Alfie lived in a remote village with poor public transport links. He was learning to drive but he still had to be put in for his test. He had left university the year before he met Autism Plus and he was feeling that he was not moving forward in his job search and started to loose hope. His mum was struggling with ill health and his Dad worked from home, this meant that he struggled to get out during the week unless his gran took him. His main barriers to employment were transport and financial backing to access long distance interviews and interview knowledge.
We started the journey by getting to know Alfie. We looked over his CV and made suggestions that would make it stronger and stand out against the rest. We worked on the skills to produce cover letters which give meaningful insight to Alfie’s skills and strengths. People around him wanted him to get any job but we believed in his ability giving him strength to apply for the jobs he wanted not just any job. With the right advice and guidance, we accessed funding from job centre to pay for his travel to different locations for the job interviews. After travelling to a few interviews in different places, Alfie was able to narrow down the areas he was willing to move to. We practised interview techniques; we requested feedback from interviews. Alfie grew in confidence and self-esteem. Together we wrote a disclosure statement about his autism and looked at what was available for support mechanisms if he felt he needed them such as Access to Work. We looked at costing for moving and how it could be achieved. He was encouraged to talk with his driving instructor about putting in for his test.
“Alfie felt that the support helped him gain the job. He found the consistency of working with the same person and at the same time weekly, extremely helpful and it was a real pleasure to be able to help him believe in himself as much as we believed in him”
Alfie after some time secured an interview with a marketing company online. He successfully got through to the next round. We supported Alfie to request reasonable adjustments for the next round so that Alfie knew what to expect and what he was required to do. He had to create and present a 5 min presentation during a team day. Alfie created the presentation and then together and with support from our team prepared for his interview. The role was quite some way away as he was looking to move there. He needed to be at the interview early in the day so needed to travel down the day before. We secured Alfie funding from Access to Work to pay for his travel and he paid for his own hotel room. He loved the day and really liked the establishment. He felt at home the moment he walked in. Two days after the interview he was informed he had the job and is now settled and really enjoying his role, his independence and his new home.
