Success story: from Horeca to supermarket

When consultant Catharine Jongebloed began counseling a candidate in a WorkFit program, they first began by discussing his wishes for the future. The candidate found it difficult to accept that he could no longer do what he loved most: hospitality. Physically this was not feasible, but he breathed hospitality. This made it so difficult for him.

Job training

Together with the candidate, I discussed and figured out which aspects of the work he found so interesting, and which parts of this are also reflected in other positions. We focused on what was feasible in the short term in terms of physical capacity, experience and education. With that as a basis, we made a resume and discussed various positions.

Since there was quite a bit of uncertainty among the candidate about his interview skills, I decided to place him in an interview course. During the course, he again focused on his resume. He also met with other candidates and consultants and practiced job interviews. His enthusiasm grew every day. This was also picked up by the other candidates present in the group. In my opinion, it gave his self-confidence a huge boost!

The candidate had started looking around his immediate area and applied at his "own supermarket" as a cashier; this position was vacant for a number of hours per week. The store intrigued him because quite a few things were evidently not going well (wrong or missing tags with products, poor replenishment, etc.). The first interview with the branch manager went extremely well; the interviewer came from the hospitality industry himself and recognized and acknowledged his qualities. He asked the candidate if he would like to perform a combination function, including supervising the stockists.

The second interview with the immediate supervisor also went well. The candidate was even able to secure an extension of his hours so that he could be fully independent without further support from the UWV.

New beginning

In the new position, several aspects emerge that the candidate was also good at and enjoyed in the hospitality industry: guiding, coaching and enthusing new colleagues, arranging, working with people and being able to work in a customer-oriented way. In short: he took a step forward by applying for a position that he did not immediately see as his first choice but which gave him the opportunity to be active in the labor process again. Thus, he was able to profile himself in such a way that the interviewer saw his qualities and started using them.