I needed someone to hold my hand & guide me which Esha did brilliantly

IPSW Success Story Marie  website

IPSW banner Success Story Marie  website

Due to her stammer, Marie, found it hard to forge relationships and also to build a career for herself. All this lead to her developing anxiety which she has had for a very long time. Marie was always ambitious and manage to push on to pursue a bachelors law degree with honours, that she completed in 2 years, nonetheless, her lack of confidence and the low self-esteem associated with the stammer, destroyed her dream of becoming a solicitor. Marie has being searching for validation and a career where she would feel worthy. This has been a journey of approximately 20 years where she felt worthless and unable to achieve anything or feel good about herself. After a series of low paid jobs, she found herself stuck in unemployment. She felt ashamed at social gatherings and started slipping into deep depression. Her mood became very low and she stopped stepping out of her house. Her daughter encouraged her to seek therapy with the IAPT, NHS talking therapies service. Her counsellor from IAPT referred her to Twining where she met Esha. Marie recalls:

“I had been out of work for 4 years and didn’t have the correct tools for effective job search. Esha redid my CV and helped me write a good profile for the recruitment websites. She suggested to join the Twining job club in Harrow facilitated by Frank, their employability skills trainer. At the job club, I met people who were in the same boat as me, it made me feel less lonely. I didn't mind going back to an admin role but Esha understood my experience and motivated me to achieve more.

She knew a lot about my field and recommended to read a book about how to answer interview questions. Thanks to the support I got from her, I felt confident and I started writing poems. She appreciated my poems and encouraged me to share them. However, in order to stay focused on my professional goal, Esha and I prepared job applications. In fact, during one of our sessions, we applied for 10 jobs which boosted my motivation. Soon, I was invited for an interview and was offered the role of a Project Coordinator at an international company.

It is an amazing role with lots of work to do and I work with clients from Tesco, Swiss Bank, and HSBC. Esha advised me to look after myself and keep in mind my mental health condition. She suggested not to skip my lunch break and not to take work home. Thanks to her, I became conscious of maintaining a work life balance. Recently my manager told me that I’m a star and that my hard work hasn't gone unnoticed. Having a job that I enjoy really helps me deal with my anxiety and drives me towards leading a good life. I've been trying to build my career for almost 20 years. I had lost all hope but Esha is a little trooper, she is smart and non-judgemental. I still feel vulnerable working in a new environment. Esha provides me with in-work support, to help me sustain my job. All I needed was someone to hold my hand and guide me, which Esha did brilliantly.”

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