Each step of finding a job can seem daunting and scary, but Mayu Okada made a clear plan, stuck with it – and never gave up! 

With her focus, willingness to learn and that amazing energy to keep on trying, Mayu was just bound to succeed.

Mayu arrived from Japan in June 2021 and started getting herself ‘work ready’ from day one. “I worked as a pharmacist in Japan, so I was interested in the medical industry,” she says.

However, without a license to practice in New Zealand or experience working in another country, Mayu decided to focus first on improving her English. “I was not fluent in English at all,” she says.

My biggest priority was to get fluent communication skills.

Mayu completed several online English courses with English Language Partners (ELP) and has now found work through her motivated job search and with the support she’s received from ELP. 

English for Job Seekers is one of the ELP courses she studied. Once she’d completed that, she started in a volunteering role at Dress for Success* and then applied for a job at a physiotherapy clinic, where she first did some very useful ‘job shadowing’ until she finally landed a job as the clinic’s receptionist.

Mayu’s ELP teacher Bridget Porter is impressed by how Mayu’s work ethic and initiative paid off in her search for voluntary work, and then led to her success in securing paid employment. 

“If she doesn’t understand something, she asks questions about her work tasks and practises at home,” says Bridget. “She’s so willing to learn, has amazing communication skills, energy and enthusiasm. She also asked to try new tasks - taking on responsibility for as much as she could.”

Bridget knows that each step of the job seeking process can seem challenging but she says that, just like Mayu has done, people should keep on trying. “ELP’s teachers and Romesh Dissanayake, who coordinates ELP Wellington’s Job Mentoring Service, are there to guide and support you along the way,” she says. “So you can do it too!”

When Bridget asked Mayu to share her job search experience with the current English for Job Seekers participants,  Mayu produced an amazing presentation, which she’s sharing here to help others create their own ‘job success story’. 

‍

______
*Dress for Success is a not-for-profit helping women pursue their aspirations by providing appropriate clothing for job interviews, court appearances, house viewings, community re-integration, and official events. There are nine DfS centres in New Zealand .

Ask your local ELP centre about English for Job Seekers course

Contact our Wellington centre's Job Mentoring Service 

‍