Week 1: Initial Assessment
Defining Objectives
What reflection and self-evaluation will the client engage in?
- Client will feel supported in addressing his interview skill deficits. Client will be able to connect how improvement in these areas will relate back to his his overall motivation for engaging in treatment or address his overarching treatment goals
- Client will be able openly discuss his experiences with interviews in the past, noting strengths and challenges that he has experienced
- Client will be able to identify which interview questions he struggles with the most and the skill areas in which he feels he has the most room to develop
- Client will agree to define success speaking to measurable or observable data that would connote progress
Taking Action
How will you facilitate reflection on past experiences interviewing for jobs?
- Provider will promote a discussion to assess for the client’s interview skill deficits, being sure to talk about both successes and challenges that the client has experienced (ie: provider may use role play scenarios to assess)
- Provider will engage in strengths-based interventions and interviewing to offer affirmation and build on the strengths that the client identifies
- Provider will begin to shape a course of action over the next 3 weeks of treatment on this goal based on assessed needs
- Provider will use MI to continue to connect the intervention of interview skill development to the client’s broader motivations for treatment or stated overarching goals
- Provider will talk about the forms of measurable or observable data that can be used to measure progress, preferably using the SMART goal format
| Questions to Consider | Resistant Client Corner |
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Look out for clients who blame all of their challenges in this domain on other people. Losing out on one job because of an unsympathetic interviewer is understandable, but repeated instances of stalled out applications due to interviews might be a sign to lean into the resistance to figure out what role the client may have played in those negative experiences. |
When to Check In
As in other modules, your role as a provider at this stage is primarily to gather information. The more insight you have into the client’s personal treatment goals as well as his particular life circumstances, the more effective subsequent sessions will be. Consider ways to manage resistance based on the client’s personality and motivations before looping in your supervisor.
- Be ready for clients who do not see their interview skills as an issue, opting instead to blame outside forces or the interviewers they have met with instead of taking accountability
- Don’t pivot too quickly away to another goal when faced with resistance. Instead, reflect on when and where resistance manifests in order to better anticipate it in future sessions
- Consult with a supervisor if the resistance is more than you know how to handle, but in session, remain curious, affirm, reflect and summarize what the client is saying to encourage self-awareness
Week 2: Trial & Error
Defining Objectives
What interview skill will the client work on this week?
- Client will select a particular interview skill to target in session this week, focusing on addressing skill deficits as opposed to doubling down on strengths
- Client will continue to be aware of how working on this skill not only improves his interviewing skills, but also connects to his internal motivations and/or his overarching treatment goals
- Client will engage in practice and real-world simulations to build confidence and test out new strategies in a supportive environment
Taking Action
How will you support skill building and implementation?
- Provider will engage the client in at least one behavioral change related to improving an assessed interview skill need
- Provider will make use of multiple forms of mock interview prompts and scenarios to create environments for skill development. Provider will support the client in building outwards from self talk towards simulated interviews, looping in other staff members to provide variety when the client is ready
- Provider will connect skill development work to the client’s internal motivations and/or overarching treatment goals
- Provider will be aware of measurable or observable data pointing to progress and be ready to spotlight those data points in session as well as at the end of the month
| Questions to Consider | Resistant Client Corner |
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Clients who intend to pursue a non-traditional career path or start their own companies (the viability of said plans notwithstanding) may be reluctant to practice a traditional interview. For these clients, framing skill development and mock interviews as a chance to hone and practice their elevator pitch may promote greater buy-in. |
When to Check In
Ideally, clients working through this module will also be engaged or planning to engage in real-life interviews. While you can’t control everything that happens outside of the office, you might want to check in with your supervisor if:
- The client is consistently missing scheduled interviews
- The client seems to be unqualified for the roles to which he is applying
- The client grows extremely frustrated after an interview doesn’t go according to plan
Week 3: Gaining Confidence
Defining Objectives
How will the client build on their efforts in this domain?
- Client will select an additional interview skill to target in session this week. Client will also be able to recall and implement the target skill from the previous session
- Client will continue to be aware of how working on this skill not only improves his interviewing skills, but also connects to his internal motivations and/or his overarching treatment goals
- Client will engage in more challenging practice interviews and more varied real-world simulations to expand his comfort zone
Taking Action
What support will you offer? Where will you step back to allow for greater independence?
- Provider will engage the client in one new behavioral change related to improving an assessed interview skill need
- Provider will, if the client is ready, introduce a new variable to practice interviews and simulations to help the client step outside of his comfort zone, such as a new interviewer or a change in location
- Provider will connect these behavioral changes and skill development to the client’s internal motivations and/or overarching treatment goals
- Provider will be aware of measurable or observable data that would suggest client improvement and be ready to spotlight those data points in session as well as at the end of the month; growth should be demonstrated and/or reflected longitudinally from session 1 to session 3
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When to Check In
As new variables are introduced, the client may find or exhibit areas of challenge that did not present initially. For instance, a client who feels comfortable answering questions he has prepared for previously may struggle to think on the fly when confronted with the unexpected. Consider checking in with your supervisor if:
- The client presents a previously unrecognized or unanticipated challenge
- The client is consistently reporting challenges in real-world interviews that do not align with what you’ve seen in session
- The client demonstrates a real lack of skill in this area due to functional limitations
Week 4: Lessons Learned
Defining Objectives
How will the client apply what he has learned?
- Client will be able to speak to his experience over the course of 4 weeks and indicate measurable or observable progress in addressing interview skill deficits
- Client will feel confident about his growth in this domain and be able to point to specific areas in which he has improved
- Client will understand how his improved interview skills can translate to additional areas of internal motivation and/or connect to the client’s stated treatment goals
Taking Action
How will you help the client to reflect on his progress and plan for the future?
- Provider will continue to engage empathetically with the client, making sure to offer affirmations and validations for efforts made across treatment
- Provider will promote a discussion with the client that consolidates the learning across four weeks in a summative form
- Provider will talk through how the changes made in treatment may be worth continuing, relating it back to the broader theme of why the ct may have sought treatment
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