Reed in Partnership Reviews 

Every member of staff was friendly and polite, from the lovely lady at reception, Linda, to my advisor Tash.
Despite my anxiety of something new, I found the atmosphere at Restart Southend-on-Sea very relaxed and friendly.
Tash really listened and acknowledged my issues around travel rather than suggesting I put up with difficult commutes.
She also helped me with my CV.
After redundancies and subsequent job rejections, I was starting lose hope and confidence of finding work.
I found the mock interview offered incredibly helpful as myself and the young lady were able to discuss interview Q&As without the pressure of a job at risk.
This enabled me to feel calmer at genuine interviews.
Tash’s encouragement kept my spirits up and helped me to apply for jobs. Whilst many were unsuccessful, Tash never gave up, helped me with another job application - within 2 weeks of an interview, the company employed me. It’s a seasonal role but there is potential for permanent employment.
I’m very grateful for Tash’s help and the main aspect is she NEVER made me feel bad for not securing a job.
Restart have lots of connections which enable you to be at the front of the queue of job applications.
Many thanks to all at Restart.

First, the only positive point: friendly and polite staff.

I spoke to 4 different advisors, 1 training coach and the executive coach. 2 of the advisors told me directly conflicting information about their policy. The same policy which I have to adhere to if I do not want to be sanctioned.

Over half of my appointments were late due to advisors not being available / running late. Several appointments were classed as in-person despite having notice (and sending email/SMS to me) about it being phone appointments. If I had not followed up promptly, I may have been sanctioned due to Reed's failure.

I had an advisor offer to adjust my CV. I accepted. They made my CV much worse. Their own executive coach even commented it was very poor compared to the CV I wrote myself. Other industry experts agreed with this comparison.

Training staff were pushy about their courses, stating that I absolutely will be required to do a CV course. I have previously helped Juniors and Mid-Level prepare their CVs and have the knowledge to teach such a course myself. A complete waste of time and resources, which could be better used on someone who needs that support rather than just 'ticking a box'.

Reed states that all approaches to helping people find employment is 'custom-tailored'. This does not exist. Everyone is forced to do the same courses and content. The scheme's executive coach had to lobby on my behalf to get me removed from pointless exercises.

Ultimately, a complete waste of time and taxpayer money.

What ever the government is paying Reed, they need to renegotiate! In my experience it was purely a ‘tick box’ exercise, no added value at all and certainly no support. The only thing they did was to look me up and down in a judgemental manner and complain I wasn’t applying for enough jobs - they had no experience of jobs in my position.

After securing a job I notified Reed of this but apparently my ‘job coach’ no longer worked there and emails weren’t being picked up (not my issue) I was then sent emails / voice mails requesting I attend further onsite appointments despite me informing Reed yet again.

Would not recommend to anyone and feel for people who have to attend.

I would like to say a huge thank you to my work coach and everyone who supported me throughout my journey to finding employment. I felt supported, encouraged and listened to.
I have now secured employment and I honestly could not be happier.

My experience with Reed in Partnership has been very positive. I have really appreciated the professional, supportive and respectful approach of the team throughout my journey.

The staff have always been helpful, encouraging and understanding. I am especially grateful to Monica and Abi for their kindness, patience, guidance and continued support. Their encouragement has helped me develop my skills and confidence and has made a real difference to my experience.

Thank you to the whole team at Reed in Partnership for the time, support and encouragement you have given me. I truly appreciate everything you have done for me.

Would not recommend

The first advisor i was given was horrible and quick to become defensive and just generally unfriendly and unapproachable.

The second advisor i had was better but this organisation are just a bunch of sticklers honestly…

Between the crapshoot that is getting an advisor who’ll actually try to understand you and threatening you with sanctions to the point where you get an invoice AND a letter through the door…

Not to mention being the middleman CONSTANTLY back and forth messaging the jobcentre onbehalf of the restart scheme and viceversa…

AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE…seriously

I was lucky my Coach Mollie has been amazing!! Even though I got my new position on own merits,Mollie has supported me all the way.
My only negative comment is it took far to long to revise my CV.
Thank you Mollie for all your help and support,and thanks to other coaches I had dealings with. Also Linda on reception always bright and cheerful.
Restart Southend

very friendly team thank you for all your help so far

My work advisor was such great help in supporting me to find work and become more confident in my search. I also felt very supported through my personal mental health struggles. All of the staff were very kind and helpful.

Just finished my third visit to the Pre Diabetes course. I’m afraid to say I’m not very impressed.
Each course was held by a different person giving no continuity at all.
The course overall is aimed at people that are overweight, which I’m not.
On the first course there were 22 people, down to 15 by the second and the one I’ve just left had just 8 including myself. I will not be going again.
I dread to think how much the government are paying Reed Wellbeing for their national coverage but from my own experience they are not very organised.
Please don’t reply to this with your typical rubber stamp reply.

Firstly I just want to say what an amazing woman Sophie is , she guided me and supported with nothing but understanding and compassion. Without reed i would not have found employment as fast as I did. I believe this scheme is a godsend for people who struggle finding a job. I’m so grateful to have been supported. Once again I say a big thank you to Sophie for her guidance.

It would help if anybody knew what they was doing at Reed In Partnership ( Pitsea )

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Samantha through the Restart Scheme, and I honestly can’t be grateful enough for all the support I received throughout my job-hunting journey.

Samantha, along with Dan and Kim, were incredibly helpful and supportive. They shared valuable knowledge not only about the most effective ways to find a job suited to my qualifications and experience, but also about the support and benefits I was entitled to as a single parent.

Thanks to the programme and their guidance, I’m now successfully self-employed, which is something I’m really proud of. I would definitely recommend the Restart Scheme to anyone who needs some extra support getting back into work.

I was only there for two appointments so I didn’t get much use out of it but I think it’s a good place to go to if you need help getting a job or support

Don’t waste your time with this place. If you get to an interview, you’ll just have your time wasted when the interviewer cannot be bothered to turn up on time for the interview. Stay away unless you enjoy having your time wasted.

Very good eperience with reedstart and amazing team good communication big thanks you all team of reedstart Peterlee.

Friendly and supportive team, and my work coach was helpful and clearly did their best to support me. Unfortunately, I didn’t have much luck as there were very few suitable opportunities available in my preferred industry, and I was also looking for part-time hospitality work. I was told that my profile was strong and that there wasn’t really anything that needed improving, so ultimately I didn’t feel there was much more that could be done to help me progress.

The job I have now was found independently through a speculative email, rather than through Reed. Overall, I think the main difficulty was the current job market and the lack of suitable roles available for what I was looking for.

Actively trying to find routes of improvement for me and work with me on my limits.

Reed in Partnership help and support for community with training skills and find a job right now i am working because of Reed Starter Scheme and doing massive contribution for all.

Wonderful staff and very welcoming knowledgeable and supportive. My work coach leanda is an amazing person and it was a pleasure to work with her over the months