A mum of 3 small children and part-time carer for her husband, Ann was understandably finding it hard to not only find a job but also decide on which career path to take, which when combined with juggling her responsibilities was impacting on her confidence.
When Ann was referred to the Conwy Employment Hub she was initially interested in exploring the possibility of working as a teaching assistant so her Hub Mentor, Mel, enrolled her on a part-time course at Llandrillo College. Very early on though it became evident that this wasn’t going to work for Ann as she would either have to travel out of her area for work or work at her own children’s school.
Mel and Ann decided that the best starting point would be to work on Ann’s CV and despite many of the businesses she had worked having ceased trading, her breadth of experience in a variety of different roles and positions was used to create an impressive CV. Although this played a key role in boosting Ann’s confidence, she readily admitted to Mel that she would struggle with face to face interviews. As it is not unusual for the Hub’s participants to lack confidence and self belief, Mel was quick to recognise what Ann needed and booked her on to a wellbeing and confidence course at Llandrillo College, which was a huge success and crucially gave Ann the self-assurance to start applying for jobs.
A position came up with a large supermarket chain as an online shopper with 20 hours work a week starting at 4am and finishing at 8am which suited Ann as it meant she would be able to do the school run and spend time with her children and husband in the evenings. Within an hour of applying, Ann was offered an interview and she and Mel set about researching background information on the supermarket and working on Ann’s interview technique
The interview went very well and even though the supermarket informed her that the hours had been reduced to 16, Ann was still extremely keen so she was delighted when three days later she was offered the position. The supermarket would provide Ann with a work top and jacket but as she needed to purchase comfortable trainers and black trousers, Mel put in an application to the barrier fund for these items which was approved.
However, when the contract arrived the hours had been reduced again to only 12 and although she was understandably very disappointed, Ann knew that the supermarket was a good company to work for and that she would be receiving fantastic experience that would help her look for full-time employment opportunities in the future.
Since starting at the supermarket, Ann proved to be an excellent shopper. She takes pride in shopping for their customers as if the shopping was her own, sourcing the freshest produce which are all well within their sell by dates. Her hours have increased over time and she has recently been taken on as a permanent member of the team which is all credit to her and her hard work. She has grown in confidence and is just as enthusiastic as the day she started and to top it all, she’s the fastest at completing her shopping lists than all of the other new starters!
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