Wokingham Job Support Centre advice

Karen Neville

Wokingham Job Support Centre provides free support and guidance to people looking for a job or considering self employment. Volunteers with experience across different industries work 1-2-1 with clients. Brian Stainton shares his story as an advisor

Finding yourself out of work and facing pressures from finances and family can be very tough. Often, there is no-one close to you with the practical knowledge and skills to help and finding who to turn to can be equally confusing. There are offers and adverts from unknown organisations, many online, but who should we trust?

The need is to find someone who has the time to sit, listen and offer guidance as to what to do. Give a clear helping hand in areas where skills might be limited such as online job applications or creating a great CV.

WJSC Advisors are a team of very experienced people in recruitment and employment drawn from a wide range of industries and organisations. We have seen first-hand the difficulties that job seekers face and we can offer free simple pathways setting out a way forward.

Our clients might be seeking confirmation that they are on the right path, or may be looking for much more detailed support. Our approach is different with every client to ensure that we give the support that matches their needs.

Having been an Advisor for six years, no week is the same. I sit with clients and we work our way through the job seeking pathway at the speed suitable for them. This comes as a surprise to many but we encourage people to take their time. It is a free service and there is no limit on the number of meetings offered.

Today, some challenges are familiar, like getting a good CV or practicing interview skills whilst others are new. Job applicants are facing more online profiling tests, online interviews and the ever-increasing influence of AI, all of which can remove the human touch.

Being an Advisor, I find that I can be that ‘touch point’ for a client as they take on these challenges. I’m someone to turn to and just check that they are doing ok. There is real pleasure in seeing a client grow in confidence, understanding what to say and do, realising their own value and what they can offer a potential new employer.

Recently, I have been working with a client who wants to be a self-employed Virtual PA. This requires setting some sensible goals in a business plan, marketing, legal matters and many other steps along the way. My client lacked knowledge and was very uncertain on many aspects. We jointly prepared some notes for our sessions that helped to set out their actions for the coming weeks. We are well along the pathway now but I will continue to support the client until they are successfully established.

With WJSC, I find that using my relevant expertise combined with many years of experience helping others, very enjoyable. There is another plus too, sometimes a successful client comes back to meet us, always a big smile: worth every moment.