Surayya Progresses from Volunteering to a Job Offer

Surayya joined the Grow Programme just over a year ago after hearing about us through her children’s school. She has been living in the UK for three years, having moved here from India, but had never worked before. As a mum of young children, she was looking for a part-time role during school hours – but without work experience or networks, she didn’t know where to start.

When Surayya first came to Grow, she says she felt new, unsure and quite isolated. Surayya said “I didn’t know anybody here. I didn’t have a community. I just needed to meet people and understand how things work. Every job I applied for were asking for experience, but I didn’t have any. I didn’t know how to get that.”

With support from her Grow Adviser, Sheeja, she was encouraged to start with volunteering to build confidence and gain experience. Surayya emailed a local school directly and asked if she could volunteer. “They accepted me”, said Surayya.  “I started helping the teacher in the classroom. It gave me experience and helped me understand the school, the children and the teachers.”

Through volunteering, Surayya began to build experience and at the same time, she was attending Grow sessions, taking part in the Bootcamp and using the Grow app to access advice and information. “The sessions gave me confidence. I learned about interviews and how to improve myself. I didn’t know these things before.”

When an opportunity came up at the same school to work as a School Meals Supervisory Assistant (SMSA), Surayya applied. Before the interview, Sheeja arranged a mock interview for her with Grow adviser, Khatera. “We practised the questions and that helped me a lot. When the real interview came, I felt more ready.”

Surayya has now been offered the SMSA role and is waiting for her official start date. She believes that volunteering, along with the interview practice and confidence she gained through Grow, made the difference.

“It helped me a lot. I know the school now. I know the children and the atmosphere. The volunteering gave me experience and helped me get this job. Being part of Grow has helped me build my confidence, I am naturally an introvert and so being part of a community and receiving advice on how to access opportunities has been so helpful for me and its helped me take the steps myself.

“Grow know how to help mums like me to improve confidence and present ourselves in interviews. I didn’t know these things before. It’s really good.”