The TA dream hadn’t been forgotten…she got invited to two interviews for TA positions on the same day!

Samantha was interested in becoming a Teaching Assistant (TA) and had been doing some volunteering at a toddler’s group. She had also gained an NVQ Level 3 in supporting teaching and learning. She told Forward’s Restart team that she had applied for lots of positions for TA roles in the past but never seemed to get anywhere.

Her employment advisor Kirsty at the Restart Scheme reviewed her applications and identified a few areas that needed work – CV rewriting, elaborating on skills and achievements, and reformatting the layout. We then used this new CV to apply for two additional job vacancies.

At her next appointment we applied for four vacancies for TA positions – and finally got the phone call we were all waiting for – an invitation to interview!

Samantha was understandably nervous about the interview, having been out of work for a little while, and so we took steps to improve her confidence and ability to perform at interview, plus rehearsing some examples of the STAR technique (Situation, Task, Action, Result). Whilst Samantha was unsuccessful for the interview, she gained some excellent feedback which naturally motivated her to continue with her job searching.

Samantha decided to open-up her career options and was pleased to accept an interim cleaning position – offered immediately after interview. The TA dream hadn’t been forgotten…she was at her new cleaning job for just a week when she got invited to two interviews for TA positions on the same day!

Samantha attended both interviews and was offered both TA positions – she couldn’t believe she had done it. Her employment advisor was delighted for her, and it highlighted how much can be achieved in such a short time.

Samantha said “Thank you for being the best support, you’ve helped build my confidence and believed in me, when I didn’t believe in myself! You’ve helped in ways you wouldn’t even think, helped with applications and interview prep! You didn’t judge, but listened and advised in a supporting manner.”

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IMAGE: Samantha (left) is with Kirsty Langley (Restart Scheme Employment Advisor). Kirsty is a named finalist for Frontline Advisor of the Year award at the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) Awards 2023: