Joanna Gosling, Senior Associate Mediator, Irwin Mitchell
“I used to look at people who had a mid-life career change and think: ‘How on Earth do you know what you want to do?’”
I always wanted to be a journalist, I had no doubt that it was the right thing for me, and I didn't think about doing anything else.
Then life happens, experiences shape you, and my interests really started to shift. With journalism, you're very much telling the story. I wanted to be able to support change, to support good communication, and I was looking at different ways of doing that.
Ultimately, I landed on mediation, and it absolutely felt like the right place for me to be. It's the impartiality of it, being able to listen and facilitate conversations.
“Supporting people through a really difficult time, that's what took me into mediation”
My role at Irwin Mitchell is multi-faceted. The key part is delivering mediation for clients. But it's also about supporting the growth of the mediation offering, which is relatively new.
I know how hard it is to be stuck in a time of conflict so I care greatly about creating an environment where I can support people to get through it. Once that’s passed, we focus on making our clients lives much better going forward.
“The first thing that I noticed on joining is how welcoming everybody is”
Great people who are great at the job that they do. Colleagues absolutely want to support you and make you feel part of the team.
Joining the family law team has been an absolute education for me. The team has very strong skillsets, always underpinned by an absolute desire to do the best for clients.
“I think it's a great place to work and for clients to find a supportive team”
It’s really important for me to work in a place which supports diversity and inclusion. It's open minded and it's creative. Irwin Mitchell brought me in as someone from a completely different environment, and that’s something that happens across the business.
“I feel like I'm learning something every day”
I think it's fundamental that we’re always developing and growing.
There's always something new in a work environment. I learn from others, or I'll do something, reflect on it and think: “how could I do that differently next time?”
I think, at the core, the key skill that supports you through pretty much any environment is communication.
Join us
Wherever you are in your career journey, if you're ready to grow your skills and explore something new in a supportive environment, Irwin Mitchell could be the place for you. There’s lots of opportunities to progress your career and grow as an individual. Join our team and help us make a difference.
