Simulated Job Interview Training
and Learning Based Recovery
USPRA
Boston, MA
June 14, 2011
Morris Bell, Ph.D., ABPP
&
Andrea Weinstein, MA, CRC
Yale University School of Medicine
Department of Veterans Affairs
E-mail: Morris.bell@yale.edu,
Andrea.weinstein@yale.edu
Research Support
Rehabilitation Research
and Development,
Department of Veterans
Affairs
National Institute of
Mental Health
Learning-Based Recovery
Center
Mission Statement:
“Exploring Ways to Restore Cognitive
and Work Capacity”
Job Interviews:
The first hurdle to getting a
competitive job
Simulated Role-Play
to Train Job Interview Skills
Do Job Interviews Matter?
How important is a good job interview to
your client getting a job?
How important is it to prepare your client for
a job interview?
How confident are your clients about going
on job interviews?
What's different about our
simulated conversations?
SIMmersion's simulated people:
Are different every time you
talk with them
Can hold a conversation for up
to an hour or longer
Have simulated emotions so
they behave like real people
For more
Simulated Job Interview Training
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Role-Play is one of the most effective training
methods.
It takes advantage of implicit learning
It is limited by the quality of the role-play trainer
and the amount of time available.
Many people feel awkward performing role-plays
in front of others.
SIMmersion has produced software that allows
individuals to role-play with an actor on the
computer screen.
Development of the Role Play
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In collaboration with SIMmersion,
(simmersion.com) we are creating
simulated role-play software that allows
an individual to practice job interview skills
over and over again on their own time and
in a safe environment.
The first step is to create an job interview
scenario.
It should be generic, have a variety of
positions and be realistic.
The Scenario
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The scenario we created: A new department
store is opening and has advertised for a
number of positions.
You fill out an on-line application, you need to
select the type of job you’re interested in, and
you are told that you must negotiate your
schedule for Thursday afternoons off because
you have a fixed appointment.
You can select from customer service, inventory,
cashier, stock clerk.
Role Play Script
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Once the scenario is created, we need to
develop a script with as many variations in
responses as possible.
To create this script requires practicing the
role play over and over with different
types of clients in mind.
So let’s try it.
Molly at Wondersmart
Molly from Human Resources is your
interviewer. You can choose to have
a “friendly” Molly or a “serious” Molly
 Molly responds to the rapport you
have established. She becomes
friendlier or more stern as the
dialogue progresses.
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Scoring the Interview
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Making a good first impression
Maintaining rapport throughout the interview
Telling the interviewer about personal strong
points for the job
Asking questions to learn more about the job.
Negotiating the best arrangements (e.g.
schedule)
Making sure that the interviewer knew what
job the interviewee wanted to do
Concluding the interview in a positive way.
The Coach in the Corner
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As the conversation progresses, Molly reacts to
how well you are doing. If you have established
a good rapport, she gets friendlier. If not, she
becomes more curt.
There is a coach in the corner who lets you
know how you’re doing. You can ask her for
help as well.
When it’s over you get your scores. You can
replay the whole conversation and you can start
all over.
Demonstration
Welcome to Wondersmart
Feasibility Study (n =10)
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5 males and 5 females between the ages of 24
and 60 (mean = 42.3, sd = 10.0).
Six were African American and 4 were Caucasian
8 were single, 1 was married and 1 divorced.
They ranged in education from 12 years to 16
years (mean = 13.2; sd = 1.2).
8 were work experienced
Typical of this population, in the past 3 years
only 1 had had full time competitive
employment, 6 had held some part-time work,
Participants had significant barriers to their
returning to full time employment including
serious mental illness, vulnerability to substance
abuse and criminal histories.
Participant Ratings
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Very high ratings on ease of use
Very high ratings on overall value of
training
9 out of 10 found the simulation
entertaining, which may be important for
maintaining interest
8 out of 10 said that they would be
curious to try the simulation again
All 10 agreed that this simulation was a
comparable alternative to a live role play
Qualitative Responses
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“I learned a lot from this simulation about
myself and job interviewing.”
“It kept me interested and focused.”
“It portrayed accurately what might be
said in a job interview.”
“I felt the interactions were life-like.”
“It stimulated my brain. I thought it was
very educational.”
What Do You Think?
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How useful do you think this simulated
role play software will be for your clients?
How willing do you think the clients will be
to use it?
Assuming it is competitively priced, how
likely is it that you or your agency would
obtain this software once it is
commercially available?
Many Thanks for Your
Kind Attention