Sharon’s Story…
I currently attend Into Work and I have been going there for the last 5 months. I lost my job last year and I am looking for an Administration/Reception post. My disability is that I have a visual impairment and I need magnification software, an electronic magnifier and a large monitor. I can only have glasses for distance vision and even with my glasses my vision is very reduced.
A typical day job searching…
A typical day for me now is spent looking for work. I usually use my mobile phone to try and find jobs to apply for as it’s the easiest way for me to see the text. I look on job sites like indeed, Good Moves and S1 jobs and once a week I go to see my Employment Adviser at Into Work. My adviser also looks for work for me and suggests jobs that they have found.
Into Work have also helped me to get my CV up to date and improved the layout of it. I have had a few interviews recently from sending off my CV and cover letter, but I also fill in application forms regularly on the PC. Sometimes I get Into Work to check over some of my applications that I am not sure about. I find going to Into Work really helps as I now spend a lot of time alone and it helps to keep me motivated.
I keep an electronic copy of all my applications, this is useful, and it means I can copy and paste from one application to another when I fill out the section on my employment history and this makes it easier for me due to my visual impairment. The personal statement can usually be used for more than one application form with some adjustments. I also keep all my covering letters for the same reason.
Interviews…
A lot of interviews these days are based around competency based questions i.e. “Can you give me an example of a time when you have provided good customer care?” etc. To answer these questions I have thought of previous situations in jobs and I try to write them all down using the STAR based technique (see below) and I rehearse them before interviews.
STAR
- S –Situation
- T –Task
- A –Action
- R –Result
This is quite difficult to begin with but if you practise it a lot it gets easier to talk through the examples at an interview. Into Work conducted mock interviews which have also helped build my confidence delivering the STAR technique.
The video below goes into further detail on how to use STAR in an interview
I am hopeful that I will find another job soon with the help and support from my Into Work adviser
I will keep you updated…
Sharon.