A PLUCKY university graduate who resorted to handing out her CV to random commuters travelling to London in a bid to find work has finally been offered a job at a Maldon recruitment firm.
Luisa Downey, 23, from Colchester, has been struggling to find employment since she left Essex University in 2011 with a 2:1 degree in English literature and drama.
In the last few months Luisa has been catching the 6am train from Colchester and getting off at Marks Tey, Kelvedon and Witham, paying £8 a time, to hand out CVs.
But after hearing about her predicament Caroline Seear, MD of Maldon recruitment firm, Red Recruit, has offered her a job as an international recruiter.
"I know that the job market is really competitive, I had already done countless applications for jobs so I knew that I had to come up with an idea that was slightly unconventional just to grab people's attentions.
"I thought that handing my CV to commuters going to London would be a great way of not just getting my name out there but also showing that I'm serious and committed to getting myself a job," said Luisa.
Luisa had previously started a Twitter account and uploaded a film to YouTube as part of her 'Keep Calm and Employ Me' campaign.
"The message I wanted to get across to everyone was that I mean business, I'm not here to mess about, let's do this! I can't believe all of the attention that I have received, everyone has been extremely positive.
"I'm desperate to get started and even though I was only just interviewed, I'm really excited about the opportunity, " said Luisa.
Luisa has also been on national TV and radio talking about her attempts to find work and when Caroline Seear MD of Red Recruit and Red Recruit Global heard of her plight she knew she wanted to meet.
"When I heard about the story I immediately empathised with Luisa, and after meeting her I can say that I just think that she is brilliant and just the sort of person that I want to employ. I knew straight away that Luisa was someone that deserved a chance.
"What a great idea and attitude Luisa has. I have worked on a voluntary basis getting women back into the work place and know that there is a great untapped pool of people with very good skills. Who wouldn't be impressed by this young lady?
"I thought it was very admirable of Luisa handing out the CVs like she was, because if I didn't have a job that's what I'd be doing."
Caroline has said that she has had an issue with finding the right applicants for the jobs she has available.
She said: "I'm looking for someone with some real get-up-and-go and by judging some of the applicants to the jobs I've advertised that seems to have got-up-and-gone."
Caroline, who has been managing director at Red for 11 years, said: "We are a global recruitment company, so we will be able to offer the chance for travel and a good career in recruiting. Luisa will be following our graduate training and development programme, where we establish people's strengths and weaknesses and work on their strong points."
