Lisa

                                                                         New Career by Lisa

In February 2009 I was made redundant from my job that I loved for 6 ½ years.  I was employed by Arnotts, as a Clerical Assistant/Accounts Payable Assistant.  With all my office experience I thought that it would be easy to get a job, but how wrong I was.  It was very hard out there.  With so many people unemployed, everyone was fighting for the same jobs.  I started by putting my Curriculum Vitae on various job websites and joined a few recruitment agencies.  In particular I looked for jobs where I had the experience that was required.  I got interviews but unfortunately I was told that I was over-qualified or not suitable for the positions. 

Over the year I did a Back to Employment accounting course with Fás, where they helped people that are unemployed with their Curriculum Vitae.  The goal is to improve self-awareness and increase confidence so that you can get back to work or re-educate yourself and even change careers if you should wish.  My luck changed when I was offered a temporary position covering a maternity leave as a Receptionist/Secretary with a Doctor’s Surgery in Raheny.  This lasted for 3 months and helped me decide to change my career.  Upon seeking advice, it was suggested to me by the Practice Manager that I should do the Medical Secretarial Course and learn the required terminology.  This led me to research the internet for medical secretarial courses.  To my delight I found that Pitman Training offered a Diploma in Medical Secretarial skills and had a centre in Swords, not too far from where I lived.  I’m from Raheny and the centre in Swords was the nearest to me, so I signed up in February 2010 and did the course.

Doing the Medical Secretarial course changed my career.  By doing this course I gained the confidence to update my computer skills, learn complex medical terminology, improve audio typing skills, and increase my typing speeds.  When qualified I sent my Curriculum Vitae to potential employers hoping that someone would give me an interview.  The first two did not go as well as I would have liked but I never gave up, and so continued sending out CV’s and letters of application.   On Wednesday 14th July I was called for interview and was delighted when it went very well.  Phoenix Medical Centre liked what they saw and heard, so they offered me the position of Clinical Administrator.  I start on Wednesday the 4th August 2010.  

For anyone who is made redundant and does not know what they want from life, whether they wish to change career or not I suggest an up-grade of skills and a course with Pitman.  They have a wide range of courses available and will help people get back to work.

Lisa Howley
 

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