Small town girl grateful for career opportunity after two year struggle

Twenty year old Rhiannon Citroni is a young lady who enjoys going for walks, listening to music, reading books and spending time with friends and family in her beautiful home town of South West Rocks.

After a two year struggle to find employment in the area she is celebrating finally securing a job.

“It’s really hard especially when you’re from a small town,” Rhiannon said.

“I spent most of my time outside of school studying so I could get qualifications. I also completed a six month Work for the Dole (WfD) program with ETC to help.”

As part of WfD Rhiannon volunteered at a local second-hand store and then decided to continue volunteering there even after her time on the program had completed.

“I enjoy helping other people and it was also good for me to get experience whilst looking for an actual job. Plus I really enjoyed the atmosphere, everyone there was very kind,” she said.

Meanwhile, local hairdresser Mirror Mirror was looking for a trainee to help with their business.

“I was referred by ETC along with a couple of other job seekers. Following my interview I was then offered a work trial,” Rhiannon said.

An excited Rhiannon was jumping for joy when she was offered a full time traineeship at Mirror Mirror as the Admin support/Receptionist.

“This is my first real job since leaving school and it’s great because now I can save money and finally support myself,” she said.

So what does the future hold for Rhiannon now?

“I hope to complete my traineeship, get my qualification and then travel somewhere to open my own little business,” Rhiannon said.

Rhiannon offered her advice to other job seekers to never give up, keep going and to be confident.

She also thanked local jobactive provider ETC for their help during her unemployment journey.

“ETC were great. They helped me with creating my resume, motivated me to look for work, get a better understanding of the workforce and the confidence to actually go through with things,” she said.

Work for the Dole places job seekers in activities where they can gain skills and experience that give back to the community and can help them find a job.

To find out more information, visit our Job Seeker page or call us on 1800 007 400.