Summary
Following a recruitment event in Rhyl Town Hall, Miss E took her first big step in months by referring herself to the project to upskill and find new employment following her redundancy over a year ago. Miss E was involved in a car accident the previous year which had hugely knocked her confidence, she felt nervous about going to new places and the thought of applying for jobs and attending interviews made her feel stressed. With support and encouragement from her Communities for Work Plus mentor, Miss E completed training to build on her ICT knowledge which led to her starting paid employment within the business administration sector.
Background / What is …?
Miss E’s car accident had impacted her work and social life greatly before her referral to us, she felt unable to move past it as her confidence was so low despite having a strong work history spanning over 10 years. Miss E felt anxious in new situations, so it took a couple of appointments to allow her to feel comfortable and not pressured into doing things she felt unable to do, the majority of our appointments were held in quiet private rooms in the local library where she would feel at ease and able to properly discuss her barriers. Miss E had good qualifications from school, however as they were outdated she felt she would benefit from refreshing her skills and perhaps trying new areas, she had particularly lost confidence with her ICT and computer skills and saw her age as a real barrier to overcoming this. We continued to discuss her confidence with interviews where she disclosed she felt daunted by the formal environment and felt interview panels were intimidating. It was apparent that Miss E sometimes suffers with anxiety and nerves and as we began to unpick it, Miss E was able to identify that she second guesses herself a lot and likes to have reassurance.
The engagement…
To start our engagement, we decided to look at Miss E’s CV, due to issues with her laptop we started on a paper copy and made notes of what could be changed, such as specific language used from previous roles that other employers may not understand. We condensed it down so it was better presented and kept sections relevant to the different roles she would be applying for. Over subsequent meetings it became apparent that Miss E would benefit from basic ICT training as she struggled to upload her CV to websites and wasn’t familiar with Microsoft packages, it was also noted that her laptop was old and did not perform to the required standard for her job searching duties with DWP, so we completed a Barrier fund application for a new laptop and enrolled her onto a free course in a local library ‘Get Start in Business Admin’. After spending time with the Tutor, we were advised the course was too basic for her needs and hearing the Tutor say this really boosted her confidence! Miss E then applied for a position with the NHS and advised she had been promised an interview, although still felt uneasy about the interview process so requested recommendations of interview hints and tips.
We booked a couple of appointments to spend time on this area, especially as it was something that Miss E felt particularly nervous about. As we didn’t hear back from the NHS for a few weeks, we continued to look for vacancies suited to Miss E and when checking the DCC website the perfect position was available for a reception/admin assistant within the housing department. Miss E was keen to apply so we sent the application together, it was evident that Miss E’s confidence was growing as she was able to think of more things to write about her skills and experiences. Within a few days DCC contacted Miss E with offer of an interview. Miss E felt really excited about this and we spent some time discussing the questions that may come up in interview. Miss E explained there was a task involved as well as a Q&A session so also discussed what the task may involve e.g. typing a letter, explaining how you would cope in a difficult situation, explaining how you would cope with conflicting tasks etc.
In the few days running up to the DCC interview Miss E called worrying about the interview, she thought about cancelling it as she was certain she ‘will make a fool’ of herself and was talking herself out of reasons why she would be good for the role. Her mentor spent time reassuring her that her application and previous experiences must have matched the specifications otherwise she wouldn’t have been selected so quickly, and suggested that she could make some notes to take with her if she feels it would be helpful in case she gets nervous in the situation and mind goes blank. Following up from the DCC interview, Miss E was very upset and said it had been a disaster. She told her mentor she was ashamed of herself and admitted that the task test had stressed her out which she felt affected the rest of her interview. Her mentor reassured her that they could contact them together to ask for feedback, and although the feedback did have mainly positive points, one of the feedback comments suggested Miss E sounded like she was more interested in management rather than an admin role. Miss E started to question whether she would prefer to look at supervisory and management roles as she did have experience in that area, and after a thorough discussion with her mentor, she decided she did not want to go back into supervisory roles and that she didn’t want something too intense.
As the interview task had caused Miss E to feel stressed, her mentor asked her how she would feel about having a mock interview with one of the Working Denbighshire Employment Engagement Officers. As she hadn’t met him before it was thought that it may help to boost her confidence, and also because he doesn’t know her, he may be able to pick up on things that the mentor didn’t. Miss E was very keen to do this so an appointment was arranged. Miss E’s appointment lasted a few hours and feedback was very positive but Miss E was advised to ensure she listens to the question being asked, and to take her time answering.
In the same week the NHS recruitment department contacted Miss E to offer her an interview, apologising for taking so long to get back in touch. Miss E was relieved that she was still going to get a chance for this opportunity so another appointment was arranged with her mentor to go over the questions that might come up and discussed strategies to keep her calm the morning of the interview. Miss E attended the interview and rang the mentor on her way out, she sounded so excited on the phone and informed her that she had felt really positive about the interview. She proudly stated that her and the interviewers had ‘had a bit of a laugh’ once they got to the end of the interview. Within a few days they contacted her again to advise she had been successful and aimed to get her started in the upcoming month.
Four months later Miss E was still working for the NHS, around 30 hours a week. She has received consistently positive feedback from management there and has been covering other departments such as finance and procurement. The role was temporary but has been extended until next year and she was even encouraged by management to apply for a permanent position.
Miss E is learning a lot in the role and feels her confidence has really developed, but most importantly she is enjoying it and feels happy.
Good Practice Shared / Lessons Learned / Outcomes
• Miss E’s confidence really improved by spending time doing mock interview practise with the Working Denbighshire Employment Engagement Officer. It was helpful for her to gain feedback from someone impartial. Collaborative working proved highly successful with Miss E’s engagement.
• Ensuring that goals are set for the client and not just for the mentor, Miss E maintained a good level of independence throughout the support and took responsibility for her own learning.
• Liaising with local colleges to get the right details for the right courses.