Speech And Language Therapist

• Nov 2019 - Present

Masters Student

• Sep 2017 - Present

Customer Assistant

• Aug 2016 - Sep 2017

Within this multi-faceted role, I have developed various transferable skills which will benefit me in any working environment. This customer facing role has allowed me to exercise my communication and hone my customer care skills through interaction. I have learnt to deal with customer complaints and issues by following standardised procedures and following the advice of senior management. Within my role I have also been introduced to the importance of promotional marketing in a retail environment. I have been actively involved in promoting Boots No7 products through interactive stalls in store. This required me to have a good knowledge of the promotional product, and a great understanding of the target audience. These opportunities required me to identify and approach target customers and promote new and exciting No7 products. It has also allowed me to be creative, as I was given the responsibility of setting up stalls and displays in store, to attract the attention of customers and draw them to the product we were promoting. I also work with the store operations team. As part of the operations team, it is my joint duty to monitor stock and ensure stock levels in store are accurate. Additionally, we ensure that new show material is displayed in order to promote new offers and new products in store. Working as part of the operations team has introduced me to the importance of promotional marketing and merchandising in a retail environment.

Special Education Needs Assistant

• Sep 2016 - Jul 2017

Within my role as a Special Education Needs teaching assistant, I worked with a group of children aged 11-13, who required additional assistance with their learning. All of the children in the department had some learning difficulty, and had been referred to the SEN department due to an inability to keep up with their matched aged peers. Within my role as a teaching assistant, my main duty was to assist the students learning. I supervised the lessons, and monitored the students as they completed the tasks that have been set. Additionally, all of the children required assistance with basic reading and spelling. At the beginning of every day, I completed a supervised reading task with each student, which was essential as it allows staff to monitor student progress. My role as a teaching assistant has given me a great sense of responsibility. The children relied me to assist them through educational tasks, and without the additional support they received from myself and the other teaching staff, they would struggle to progress. I have experienced difficult and demanding behaviour, and have practiced ways of dealing with this behaviour in an appropriate and systemised ways. Overall, this role has improved my confidence, and has allowed me to expand my knowledge of the typical characteristics of various learning disorders, such as surface dyslexia and ADHD.

Communication Support Worker

• Mar 2015 - Jun 2017

As a Communication Support Worker at The Stroke Association, I have been able to develop my understanding of the consequences of stroke to the patient and their communication. I have been introduced to both the direct and indirect characteristics and consequences of stroke, and have been able to work with service users with differing abilities. I have worked 1-to-1 with service users in both community and clinical settings, and have been able to shadow various healthcare professionals and observe assessments and intervention sessions. I hae also been able to contribute my skills by planning and executing sessions with service users, which have focused on allowing them to practise their speech and language abilities. Additionally, I have been actively involved in the organisation of fundraising events for the charity, which aim to raise awareness for the illness itself. I thoroughly enjoyed co-organising events such as coffee mornings, raffles, and sponsored walks, which promoted services provided by The Stroke Association and raised money for local stroke services in the community.

Student Volunteer

• Oct 2015 - Jul 2016

Within my role as a volunteer support worker for Headway, I was able to gain experience working with a variety of young service users aged 18-35, with a vast array or communication disorders. Over a seven month period, I attended weekly group sessions for young survivors of traumatic brain injury. The majority the service users were living with some degree of communicative difficulty as a result. The conditions ranged from aphasia to physical disabilities such as hemiplegia.During my time at Headway, I was able to learn about the patients, their abilities and their conditions. Additionally, I was given the opportunity to work 1-to-1 with a young patient, who had acquired quadriparesis and severe dysarthria after a traumatic brain injury. I worked with him on a weekly basis for a one-hour sessions, within which we worked through cognitive tasks such as mathematics sheets and language exercises. This role allowed me to be creative, as I was able to plan fun and interactive sessions with the service user. I tailored our sessions around his cognitive capabilities, and was able to plan tasks which allowed him to exercise his abilities in a productive way. Working with this patient over an extended period allowed me to view his personal and social development over time. Seeing his self-confidence develop was extremely rewarding for me, and was something I will never forget.

Brand Representative

• Sep 2015 - Jul 2016

As a Brand Representative for The Big Choice, I was responsible for promoting the products and services of our clients. Within this role I travelled throughout South West Wales, visiting various locations such as university campuses and supermarkets, setting up displays and stalls in order to promote a particular product. During one particularly successful trip to Swansea University's Student's Union, myself and another brand ambassador set up a stall to promote Fresh Student Living - a luxury student accommodation company. We used our initiative to find a popular area of the student's union, where we set up a stall with music, flyers and free merchandise. We aimed to attract students attention as they walked by. It was important that we were both well informed about the client, their services and deals, so that we could inform the target audience and promote the client's services to the best of our ability. Working as a brand representative allowed me to understand that I am an extremely versatile worker. Each shift would begin with a completely new briefing tailored specifically to the client. Each client would have unique product or service that would have a different target audience. I had to be ready to change my marketing approach, and think creatively of ways to attract the client/products target audience.

Child Activity & Welfare Leader

• May 2015 - Aug 2015

As a Junior Leader and Child Welfare Officer, I was responsible for over seeing the welfare and safety of the students, as well as organising daily activities for them over a 6 week period. I was jointly responsible for a group of 60 international students, aged between 11-17. Additionally, I assisted the children with their language learning journey, using various teaching techniques to help them gain as much as they could out of their intense course. The children completed an intense six week language course. I lived with the children at the language school for the six week period, and supervised them during their lessons and daily activities. Myself and three other welfare officers helped to organise daily activities for the children, which took place after their morning language lessons. These activities ranged from trips to Cardiff castle, to paddle boarding lessons and shopping trips. I had a huge responsibility within my role to ensure that the children were safe, and were enjoying their time in the UK. In addition, two days a week I acted as a teaching assistant during the children's morning language lessons. The group were split into two classes, a higher ability class and a lower ability class. I assisted the lower ability class, and was able to assist the children with any difficulty they were facing with regards to the work that had been set. Upon reflection of my time at the language school, I am able to draw upon various skills that I believe will benefit me, when pursuing my intended career as a Speech and Language therapist. Some of the children were unable to communicate their thoughts and needs verbally. Therefore, I encouraged the children to use gesture to communicate, or write down any words that they knew. Overall, I believe that my time as a child welfare officer allowed me to practice my leadership and organisational skills. Additionally, working with children required me to use my initiative, and have confidence in my own decisions.

Barista

• Nov 2011 - Jun 2014

During weekends and school holidays, I worked as a Barista at Costa Coffee. My main responsibilities involved till operation, providing excellent customer service to uphold the company’s high reputation, and preparing coffee and food. My other responsibilities included cleaning and rotating stock to ensure the shop floor is always clean and inviting for customers. Throughout my time at Costa, I developed excellent customer service skills, which I practised to ensure that every customer left the store satisfied with their experience.After my first year at Costa, I completed an extensive training course and was to promoted to Barista Maestro. This placed me in a position of authority within the store, and allowed me to practise my leadership skills in a work environment.During my at Costa Coffee I also organised various fundraising events with my team, to raise money for the Costa Foundation. We organised themed coffee mornings for the local community, in order to meet charitable targets set by our franchise manager.While studying at Sixth Form, I continued to work part-time at Costa Coffee, maintaining my high levels of customer service and teamwork. I was able to successfully manage my time in order to perform well at both work and school.