Poonam joined GRoW in Summer 2022 looking for help to find a part-time job. Being new to London she was lacking in confidence but has received help from GRoW to help her on her journey to finding a job in a school which she started recently.
Poonam said; “I had only just moved to London from Kent when my friend told me all about GRoW and how much they had helped her. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do for work but I knew I wanted to get a job and that I needed some help to get ready, this was why I came to GRoW and I am really glad I did!
When I was introduced to Kaneez from the GRoW team she was very helpful and supportive. She explained how GRoW works and all the different ways the Programme could help me. I had a little work experience from when I worked in a care home in 2018, but I wasn’t sure that this was the line of work I wanted to do and was interested in exploring new opportunities. The most important thing for me was that I needed the job to be part time because I have a young daughter and I am a single parent so full-time work would be difficult for me right now.
The main issue I felt I had was that I didn’t have much confidence and I also being new to London meant I didn’t have a support network around me.
After discussing options with Kaneez I became interested in the idea of working in a school as it would enable me to work just in term time which fits in with my family life better.
I was keen to start looking for work straight away but my CV was quite out of date so Sonia quickly helped me get into good shape. It helped me with my confidence a lot because it made me feel I was getting closer to my goal. I had previously completed a Food & Hygiene course when I was living in Kent and also started a Health and Social care course which was useful for my CV but as I had set my heart on working in a school I spoke with Kaneez about doing a Safeguarding course which I hope I will be able to do soon.
The whole process of being part of GRoW really helped to improve my confidence and motivation so much so that when a friend told me about a job going for a Kitchen Assistant in a local school I felt really confident putting myself forward for it. I applied and when I was offered an interview Sonia did a quick one-to-one interview session with me to make sure I was ready. I went for the interview and I got the job!
I am really grateful to GRoW for all their help and support and for helping me to improve my confidence. Being part of the GRoW Community is something I would like to continue, even though I have a job now, as I really enjoy being part of the network and my daughter really loves the picnics too!”