Jennifer had been working consistently since 1984 so it came as a great surprise to her when she was suddenly made redundant in February 2009.  Jennifer felt upset and angry at losing a job she had put so much effort into.  Aged 58, she worried about what would happen to her pension if she could not find another job.

 
Jennifer started to look for work immediately, she kept a tight record of all her applications and found that in 5 months she had applied for over 80 jobs, but only had 1 interview for a job that she felt wasn’t suitable.
 
Understandably Jennifer felt de-motivated, “I didn’t think I would find another job.  Full stop.”
 
Jennifer registered with a Westminster Works Adviser in July 2009.  She said that she really felt she had found an Adviser who was dedicated to helping her get back into work.  “James has the time to really sit down with you and look at how he can help.” She worked with James to develop a realistic plan for how she could secure a new role.  James helped her to create a focused high quality CV.  In addition he provided support to improve Jennifer’s interview skills, by looking at how she could respond to more difficult interview questions.
 
Jennifer also attended the programmes weekly job club at The Greenside Community Centre, where she had access to vacancies she hadn’t seen anywhere else.  During a group session at the Job Club she came across a vacancy at the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation working as a Fundraising Officer.  Jennifer used her newly updated CV to apply for the vacancy and was invited to attend an interview.  Jennifer said that the support she received ensured that she felt confident and did really well at the interview.  She was offered the job subject to references.
 
“Without support of Westminster Works I wouldn’t have even had a chance.  I can’t thank you enough for the interview techniques and CV support”
 
Jennifer