to ask for employment advice? been out of the game long time...

[celestialbows]

Hi
i am a nervous name changer shortly attending an interview for a social care role. i have been out of the loop for a few years while motherhood was at the forefront of my existence and now i'm ready to dive back in but feel overwhelmed by the thought of all the young up and comers and my lack of confidence and experience in a formal setting.

All i know about the interview is that there will be an observed group work with all the applicants discussing case studies. The client group is vulnerable adults in the community so the scenarios could be wide ranging.

I am quaking at the very thought of speaking in a group and the thought of dissecting somebody's (fictional) situation under pressure almost has me breaking out in hives.
i have little experience in this area as had just started out when I first became pregnant.
Does any one here have any knowledge/experience of this type of interview?
TIA

Can anybody recommend where might be a good place to post this if not in Aibu? Thank you

Thanks euphemia
I do have a tendency to 'overshare' / waffle because I doubt the validity of the little I do have to contribute. I have spent so long being A Mum, I kind of lost myself evn though there wasn't that much of me there to start with. I have hidden behind my children and their antics as a way of disguising my lack of confidence and my scant knowledge of anything very interesting.
I hate parties and any kind of group situation because I see/sense people glazing over. I'm one of those people that when I meet someone a second or third time it's as though we never met and people often say they don't remember me or deny ever having met me!
See, here I am, oversharing again.

Yup acting is the way to go. You've a head start as you've identified your weaknesses. It might feel odd to you to be conscious of it but remember nobody else knows you, you can present yourself to them in any way you want to.

On a practical level, swot like you've never swotted before. Read up on the organisation, google for relevant case studies and forums. If you take an interest what you say will be interesting.

In my experience social care roles are interested in you as a person so take the time to reacquaint yourself with your hobbies and interests, everybody puts down a list of personal interests and I think most of us are guilty of including things we like but have lost track of for various reasons. If nothing else it's good fun for you, but just adds to your confidence generally.

Have you a friend or someone you could practice the hypotheticals with? Scruples (the board game) would be fab practice at getting your point across without saying more than you need to, even the kids, age permitting would be good practice for what would you do scenarios.

As a previous social care employer, I would be most interested in someone who had shown enough interest to find out about company, in my experience few applicants bothered! Enthusiasm, personable nature and genuine interest is much more important than experience as long as you are open to learning. Working with vulnerable adults means that commitment and reliability are one of the most important factors; it doesn't matter how kind or well read you are, if you're not at the place at the time you should be!

And without being discriminatory of course, my heart lifts at a more mature candidate!!

did you just steal your name from another thread ?

(sorry that was to EmmaNemms)

You need to go in there and forget people are watching you. Read the fictional story and decide what you would do in that situation. Talk about multi disciplinary working. The role of other services and your role. If you're in a group then brain storm with the others, (team work). It can actually be quite fun. What sort of post is it?

No, flyoverthrhill, it's been my net nom de plume for about 8 years!

Is someone using my name then?!

go to chat (if you dare) Someone called their child WHAT sorry I think they stole your lovely name ( are you really called Nemesis ?) If you are I am so jealous

AND everyone was going You cant call a child that but Emmy is lovely !?!??? No Nemesis is just a great name !!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you people that's really great.
Iamsparklyknickers: would I just google 'case studies' think I'm looking in the wrong place.
Noqontrol: The role is helping people to achieve independence, so supporting them in any areas of their lives and helping them to overcome obstacles to progress, so i think the case studies will involve identifying obstacles and how to get over them.

Try to remember that if you have been selected for interview, the interviewer already believes you have the ability to do the role. There are so many applicants for each job that companies can afford to be choosy - you aren't there to make up the numbers!

I don't know anything about social care but I have run group interviews. What you say during the case studies is only part of what they are looking for, just as important is how you communicate. You need to make sure you get your point across but don't try to dominate the conversation. At the same time don't allow yourself to be pushed aside. If there is someone very quiet try to get them involved in the conversation and make sure that you acknowledge other peoples contributions.

They will be looking for you to be calm, confident and good at working within a team.

Good luck! Let us know how you get on

If your discussing the cases in a group and other people keep saying things you wanted to say then don't be afraid to back them up with a "I agree" but do try to add something extra. Although don't just keep agreeing. Also if you start feeling overwhelmed take a minute to breathe and think of something good e.g. A small child hug. Basic also remember to repeat question back if need extra thinking time.
Good luck, hate interview hoop jumping.

I would google 'case study of...' and fill in the blanks with any syndromes associated with the company and/or a selection of jargon that's favoured on the organisations own website.

You might have to trawl a bit, but sometimes it's easier to do a google document search (have a look in the more options next to the image search on the google home page) on PDFs and word docs which may bring you up some specialist publicly printed papers from uni's, companies, councils etc.

Oh and to add to Karrons post, I was taught on an (NLP) communication course that repeating what someone else says phrased slightly differently is an excellent way to show you're really listening and taking on board what people are saying.

As long as you do it in a tone of voice that indicates your just confirming and don't overdo it otherwise you might look a bit batty or 'stealing', but done right it can really show what a good communicator and listener you are.

Again practices on the dc's!

www.careers.lon.ac.uk/files/pdf/CEP_GroupExercises.pdf

Lots of links to info about social care roles here: www.careerstagged.co.uk/printresources/social%20care
Many of the pages will have interview advice and case studies! Good luck!!!

Wow! Thank you so much, amazing responses. I will give those websites a good study, I didn't find anything half so helpful.
Yes I abhor hoop jumping too, especially with my nervous disposition but i guess they set these interviews up with the best intentions...
I always clam up in groups and when people look at me I go beetroot so it's going to be a real balancing act between 'appearing' confident and dealing with the attention from the group and the observer.

write yourself a buller list of why you are suitable for this role, if you cant write one, sit there until you can

then try to speak slowly, calmly, and if in doubt. say nothing

some great tps on here