Job interviews can be challenging for anyone. But that difficulty is often multiplied when an individual has post-traumatic stress disorder or a mental illness. It is a hurdle that many veterans face in life after service when they attempt to start a new career outside of the military.
While it may seem daunting, veterans who live with these conditions are not without hope. Researchers at Northwestern University found that study participants with PTSD or severe mental illnesses who trained with a virtual program were nine times as likely to get job offers in the next six months compared to those who did not use the system, the university reported.
Training for success
According to the Chicago Tribune, the study looked at the virtual program "Job Interview Training with Molly Porter," a computer program that features an actress who reads questions and responses common in interviews.
The program, which was released for general use last summer, was created by SIMmersion, a Baltimore-based startup. According to the program's website, "Molly" is equipped to ask hundreds of common interview questions.
Veterans who use the training program may want to interview for one of these jobs.
Northwestern University reported that participants were repeatedly asked questions by the virtual character, who acts as a human resources employee. Their responses were recorded with voice recognition software and a job coach in the program gave immediate feedback on the screen regarding their answers. As the interviews progressed, the questions became increasingly harder.
Confidence through experience
Of the vets with PTSD and individuals with severe mental illnesses who participated in the study, the ones who did more training sessions tended to have a greater likelihood of getting a job offer and within a shorter period of time, the university reported.
"Veterans with PTSD and people with mental illness such as bipolar disorder, major depression and schizophrenia are prone to anxiety, which can escalate during stressful social encounters such as the job interview," Matthew Smith, an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, said in an article by the university. "The training was a big confidence builder for them."
Individuals can purchase full access to the training program online for $89.95, but The Huffington Post said that it may also be found at some job resource centers.