JL was off from work due to severe stress and anxiety following the news of disciplinary action against him from his employer. He is married with a young child. He had been with his present employer for 12 years as a fire safety inspector.
He had filled in an application for a senior position, which he had applied for twice before but had been unsuccessful. Unfortunately, upon filling in the application for the third time, he did not realise that some of the application had changed and just filled it out as he had done previously. HR looked through his application and took it as falsifying the application, as some of the information wasn’t correct.
JL is dyslexic and, as such, struggles with negotiating paperwork. No provision or leeway was given for this. Understandably, JL was in an extremely stressed and anxious state at our first meeting. I reassured JL that I could help him going forward, and we built a strong relationship based on mutual trust, understanding, and honesty.
After having worked with unions in the past and using my experience, I asked him for a copy of his workplace disciplinary procedure. We looked through this at length, and I established several advantageous points within it that we could use to help him in his case. I advised JL to contact his union and to gain as much information as possible relating to his disciplinary.
I also advised JL to take up an exercise routine to help with his mood and general wellbeing, which he is now doing to great effect. His wife is also joining him, which is great! While waiting to hear back from the union, we embarked on updating his CV. I provided JL with presentations on targeted CV writing and cover letter writing, which he actioned to great effect.
During our further meetings, we covered the STAR method and interview techniques. As of now, JL has successfully had several new job interviews, two of which he is waiting to hear back from. The fact that he has gained these job interviews shows the effectiveness of the skills he acquired during our time together.
His whole demeanour has changed over the course of our meetings, and he appears more relaxed, confident, and in control of his future. I have offered to virtually attend his meeting with his union official in a supportive capacity and to offer any help I can with the disciplinary action that he is facing. I also intend to inform his union of the several points I had found that could help his cause.
My manager shadowed my last session with JL, and JL expressed his happiness at the support he had been given, stating that it was invaluable and life-changing for him. He mentioned that he couldn’t have got this far without the information, advice, and guidance that he had received.
