JULIE - Legal PROJECT OFFICER AT Minority Rights Group International
ACHIEVEMENT
SITUATION BEFORE COACHING
WHAT WE WORKED ON
COACHING RESULTS
JULIE'S FEEDBACK
Julie has secured a Legal Programmes Assistant job offer from Minority Rights Group International within the first month of coaching!
Unemployed, recently moved to London from France, 3.5 years experience in international development and non-profit sector.
When I started working with Julie she had recently moved to London and was desperately trying to find a job at an international development or human rights organisation. She had 3 Master’s Degree in International Law and Human Rights and 3 years of international development experience in Africa under her belt, however Julie was struggling to generate interest in her CV and kept failing at interviews. She was under extreme pressure, feeling very stressed out that she had to rely on her boyfriend’s financial support and not being able to secure a position. Julie understood that the way she was trying to promote herself wasn’t working, but she wasn’t able to figure out what exactly was missing and what she should do instead, so she decided to seek professional help and decided to work with a career coach.
These were the reasons why Julie hasn’t been as successful as she wanted:
• She lacked understanding of how recruitment is being done in the UK
• She wasn’t able to pinpoint and empahise what made her unique and therefore she wasn’t able to stand out in a job market
• She didn’t have a targeted approach, research and application strategy
• She didn’t understand how to “sell herself” effectively while writing cover letters and answering application and interview questions
• She lacked understanding of different types of questions and how to approach them
• She lacked confidence and ability to present herself at interviews
As Julie was very clear about her career direction, we straight away started working on identifying her “star” factor to make sure she stands out in a job market. Through the carefully designed exercises I helped her to identify her strengths and define the value she can add to any human rights organisation. Also I created a personal brand for her which helped Julie to highlight her “star” factor in her CV, cover letters and LinkedIn profile by creating a strong personal brand. This immediately helped her in generating more interviews.
Then we focused on developing Julie’s interview skills. I’ve conducted a number of mock interview sessions where I explained how to predict the questions she will be asked and during which Julie was able to practice her answers. I’ve helped her to create her unique personal story to emphasise her skillset and prepare examples to competency and strength based questions. My feedback on how to improve her answers ensured that Julie’s answers were top notch which made her feel more confident. Julie has received a phone call with a job offer from Minority Rights Group International during one of our coaching sessions. She was ecstatic, starting a new job in London meant she no longer had to financially rely on her boyfriend, they can move to a bigger apartment in the area they love, plan holiday and after long stressful months, finally, enjoy her life. Being able to witness Julie’s happiness was the biggest reward for me!
Our coaching hasn’t stopped here. Julie viewed her new position as a stepping stone to building a career in human rights in the UK and she wanted my help to further develop her career to get a promotion. I helped her to prepare a professional development plan with clear goals and action steps to achieve them. We set deadlines and accountability calls to make sure she stayed on the track. I was there for her to guide, motivate, inspire and encourage her when she would start self-doubting herself. Fast-forward 6 months I’ve received a following email from Julie:
“I’ve been promoted - Legal Officer, with 18% salary raise!!! I really think you taught me well.”
Julie’s transformation was the quickest I’ve witnessed – just within the first month of coaching she went from being unemployed to working in one of the top non-profit organisations that advocates and promotes the rights of minorities. Then 6 months later Julie received a promotion with an 18% salary increase. My coaching has enabled Julie to become financially independent, start her career and build a successful life in London.
“Evelina is the best coach I could possibly imagine! She listened to my story, then guided me with sharp and inspiring advice. She supported me with kindness throughout each step of this meaningful journey. I've made such a jump in a few months. I've got my dream job, which is aligned with my values, my beliefs and my skills, and I've got a promotion! I feel like I've grown up a lot in a short period, as a person and as a professional. Now I have the right tools to pursue my path with serenity! Choosing Evelina was the best thing to do ever!”
