Dawn Hayward, 44, has been bringing up her children on her own following a difficult separation from her partner. Dawn’s son also has multiple health issues, which has a knock-on effect on Dawn’s mental health culminating in very low moods and a severe lack of self-confidence.
But her fortunes changed when she was referred to the Restart Scheme, which aims to help the country bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic by supporting people into suitable, sustainable jobs.
Why Dawn joined the Restart Scheme
Dawn had previously worked in administration and was keen to get back to a similar job but knew her lack of self-esteem was holding her back. Dawn’s low self-confidence was preventing her from even attending any interviews, so it was clear she needed tailored support to help her overcome her barriers.
How Fedcap helped
Dawn was partnered with Employment Adviser Hannah Bowen, who immediately started to work on building up Dawn’s confidence levels through Health and Wellbeing group sessions and one-to-one support sessions.
With a lack of recent activity on Dawn’s CV, it was important to help Dawn stand out in other ways. Hannah supported Dawn to enhance her job searching skills, particularly online, and paying attention to how Dawn could present herself in front of an employer. Dawn took time to work on her interview skills with preparatory interview questions and being able to practice her responses, which really helped to ease her nerves.
Dawn also proactively reached out to and sent her CV to companies which support people who can only do part-time work and are single parents looking for jobs around school hours.
Getting the job
As Dawn’s confidence and job searching skills started to grow, Dawn secured her first interview for a very long time – with the Army.
With a pep talk from Hannah ringing in her ears, Dawn was able to impress at the interview and was offered a full-time role. But due to childcare commitments, she has been able to renegotiate the work to be part-time and is loving her new job.
She will continue to receive in-work support from our team to ensure she settles back into the routine well.
