Woman made redundant three times in Covid-19 pandemic lands dream job after speaking on radio show about unemployment

A woman made redundant three times due to the pandemic has landed her dream job after going live on the radio to speak about her struggles.
Annabelle SmithAnnabelle Smith
Annabelle Smith

After being losing three jobs in the space of a year, Annabelle Smith said she was left feeling 'despondent' and living off Universal Credit.

The 29-year-old from Leeds was made redundant from her job with a marketing agency in the Spring last year, before getting a new job with a property company which also made her redundant.

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A qualified personal trainer and nutritionist, Ms Smith got a job with a gym in December but was left unemployed a third time in January when a third lockdown was announced, finding out that she did not qualify for the furlough scheme.

CEO Catherine Shuttleworth, who runs Get Savvy marketing agency and offered Ms Smith a jobCEO Catherine Shuttleworth, who runs Get Savvy marketing agency and offered Ms Smith a job
CEO Catherine Shuttleworth, who runs Get Savvy marketing agency and offered Ms Smith a job

She has been living on benefits which, she said, "barely covered rent" and was invited on a BBC radio show earlier this month to talk about her struggles to find employment.

But in a much-needed stroke of good fortune, the radio appearance led to one panellist on the show who runs a marketing company to later offer Ms Smith her perfect job.

"I was losing hope I would ever find a decent job," Ms Smith told The Yorkshire Post.

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"I was applying for anything I could find such as receptionists' jobs and all sorts and getting instant rejections.

Annabelle SmithAnnabelle Smith
Annabelle Smith

"I didn't know where to go and it felt like no one was even willing to give me a chance."

After appearing on the radio show, where experts discussed job hunting and unemployment, guest Catherine Shuttleworth who is CEO of Leeds-based marketing company Get Savvy decided to contact Ms Smith letting her know there was an opening.

Ms Smith sent her CV and covering letter over and, after two job interviews, was offered the role doing marketing for fitness brands which she described as her "perfect job".

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She now hopes that the story will give others who have lost their jobs during the pandemic some much-needed hope.

"I really hope this will show people not to park their dreams," she added.

"Opportunities are around the corner.

"It has been a really tough year for me. My family live in London so I haven't seen them for a year. It feels like our generation has almost been forgotten about."

Unemployment in the UK rose to more than five per cent in December, according to data published by the Office of National Statistics last month.

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Figures released by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in January this year meanwhile showed that there were 726,000 fewer people on company payrolls compared with the figures from February 2020, before the UK was hit by the lockdown.

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