A strong work ethic isn't enough
Hamza* was in his early 20s when he reached out to RMC for support. He had a strong work ethic and was keen to begin his career, but kept facing barriers when applying for jobs, often struggling to get his applications shortlisted:
“I knew I was ready to work, but to be honest, I wasn’t looking in the right places when it came to jobs, and my CV wasn’t up to standard.”
While trying to look for work, his DWP worker identified that he might benefit from RMC’s support:
“I was going to the Jobcentre, and they gave me the contact details for RMC. While I was at RMC, I met Rad who became my RMC Employment coach.”
Pinpointing the problem
Working with Rad, Hamza was able to work through the specific issues he was facing:
“Rad helped me with my CV and taught me how to format it correctly to match the specific jobs I was applying for. He also helped me to understand how to do better in interviews by thinking about the questions they might ask in advance, helping me to prepare some answers to the most common questions, and to have some information ready to tell the panel about myself.”
Overcoming barriers
Since then, Hamza is delighted to have started a new job and has quickly progressed to a supervisor role. Not only has he obtained paid employment, but he has entered the workforce with the confidence, tools and knowledge to work on his career ambitions independently in future:
“I prepared some answers and got my script ready; the interviewer liked my answers, and I got a job in a sales position. Since then, I’ve been progressing and I got promoted; as a results-focused person this feels great. The industry I work in has lots of opportunities, I’m hoping to be in a management role, my current manager sees that in my future and is helping me work towards it.”
The power of tailored support
Hamza explained how RMC’s support is tailored to individual beneficiaries, allowing them to overcome the specific barriers they are facing when looking for work:
“To be honest, Rad helped me out so much, he was super supportive through the whole journey. It would take me hours to list all that he helped me with. He’s got great listening skills, and he understood exactly what I needed help with.”
Hamza already had the determination and work-ethic needed to thrive in the UK workforce; all he required was some additional knowledge around the job market, recruitment processes, and help with the specific barriers he was facing. From there, he was able to work towards his longer-term goals and achieve his potential.
*names have been changed for confidentiality purposes
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Feature photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
