A single Mum with a minority ethnic background in her early 40s with three school age children, and one 19-year-old also at home, very recently moved to Edinburgh from England following traumatic gang problems in their former location. The client and children had been housed in a small Council flat, and the client had started very part time work in hotel cleaning which was low paid but a place to start.
I met with her in person heard her story, listened to her goals and re-worked her CV to better reflect her skills and experience. I gradually built up her confidence to start to apply for work more in-line with a career that would provide stability for her and her family and enable them with increased income to reduce their relative poverty, and move to a bigger home. We looked at some different possible jobs and courses that would allow her to get a good, contracted job in a desired area.
A two-week course introducing childcare with guaranteed interview came up, which I applied for with my client who got onto the course, and was offered a job role subsequently at an award winning pre/after school service on much higher wages than her previous work, using her considerable knowledge and skills in childhood development.
Just a reminder that sometimes listening and offering unconditional positive regard as well as practical steps can make all the difference to a client’s confidence.
*Different name and stock photo used to protect individual’s identity.
Image credit: Samwel Francis on Unsplash
