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Mental health worker job interview!

EuanF

So I have a an interview for a job I applied for a couple for a couple of weeks ago. I'm really pleased as I've been job hunting for a while and never managed to bag an interview so this feels like real progress.

Anyway it is a job for a mental health and wellbeing peer support worker. This is quite the career pivot for me as I currently work in a lab that manufactures blood grouping reagents and have a very scientific background. It's fair to say this interview will be quite different to ones i've experienced before as I've never applied for this sort of role before.

Does anyone have any experience in a mental health support role or similar and can offer advice on the interview? I really don't want to muck this up. 

Take care,

Euan

  • in reply to EuanF
    EuanF said:
    Felt like I gave some pretty vague answers to some things that, of course, now I think about it I have the perfect answer for. 

    You could send a letter or email following up on the interview and include those 'perfect' answers. If you disclosed autism they should be aware that you may struggle to come up with answers on the spot.

    It's worth a try. If nothing else it'll show you're keen on the role. If they haven't made a decision yet it might just tip the balance.

  • in reply to EuanF

    Congratulations on getting through the interivew! That's the hard bit done :) 

    Keep us posted, I'll keep my toes crossed for you (I need my fingers to type!).

  • Hi all, thanks you for all the well wishes! Thought I'd update yous all as I had my interview today a couple of hours ago!

    Honestly not too sure how it went. It wasn't a disaster thankfully, but there's definitely things that on reflection I wished I'd mentioned more of in my answers to questions. Felt like I gave some pretty vague answers to some things that, of course, now I think about it I have the perfect answer for. 

    But yes, a very anxious and challenging experience but one that I'm proud I got through. Should hear back by the end of next week on if I'm successful or not.

    Take care all! 

  • I have done a variety of jobs which include mental health support work… so feel free to ask anything. 

    interview wise id say don’t put too much pressure on yourself. They can be intimidating things. Make sure you’ve researched the job prior. Lots of interviews in that field are scenario based questions things like… talk about a time where you have solved a problem or dealt with conflict. I always like to think of a variety of scenarios before an interview that I could apply to various skills/situations like empathy, inclusion, diversity, equality etc.

    id also like to add.. do not be put off with the negative comment of what qualities autistic people lack. Everyone is different and everyone has different experiences and qualities. Think of what positives skills and qualities your autism brings to the role.

    well done for getting an interview and best of luck with it! Be really proud of yourself for getting shortlisted for an interview :) 

  • No, but Good Luck.  We aren't going to see any improvements to mental health services for autistic people until we have autistic people in those roles

  • in reply to EuanF

    You are very welcome!

  • Good luck.

    I always him and ham during interviews, and never receive an offer.

  • in reply to Autonomistic

    Thank you for this link it's got some helpful things in it. Much Appreciated. 

  • in reply to Ausomely Autistic

    Thank you so much! 

  • I don't have any experience but I looked up more information about the role out of curiosity and found this:

    https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/explore-roles/psychological-therapies/roles-psychological-therapies/peer-support-worker

    The page has a list of must have skills for the role, so I'd imagine that's where the questions will focus at interview. I would go through each of them in turn and script an answer that demonstrates your proficiency or past experience.

    It sounds like you may be required to talk about your own past experiences with mental health issues and how you can use those experiences to help and support others.

    The role description seems big on empathy, which may present some issues if you are autistic. If that is the case I would talk about your knowledge of autism and how you may be able to relate more easily to autistic people. 

  • I don’t have any specific advice, but good luck in your interview! The job seems really interesting!Grinning