Sheila Rebuilds Her Career

Sheila lives in Hayes and joined Grow through the SWEET programme after recently moving to the UK from Kenya with her daughter to join her husband. With a background in IT consultancy, business and clinical coding, Sheila had spent several years out of work while caring for her daughter and was trying to understand how to rebuild her career in a completely new country.

Sheila said:

“Back in my country, I was an IT consultant and I also majored in business and worked in medical volunteering and clinical coding. After having my daughter, I became the primary caregiver, so I could only work from home, which meant I was very limited in the type of work I could do.”

Although Sheila had qualifications and professional experience, she found trying to return to work in the UK difficult and overwhelming.

“I have only been in the UK for five months and have been looking to return to my career as my daughter starts Reception in September. I found it challenging being new to the country and having no family or support here. I didn’t know how to go about things and adapting to another country with different systems and another culture was difficult for me.”

“Getting my career back is important to me because I wanted to rebuild myself as a woman, not just as a mother.”

Sheila joined Grow two months ago after being introduced to the programme by another participant and has since attended online sessions, employment rights workshops and motivational sessions led by the Grow team.

“Grow gave me a blueprint for how to go about rebuilding my career. I got to understand how the UK employment system works and what my options are. It was really an eye opener for me. It gave me a roadmap that I’m now following.”

One of the biggest changes for Sheila has been understanding how employment works in the UK and how to present herself professionally.

“Grow’s sessions and team members helped me to improve my CV and make it more suitable for UK standards. I now understand the application processes and feel more confident about interviews.”

“I also learned how to use the STAR method. In my country we don’t use it, so that’s something I was still learning here. I used the STAR method in my interview and this month I secured a part-time job working as a medical receptionist.”

Sheila also said the sessions helped her understand her rights at work and gave her more confidence speaking in interviews.

“Now I know my rights at work. I understand what is fair and what is not considered fair in UK workplaces.”

“The motivational sessions were also very useful. They spoke to us about interview confidence, answering questions and language barriers. It was very informative.”

Looking ahead, Sheila hopes to continue building her career within healthcare and administration.

“I’m looking for administrative posts and I also want to volunteer so I can gain one-on-one experience before moving fully back into work.”

“I really want to stay in the medical profession.”

Reflecting on her experience, Sheila believes support like Grow is especially important for women returning to work after motherhood.

“So many women lose themselves in motherhood and when you want to come back, you have no guide.”

Sheila said:

“Mothers nurture future generations, but when a mother is nurtured, the world itself is healed and aligned to accommodate that future generation.”