Personalised Coaching – a participant’s view

Some thoughts by Laney (21) from Tottenham about the individual coaching that she has received on Talent Match London.

How did the coaching sessions help you?

Having someone to talk to who could listen to my thoughts and the problems I was going through helped deal with things that were going on in my life that I felt were starting to overwhelm me. My coach not only listened to my problems but helped me figure out solutions such as first helping and looking after myself so that I’m in a better state to help other people. It also helped me discover some of my strengths and how I could use them to help myself and others, especially people in my life who I felt needed help and I wanted to help but didn’t know how. With the support of my coach I was able to figure out what career I wanted to pursue.

Throughout my sessions both me and my coach noticed that my confidence had improved and I had also learned how to deal with my constant nervousness, anxiety and stress. Some people might hear the word coaching and think it’s going to be like counselling or therapy but it’s nothing like those. It’s a completely different approach to you as a person, what you are going through and the guidance you might need. A coach will tailor their approach to what helps the individual the most and I feel this makes a big difference.

During each session my coach would feedback to me everything I said which was extremely helpful, hearing someone breakdown my thoughts and hearing it from a different perspective. It helped me realise things about myself and feelings about certain situations and problems that I didn’t notice before. It was like getting to know myself.

There were aspects of the coaching that made it feel welcoming and didn’t make me feel like I was being judged or under pressure, such as letting me arrange the day, date and time of the sessions and how frequent they were. At every session my coach would always tell me that it was my time to talk about whatever I wanted. We always met in a calm and comfortable environment which made me feel more relaxed as we were talking. These sessions made me feel like I wasn’t alone in dealing with my problems and trying to understand some of my emotions and feelings.

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Visit www.discoveryourtalent.co.uk to find out what is happening at the Talent Match Hub in North London.

If you would like to sign up for support, contact Taz on 020 8829 8983 or email [email protected]

Talent Match London is an employability programme for 18-24 year olds living in Haringey, Enfield and Waltham Forest who have been out of work or studies for more than a year.  The programme is funded by Big Lottery Fund and led by London Youth.