Finally a job in retail…
The challenge
Pam (not her real name) was referred to our Ready for Work programme in Torbay. She presented as a very bright and polite individual but it was soon very apparent that Pam was dealing with confidence issues. These were both self-confidence and a real lack of confidence in her own abilities and skills and her understanding of some of her own life experiences that she didn’t recognise as being a positive attribute that would contribute to future employment. This self-doubt was making her feel unable to find a real career path that she would enjoy and her search felt overwhelming as she was not sure where to focus or which route would really suit her as an individual.
What we did
Pam attended some employment sessions with an experienced Motiv-8 coach, together they started to identify and build a career pathway and this initial work also incorporated a skills health check. At the outset Pam did not have a set course on what she would really like to do; but her skills health check report indicated the possibility of looking at employment in the customer service sector. Pam viewed a variety of job profiles within in this sector, enabling her to have real ownership on what she liked and what she didn’t like. The coach also discussed volunteering work to help with confidence, whilst at the same time working with Pam one to one on some confidence building techniques. Pam felt at the time that her hindered her work experience opportunities so the coach continued to help her break down some of these limiting beliefs and barriers to her progression.
The coaching sessions started to have a very positive impact on Pam and this was evident in her improving levels of self-confidence and her feeling much more positive and developing belief in her own abilities.
Pam completed a new style CV which looked at her skills she did have and the skills she was developing. She created a skill based and chronological CV which really highlighted what she can do. The new CV made her feel like she had something to offer and she was amazed how this work had such a positive impact on how she felt about herself, for the first time she could see in black and white that she really did have something to offer. This all impacted further on her self-confidence and it was evident that she could now see how she could sell herself to a prospective future employer. Importantly it gave her a sense of self-worth and allowed her to give herself some self-compassion.
The outcome
All this great work enabled and empowered Pam to feel confident enough to start applying for jobs. The Motiv-8 coaches kept working with Pam during this process, helping her to polish her CV and kept her practising her interview techniques. She applied for several jobs and obtained an interview for an apprenticeship position in a customer service role.
Pam was pipped at the post and the job was offered to someone else, previously Pam would have given up at this point after feeling knocked back and rejected. But not this time, she spent time reflecting with her coach, going over all the positives and learning what she could do better.
The coach then helped her to find another position as a retail assistant in a clothes shop in her local area. Pam gained an interview and on this occasion she was successful, she started working part time the following week. The Motiv-8 coaches work doesn’t stop there, we still maintain contact and it is wonderful to see her achieving her ambition, feeling much more confident in both herself and her abilities. She finally believes in herself!
