Anwara Begum

I am an enthusiastic, passionate, and empathetic Careers Information and Advice Adviser in Custody. Experienced in communicating with multiple stakeholders and well-versed in providing employability advice and support to individuals and groups. Highly experienced in improving clients' career prospects through engagement with various content and resources. Six years' experience coordinating events and programmes for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds. Highly developed knowledge of the MS Office package through daily usage for responding to emails, creating reports, handling data, and creating presentations. Committed to empowering individuals to achieve fulfilling careers by contributing my current skill set, experience, and dedication to develop professionally.

With careers experience of almost three years advising students and clients as a Careers Assistant (CA) at Queen Mary University London Careers and Enterprise and in my current role as an Information Advice and Guidance Adviser (IAGA), alongside four years of administrative experience across various sectors, has equipped me with the skills and experience to excel in the careers sector. My careers experience sparked my passion for supporting clients to overcome barriers and achieve their career aspirations, further enhanced by completing a Level 4 Information Advice and Guidance qualification.

Get Set Information, Advise & Guidance Adviser In Custody - (November 2023 – Current)

Careers Advise & Workshops 

• Offering high-quality, impartial and tailored advice to clients through various methods: face to face, digitally and on the telephone, to set SMART goals for progress towards learning and career goals.
• Efficiently documenting clients Personal Learning Plans, evidence job, learning outcomes and support provided. 
• Support clients’ in developing employability skills through various activities, e.g. referring to partner agencies for jobs, education and development courses.
• Reviewing learning plans, updating accomplishments and adjusting goals e.g. changes in career paths. 
• Developing and delivering employability workshops e.g. for CV, interviews and disclosure.

Organisation & Collaboration 

• Organising the personal calendar and creating a team rota to manage caseloads and manage time to deliver under pressure and meet targets.
• Collaborating with external stakeholders to deliver employment and learning targets e.g. working with the employment team to support events and provide CV advice to offer holistic support.

Administration Management, ICT Skills & Targets

• Record to report Personal Learning Plans and referral details on Excel.
• Document client interactions and update case notes on local databases.
• Maintain regular client contact for ongoing support and communication, e.g. providing service through webchat.
• Utilising advanced ICT skills to proficiently use software and digital platforms to provide guidance to clients. 
• Achieving monthly KPI’s, meeting an 85% client interaction target and timely submitting weekly reports. 
• Managing customer caseloads to achieve personal and team targets, overseeing goal accomplishments, making referrals and delivering workshops to achieve KPI’s. 
• Monitor and evaluate client’s engagement, record outcomes, report barriers and strategies to increase turnout.  

Queen Mary University Careers Assistant - (November 2022 - November 2023) 

Student Engagement

• Greeted and welcomed students, as the first point of contact customer service on the front desk. 
• Utilised strong interpersonal, listening and communication skills to provide diagnostic advice and signpost enquiries appropriately, in person, over email and by phone. 
• Employed excellent active listening skills by questioning and understanding triage queries, to accurately establish the clients' needs and scheduled the necessary appointments. 
• Supported the wider Careers team e.g. facilitated listening sessions with students to get feedback to report back to the team. 

Administrative Management

• Kept informed of ongoing programmes, deadlines and services available, to offer information swiftly.
• Ability to multitask, prioritised workload and remained calm under pressure e.g. upholding good level of customer service when the telephone was ringing and students were queuing at the front desk.

Communication & Interpersonal Skills

• Regularly supported staff members with calendar changes and clashes, thus efficiently managed the calendar.
• Took initiative to attend workshops to further my insight into programmes to promote services to students.
• Supported students by training them to use platforms such as target connect and the career discovery feed.
• Able to establish rapport with individuals from a diverse range of backgrounds, to understand their needs and challenges and assisted accordingly. 

Education & Training 

• BA International Relations, SOAS - (Sept 2014 - July 2016)
• OCR Level 4 Diploma in Information Advice and Guidance
• CACHE Level 2 qualifications: Certificate in Equality and Diversity and Awareness of Mental Health  
• Completed a 6-month Employment and Entrepreneurial Development Program with ‘You Make It’.