The right job for me - Susan’s story

When Susan joined the Restart Scheme, she was apprehensive about the support we could offer and nervous about returning to work after 11 years. After raising her family and taking time out from her working life, Susan found it challenging when looking for work as she felt that the application process was a lot different to what she previously knew.

Susan met with her Restart Scheme Employment Adviser, Joe, who took the time to get to know and understand her situation and experience to assess which areas she needed support with most. Susan has Cerebral Palsy which affects one of her hands, which makes completing certain tasks difficult for her. Joe made sure this would be considered when looking for potential new jobs.

Joe shared: “I worked closely with Susan to support her with her confidence and discussing roles she felt she could physically do. We assessed her transferrable skills and highlighted these in her new CV, ready to hand out one of our regular Restart Scheme Careers Fair.”

Susan benefited from attending our wellbeing sessions and, by working amongst a group of like-minded people, she built on her confidence and employability skills by discussing her work experiences. This eventually made her feel comfortable enough approaching employers at the Careers Fairs.

Joe and the team were on hand to financially support her with buying new interview clothes and applying for right to work documentation. During the job fair she attended, she was invited to interview for a role, which boosted her confidence even though the job wasn’t suited for her.

During an appointment with Joe, she shared: ‘I have found my ideal role as a supervisor dinner lady at a local school’ and asked for Joe’s support with the application. Joe was able to support with her DBS application and mock interview questions on the run up to her interview. With Joe’s help she was successful!

Susan told us: “I am very thankful for all the support and understanding I have received at the Restart Scheme. The team have been like friends and family to me here and I can’t thank them enough!