Moneywise Plus: Help back into work

This week we are featuring the work of Moneywise Plus a project funded via The Big Lottery and ESF, that works in partnership with Action Homeless to improve the on-going digital and financial competence for people unemployed or economically inactive

This case study shows how our Moneywise Plus advisor was able to help someone who had been furloughed back into work.

What did you need Moneywise Plus to help you with?

I rang the Central Referrals phone line as I was originally furloughed and then received a letter to advise that I was being made redundant. I needed help from the project to update my CV, write a covering letter and search of jobs.

Why was this a problem and how was it affecting you?

My CV was out of date and I was not sure how to update it so that I was able to apply for jobs and upload it to employment sites. I also needed to write a covering letter. As it was quite some time since I had done this I was unsure how best to do it and I did not have the confidence to do it on my own. I felt quite stressed with all that I needed to do and in a hurry to get things sorted.

How did your Moneywise Plus advisor support you, what did they do for you?

Initially we discussed what I had done in my last job and when I had finished work. I had an old CV so used WhatsApp to send this through to the advisor so that it could be used as a starting point.  My CV was then discussed over the phone and updated. I had missing employment on my CV as I did not think this was relevant, but after discussions these were included to show I had no gaps in my employment history. I also made notes for a covering letter and we discussed and finalised this over the phone.

I had already applied for Universal Credit and we had a discussion around this and how it would be affected by me getting a job.

What did you learn whilst receiving support?

I learnt how to produce a working CV and covering letter and how to job search using different search criteria. We also looked at a couple of school premises officer jobs which I would not previously have thought of looking for.

How are things different for you now? What has changed?

Having a good CV helped me to get a new job almost straight away and it has given me the confidence to get back into the job market after being made redundant.

The job is a zero-hour contract with a view to working 3 days a week and whilst this may not be enough hours in the long term, it is satisfactory for the time being and may lead to more hours.

How do you feel about your future now?

I feel more positive about the future. I would not have gotten this job without the help of Moneywise Plus I am very grateful.

Funded project via The Big Lottery and ESF, Moneywise Plus works in partnership with Action Homeless and other organisations who all share the aim to improve the on-going digital and financial competence for people unemployed or economically inactive.

If you have experienced homelessness and would like to receive further support, please contact our specialist worker and Moneywise Plus Advisor, Pamela Nixon for additional support and advice. Pamela can be contacted via email: pamelanixon@actionhomeless.org.uk