Why did Matthew join Links to Work M3?
Matthew joined the programme after being out of work for 11 months due to having a heart condition and a stroke. Matthew previously worked in International Freight for 38 years, spending the last five years working in Australia.
As a result of his stroke, Matthew became homeless and had to move back to the UK to live with family members. Within six weeks of being back, he felt helpless and didn’t know how or where to begin applying for jobs. He went to Camberley Jobcentre for advice where he was introduced to the Links to Work M3.
How Links to Work M3 helped
Matthew met with senior consultant Katherine Ashton and he expressed to her that he wanted to find a job that would make him financially stable as his current situation had left him feeling worthless.
Katherine created an action plan for Matthew so that he had clear goals going forward. Matthew had very low confidence and would get frustrated with himself when he would forget what he wanted to say due to his stroke. Katherine would regularly talk to Matthew and encourage him to speak out more to help with his speech.
Katherine supported Matthew to create a new CV to show all his transferable skills and they began job searching. Katherine found a role at a local casino, Casino Slots and she called them straight away. Matthew gave her permission to talk about his health and the needs he requires from an employer. The casino was more than happy to offer Matthew an interview as they were a small family run business looking for someone to take over their grandfathers’ position.
Mathew was delighted but he was nervous about being in an interview setting. To help ease his worries, Katherine gave him some interview techniques - going through some common interview questions to build his confidence. The interview day arrived, Matthew felt ready, Katherine gave him assurance which left him with even more confident.
Getting the job
Matthew was successful in the interview and he couldn’t wait to tell Katherine. He will be working three days a week doing eight hour shifts to help ease him back into working. Casino Slots are more than happy to accommodate Matthew's needs and they were very impressed with how well he interviewed.
Matthew had nothing but kind words for Katherine and the programme, he said;
"I wouldn’t have gotten an interview let alone attend one without the support from Katherine. She helped me prepare and made me feel confident enough to speak about my health".
Matthew is now waiting for the COVID-19 lockdown to come to an end so that he can start his new job. While he waits, he still has access to support from Links to Work M3 team.
