Reflecting on my placement with Guidant

By Zoe Stabeler, Summer Intern, Guidant Global

Having completed a year-long training scheme at St George’s Hospital with the support of a job coach and tutor, I felt it was time to further broaden my experience in the world of work. My tutor showed me a list of Disability Confident employers where I cherry-picked Guidant for their ongoing commitment to being an inclusive employer. After emailing Guidant, I was invited to the office for a friendly chat with Guidant’s Internal Recruitment Manager, Emma Buckley, and Central Sourcing Manager, Lauren Sewell, accompanied by my job coach.

I was soon offered a two-week work experience placement, sitting within Lauren’s team job shadowing and providing administrative support. It has been an invaluable experience for me, learning about recruitment processes and seeing first-hand just how much work and dedication the consultants put in to ensure smooth placements for Guidant’s temporary workers.

I was overwhelmed by how welcoming, understanding and friendly the team were. It wasn’t long before I felt truly part of #TeamGuidant. As well as a speech and language disorder, having ADHD often comes with the stigma of ‘misbehaviour’ which is far from reality. This is managed through medication and a fantastic support network I have around me. As a result, I’m less distracted and less impulsive. Guidant overlooked the stigma and empathised, focusing on what I can do, rather than what I can’t. It is for this reason that I now feel more comfortable about disclosing my disability in future roles.

As my placement comes to an end, I have learnt things that I can take away for the future. I’ve realised just how much I enjoy working and that my disability should never be a barrier to pursuing my dreams. I’d like to thank the team for giving me the opportunity and for making my experience at Guidant so enjoyable – I will miss them a lot!

So what’s next for me? I will continue to gain more work experience in different areas. I’ve just been invited for an interview for an apprenticeship in simulation training at St George’s Hospital – wish me luck!