Ruth Finds Confidence Again with Grow

Ruth joined Grow in Kingston after taking a career break to raise her family and trying to return to work on her own. With a background in engineering and a newly completed AAT Level 2 qualification, she was looking to move into finance but wasn’t seeing success in her job search.

“I took a career break to raise my kids. About last year, I thought, you know what, let me start trying to get back into work. I began applying, but because I wanted a career change from engineering into finance, I wasn’t being successful.”

“I have a friend who told me about Grow and said I could give it a go. I just took a chance and went into the Guildhall. I spoke to Grow’s Employment Adviser Iryna, and that’s how I came in. I’ve been a part of them since then.”

Through Grow’s Job Brokerage support, Ruth received practical help with her CV, applications and interview preparation.

“Grow looked at my CV with me and helped to polish it up. They also did mock interviews and gave me sites to go to apply for jobs. They’ve been advising me on where to apply, helping with my CV, giving feedback and talking about what is needed in an interview. That has been really helpful.”

“I meet regularly with my mentor. If I have an interview and it’s gone wrong, we discuss what has gone wrong. Every response I get from applications, we talk about it. Grow also run sessions about how to make your CV stronger and how to be more confident.”

For Ruth, one of the most important things about Grow was being supported by women who understood her situation.

“They are women like me and they have children as well, so they’ve been through what I’ve been through. You feel like you’re on the same page with them. They understand childcare and work-life balance. That’s what I’ve loved about Grow.”

Although Ruth is still looking for work, she feels much more confident and clearer about her next steps.

“I feel more confident in my search. I know where to look and what to look out for, and that has been because of Grow.”

She also feels better prepared to talk about her career break and change in direction.

“They have told me how to address the career gap and how to talk about what I’ve done during that time. They’ve helped me see that it’s OK and that many people go through this.  It has been very positive being part of Grow, they make you feel as though we have these challenges but we can still get over them and find ways around them”.