Baffled to Barista

National Careers Service London Case Study

Chantelle is a 22-year-old from North London who met with the National Careers Service after claiming unemployment benefits for some time.

Chantelle was living alone away from her family, struggling to make ends meet and extremely unhappy in her situation. She felt that all her friends were in better positions in their life and she had very little confidence and no direction.

The Adviser spoke with Chantelle about her situation and encouraged her to make some changes. The Adviser comforted Chantelle, explaining that everyone goes through difficulty but it’s important to pick yourself up and help yourself to make your circumstances better. Chantelle wasn’t sure how to create a good CV or apply for jobs, so the Adviser directed her to the tools on the National Careers Service website and helped her to create a CV and find suitable websites for her job search.

Following the session, Chantelle secured an interview with Starbucks and, using the interview preparation information on the National Careers Service website, passed her interview and was offered a permanent position.

As a result of meeting the National Careers Service, Chantelle said:

“This is a great start for me. If it wasn’t for the National Careers Service, I wouldn’t have updated my CV because I didn’t have support from anyone. The Adviser believed in me and helped me get my confidence back – it made a great change in my life, I’m moving on.”

“I was scared to reach out for help and I didn’t know what I even wanted to do with my life. It means a lot that someone cared, that the Adviser sat there and listened to me – I felt comfortable straight away. I’m so grateful for my Adviser who believed in me and pushed me to start living my life.”

“I would definitely recommend the National Careers Service as it practically changed my life. I’m in a better financial position and a better place in general. The Adviser gave me information that was easy to understand and told me not to give up. I definitely got the support I needed – I think a lot more people should use the National Careers Service.”