My life has purpose again…
The challenge
BN had applied for numerous jobs but had not been successful in gaining any offers of work. Her work coach from the Job Centre, suggested she enrol for the Motiv-8 Ready for Work programme running in Torquay. It was apparent from BN’s first session that she was lacking in self-confidence and self-esteem, she told her coach she felt defeated and she had no prospects or future ahead of herself. Her CV was out of date and she had given up on trying to apply for jobs when all she got was rejection. BN didn’t want to engage with others on the group sessions and she felt way out of her comfort zone.
What we did
BN says that from day one she immediately felt that she rediscovered some self-belief, having lost this from continual job rejections and lack of any interviews. The coach helped her to improve her CV, importantly using keywords to make the CV stand out and highlighting her strengths. BN met with her coach virtually for one to one sessions several times and she was given the necessary help and encouragement to prepare her for upcoming interviews, improving ways of describing herself and her unique skills and strengths and building her confidence.
She says that she started believing in herself again, after feeling so defeated for so many months. This enabled her to start engaging in the team sessions and she shared her experiences and listened to other people within the group. She says this was a really helpful part of the programme and they were able to hear what ideas had worked for them but also what did not work for them. They learnt valuable lessons from each other.
She carried out interview practise runs and she was given feedback on her style and techniques of answering questions. When she finally came to the real interview BN said; “I was confident and calm as I had completed the preparation in advance. My coach made me believe in myself again, and he helped me to stop doubting myself, and he said to me, you only have a small window to sell yourself in an interview, those words will stay with me forever”. BN found particularly useful, supportive and encouraging the fact the coaches checked in with her daily, she says; “They were literally a lifeline for me”.
The outcome
When a call came in for a job prospect BN says she felt “cool, calm and collected and confident in describing myself and what I had to offer a future employer”. A telephone interview led to a job offer and BN is working there to this day. BN says; “everything I learnt from the programme helped me to sell myself, get a job but also have the confidence to walk in on day one with my head held high”. The feeling was amazing and BN could only describe it as if she felt she had grown 3 feet taller and in her words “I was like a pigeon with my chest puffed out, so proud of myself. I started my new job on 13 July 2020, and I am loving my job, I have learnt so much in my job role, I feel like my life has purpose again”.
