"Dream come true" – Janet’s Story

Janet met with Employment Adviser, Darren, and together they identified the areas of support that was required, they discussed her arthritis, anxiety, and a recent family bereavement that she had been struggling with. Janet expressed that, because of her age at 60, she had low self-esteem and confidence with her job search and employability skills.

Darren was on hand to support with personal preparation prior to her job search, he told us: “Janet was eager to complete our in-house Employability Training and Health and Wellbeing sessions, to gain new skills, positivity, and a newfound belief in herself. She then set herself job goals of customer service or Library assistant roles.

“During my time with Janet, she would often talk in detail about the love she had for libraries, and how much support they had provided for her over her lifetime.”

After completing several courses on Better Working Futures services, Janet built her confidence on interview skills and application forms ready to begin applying for jobs. Janet benefitted from the Managing Your Money session which helped her to see how financially better off she would be back in work with full or part-time hours.

“My favourite course was ‘Understanding Mindfulness’, this really helped with my confidence!”

Darren was able to show Janet methods to create a great CV, to highlight all skills and experience relevant to the roles she was applying for. Darren shared: “I encouraged her to start up conversations with library staff, to engage and scope for potential work experience. Due to the support Better Working Futures provided for her, the confidence, and skills she gained, Janet took the next step and applied for a job with Pontefract Libraries.

When Janet received the news that she had been successful at the interview she was very emotional, describing it as a ‘dream come true’”.

Janet told us:

“I would recommend Reed in Partnership to anyone, the help and support I received was great. I joined Better Working Futures nearly a year ago and I received so much support, my confidence in speaking to people has improved a lot, as I was so nervous and shy when I first joined the service!

“I’m looking forward to meeting new people in my new job and showing my employer what I am capable of. My Grandchildren have told me, they can’t wait to come to the library, to see me!”