CV and, within a week, had a response and multiple interview offers came pouring in.

Rob describes his career switch to home care as a higher calling, one where he can still put his conversational and business skills to use.

“I’ve had the whole fast paced career and I thought, I would like to do something for me, something that’s meaningful,” he said.

The tailored home care training at his workplace, Catholic Healthcare, offered Rob a mix of theoretical and practical knowledge, while also allowing him to branch out and grow the skills he already possessed.

“My current employer is one of the best organisations I’ve encountered in my working life,” Rob said.

His law background helps him thrive in aspects of home care like building rapport, reading body language, and making genuine connections.

“It’s a job with high flexibility and travel time considerations, and what’s great for me is it’s not too physically demanding,” Rob said. “It’s also a lot more secure than banking and finance!”

Looking back, Rob wouldn’t change a thing and is grateful for the seamless and efficient organisation that facilitated his career change.

“I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly everything played out,” he said. “I’m happier than ever and I get to do work that makes a real difference. If you’re compassionate and want to help others, home care is the type of job to get into.”