Finding herself again following redundancy

After being made redundant Nyla began to feel anxious and concerned about the future and sought therapeutic support from NHS Talking Therapies.  Her therapist soon realised that Nyla could benefit from some employment support to find work again and referred her to Twining Enterprise, where she met Monisa, her dedicated Employment Specialist.  Monisa supported Nyla to develop her CV and cover letter and Nyla quickly secured job interviews and a job offer!  Her confidence is now back to where it was, and she feels herself again!  Here Nyla tells us her story in her own words…

I was unexpectedly made redundant from my old job which came as a huge shock to my system. I’d been in the role for around two years – and the redundancy felt so out of the blue – but organisational changes outside of my control just caused the redundancy to happen.

I’d always been used to being out and about, on the go doing things, so when I suddenly wasn’t anymore, it all made me feel very anxious.  I reached out to NHS Talking Therapies who put me on a short course of counselling.  I spoke about what had happened at work and they said they’d refer me to Twining Enterprise, who could support me to find another job.

After my referral to Twining, I got a call from Monisa, who was my dedicated Employment Specialist; she asked me what I particularly wanted help with. She asked for the cover letter I was using with job applications and my CV, and provided some feedback which was really useful.  We did Teams calls and also some face-to-face meetings so we could work on things in person.  It wasn’t long before I had a call about an interview! 

In preparation Monisa and I went through all the potential questions the employer might ask – which really helped me to think about how I would respond. We even called the employer to find out what the in-tray tasks would be, and I found out it would be an Excel task, so we could prepare more precisely.  Communicating with Monisa was really easy too – I could even reach out on WhatsApp and I knew she’d always reply back.

I got offered two jobs so quickly – and I felt over the moon!  I got good vibes during the interviews and there were tasks which were stressful – but it really helped knowing Monisa was there to help me through with all her support in the background.  One of my in-tray tasks was an hour and a half!  But knowing Monisa was supporting me really helped me to get through it.  I was so excited to tell her when I got the job offers!

I chose the job offer I liked the most and now I feel so much better and my confidence is back! When I was made redundant I’d lost that confidence in myself and I felt really low, but now I feel back to being me.  The job I accepted is different to what I was doing before – so this has also been a chance to move my career in a slightly different direction and do something new and fresh.

Monisa’s support was so useful for me – she was always available whenever I needed her.  When I got the two job offers, I really needed to talk to her and she always gave good advice, and her interview preparation really helped me.  When I was in the interview things she said were popping into my head – I really felt like she was there with me!