Job seeker Cassie was looking to return to employment after taking a few years off to care for her mother. She had commenced this job search with another Disability Employment Services provider but felt pressured to apply for jobs which weren’t suited to her individual needs. She was concerned that this was having an adverse effect on her stress levels and mental health.
It was at this point that Cassie, along with her brother and mother, decided to make a move to atWork Australia.
Cassie met her new Job Coach, Shareece, in late 2018. At first, Cassie was uncertain about her future and had lost confidence in her ability to work. Therefore, Shareece spent many months providing vocational counselling to Cassie in order to build her skill set and equip her with the ability to manage the stress of job seeking and the workplace.
Shareece and Cassie worked together to identify the right vocational goal for Cassie. Although she had over 10 years’ experience in a customer service role in the retail industry, Cassie wanted to apply these skills in a new and engaging environment. After researching different career paths, it was decided that a role in reception or administration would provide Cassie with great job satisfaction.
Next, Shareece helped Cassie to adjust her résumé and cover letter to start applying for vacancies in the local area. Cassie submitted over 20 applications in the space of 3 months, and for every application submitted, Shareece encouraged Cassie to call the employer to introduce herself and stand out from the other applicants.
Finally, in February 2019, Cassie was invited to an interview for a receptionist role. Cassie demonstrated her fantastic communication and people skills and talked to the employer about the genuine enthusiasm she has for helping people.
Straight after her interview, Cassie called Shareece to express her excitement after being offered the position, with an immediate start the very next day. Funnily enough, Cassie advised that the employer had already made the decision to hire her before the interview when she made that call to introduce herself. It just shows that those calls were all worth it!
As Shareece says, “It’s been really rewarding to work with Cassie and see her return to work. She had a lot of barriers to employment, but once we overcome these, she was able to find a meaningful job. I am now looking forward to helping Cassie’s brother and mother to achieve similar positive outcomes in the future.”
