Simone Jackson graduated from The University of Kent in 2022 and is now as an Architectural Assistant at Architect That.
Simone was connected with the SafetyNet+ Scheme by The Careers and Employability Service.
Original Status: At the start of support Simone was not currently working or studying. Simone shared that she was not very confident despite submitting applications and making it to the next stage in at least one.
Support Provided: Simone was supported closely by her coach who offered interview preparation assistance as well as giving insight to recruitment processes.
What Simone Found Most Valuable: “Having someone to check in with weekly, so it feels like I am making progress in my job search even when things aren’t going very well – it’s very encouraging. Also, receiving valuable and useful feedback that I wasn’t receiving elsewhere, so that I knew what to work on and improve in order to successfully get a graduate job”.
How the Support Helped Simone with her Confidence: Simone said, “[the support] made me feel like I was not alone in the things I was struggling with and the obstacles I was facing during the hiring process and in the workplace, so I don’t take things quite as personally anymore which has been good for my confidence”.
What Simone Said About the Support: Simone had high praise for her coach – “I particularly think my mentor, Konica, was great! She was extremely helpful, and very kind and flexible with meeting times, offering to call at very late notice when I suddenly had interviews last minute”.