Project Description
Reset, Refocus, Return © – Ryan’s Story
Identifying a need to support those who had been made redundant following the COVID crisis last year, Recro designed the Reset, Refocus, Return © programme to specifically target people affected by redundancy.
The candidate
When we first spoke with Ryan, he was extremely stressed. Having lost his job during lockdown, he was desperately trying to get himself back into work to avoid getting a big gap in his CV. Ryan had been building a career in law by working in administration and as a paralegal, but his long-term goal was to be a solicitor.
Before consulting Recro, his job applications procured two results: no response, or elimination at the first interview. He had Asperger’s Syndrome, and was very conscious of how this could negatively affect people’s perceptions of him. This response from the employers in the legal industry only confirmed for him that he was being held back because of this, which negatively affected his outlook and mental health. But he was determined to be upfront about his Asperger’s on his CV and at interview, as he wanted people to appreciate the benefits of neurodiversity in the legal profession.
The course
Ryan was persuaded to enroll on our course Reset, Refocus, Return © with Recro despite reservations about the course being too general. He felt his ambitions for the legal profession required specialist help. We told him that the course would help him with his confidence and well-being, as well as give him greater knowledge on key aspects of recruitment, such as CVs, job search, and interview technique.
He ended up attending every session.
He reported that he found the course useful, stimulating, and interesting. Afterwards, he received intensive one-to-one support from our recruiter. There was a lot of work to do. First, Ryan needed to build back up his confidence and self-belief. We reminded him not to take rejection personally, and worked to review and improve his interview technique. We also encouraged him to look specifically for companies that were a cultural fit, and which would be the best place for him.
Then we worked in-depth at preparing for his interviews. As many of the them had been done online, we filmed them for recruiters to review. This helped us identify where he could refine his answers, improve his listening skills, and better understand what the company was looking for. This proved to be a very successful approach; Ryan took this in stride, and he learned from each experience.
The career
Then, after a period of a few months, he succeeded at getting a three-month contract with a start-up law firm which we felt was the right fit for him. This turned into a full-time position, and since then he has had the opportunity to represent his law firm in a public forum for raising awareness of neurodiversity in the legal sector.