MICHELLE'S STORY: SURVIVING TOUGH TIMES TO ACHIEVE BETTER WORK-LIFE BALANCE

When Michelle met her Acorn Training Employment Coach, John Bowering, she was emerging from 18 months of very serious personal challenges. Michelle was referred to Acorn Training by her Job Centre work coach in October, she had lost her job at the start of the pandemic and despite working tirelessly to find a suitable role, she had really struggled to find the right one.

Michelle had also struggled financially, finding it difficult to pay her mortgage which contributed to her suffering from severe depression. With the odds stacked against her, the everyday tasks many of us take for granted had become part of a daily struggle.

During this time her son attempted to take his own life following a traumatic break up. Michelle rushed to his side to help support him. Her dad was then diagnosed with cancer, Michelle’s weekends became a time to help care for him and support other family members. John could see that Michelle had a lot of challenges to balance and would need support through Acorn Training’s wellbeing team to help with her mental health. John recalls, “I knew this would be imperative to successfully finding Michelle work.”

Michelle had previously held management roles, and was an experienced candidate, but given her challenging personal circumstances she needed something that would give her work-life balance. John continued "Michelle needed something with less pressure and responsibility. I was very happy she recognised this and of course, supported it fully. Michelle seemed relieved that someone understood her needs.”

After several applications Michelle secured an interview with the Ministry of Justice as a Despatch team member. At their next appointment, John supported Michelle by working on interview questions and techniques, “We worked on helping Michelle map her own experiences to certain aspects of the job description. We worked on her anxiety around what to wear for the interview and how to access the Teams link. All in all, I think I spoke to Michelle about 15 times before the interview but it was time well spent as Michelle was offered the job.”

John was on leave when he heard the news, “It was incredible to see how happy Michelle was to get an interview. She was literally jumping for joy when she got the job.”

John continued, “It was an absolute pleasure to support Michelle through this journey. She’s been a star and has done everything I’ve asked and more to let me help her.”