"My advisor Rebecca was very helpful and took the time to understand the kind of work I was looking for from the start."
Eva, 33, had enjoyed a successful career within the care sector, most recently as a clinical support worker for the NHS, but had had to stop working for a year due to a muscular condition that left her with poor mobility and decreased muscle strength. Eva was receiving medical support for her condition, and felt ready to return to work. She was keen to find a job that would let her use her skills and experience in healthcare, but didn’t know if this would be possible, and she had become depressed and anxious about her prospects.
When she received information about Ingeus’ Pathways to Work programme in the post, Eva contacted the Edinburgh office and arranged a meeting with employment advisor, Rebecca.
Eva told Rebecca that she was concerned about how she would explain the gap in her CV to employers, and that she wanted to be sure she could cope with the stress of finding a job and returning to the workforce. Rebecca explained to Eva that she could access support from Ingeus’ in-house psychologist to learn more about the relationship between stress and her health condition, and she arranged for Eva to attend a ‘Stress, Anxiety and Relaxation’ group workshop, where she learned techniques for managing stress as she prepared to return to work.
Eva also signed up for Ingeus’ Pilates classes to help build her strength, mobility, and stamina, and she found that as well as receiving practical advice, the group activities gave her an opportunity to meet and share her experiences with other job seekers.
Eva soon began to feel more confident about her ability to manage her health, and Rebecca arranged for her to visit the office each week to use the Job Station facilities to find and apply for jobs. With Rebecca’s help Eva updated her CV and started applying for jobs as a support worker. To make sure Eva was confident explaining her time out of the workforce to potential employers, Rebecca helped her to practise answering questions in different interview situations, and enrolled her in Ingeus’ ‘Interview Skills’ workshop.
Feeling more confident about her prospects, Eva started attending interviews, and less than four months after she joined Pathways to Work she was offered a job as a support worker with Visualise, a national action group for multidisabled visually impaired children and adults. Rebecca helped Eva to apply for Working Tax Credits, Return to Work Credit and a Job Grant, and arranged financial support so she could manage her expenses as she moved from benefits to work. Rebecca kept in weekly contact with Eva as she settled into her new role, helping her to negotiate extra hours and apply for a promotion.
Eva says, “My advisor Rebecca was very helpful and took the time to understand the kind of work I was looking for from the start. She really listened to me and made me feel like someone was here for me, and this contributed to me being happy in the position I find myself today.”