By Mark Power MAIEP, Employment Advisor RESTART – IPS EMPOWR
Since recently completing the Elevation Masterclass in Solutions to Employment Barriers and using what I learned and the tips I picked up, I looked into my caseload to see which customers had barriers I could help to break down and assist with moving them forward.
I had a specific customer who I knew I could help by changing her own perspective about herself; she was very set in her mind that because she was “too old”, that no employer would offer her a job because of this. I explained to her about the perception and unconscious bias that exists around age and how it can be changed by a positive mindset and a change of strategy and wording to highlight “life skills” and not age restrictions.
We sat down together to edit her CV and removed any dates that were older than 10 years and also created a new email address because her old one had her birth year and name within it. We highlighted her key skills and positive personality traits and replaced the older work experience by listing them in the skills section instead.
All the time taking into account what I had learned, I reinforced the plus points of what we were doing and the reasoning behind it. This was as much to make my customer believe in herself as well as an employer reading her CV.
After our appointment she had completely changed her view about herself and her capabilities and was happy to send her CV to employers. She could talk her way through an interview with confidence, using her knowledge to explain what she can offer.
Since we have done this, she has applied for 6 jobs and has had 2 interview offers so far, which is a huge improvement of 50 applications and 1 interview offer. Following on from this we will be doing interview prep based on the same positive thinking and mindset.
About Mark Power MAIEP
Mark Power MAIEP is an Employment Advisor working for Palladium on the Restart Scheme. He worked in retail management and as a baker before shifting gears into employability, which has proved to be a fulfilling career pathway driven by continuous learning, growth and huge enthusiasm for his role.
Mark won two prestigious IEP Learning Awards at Basecamp 2024 – Member of the Year and Learning Ally of the Year. The impact of his IEP learning journey is evident in his work, and he attributes his ability to help participants navigate their journey back into work or improve their lives to the skills and confidence gained from these courses.
