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Question 1

What are the qualiaties do you need to be succesful in this job?

Answer 1

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Question 2

What major challenges did you accept in your last role? How did you handle them?

Answer 2

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Question 3

How do you stay motivated in your work?

Answer 3

My work keeps me motivated, not the other way around.

Question 4

What is your opinion on domestic violence?

Answer 4

holistic approach needed

Question 5

How do you prioritise your workload?

Answer 5

I frequently work on multiple cases at once. Initially, I follow the direction of my supervisor/ management. After this I prioritise according to local policy, e.g in the NHS ex military. However, after this point I prioritse according to the urgency of the need.

Question 6

What do you think the worst part of working in this sector would be?

Answer 6

Seeing people return to their abusers and having to respect their right to make that decision.

Question 7

How do you work under pressure?

Answer 7

Working under pressure is something I am very used to in my working life, particularly with the challenges of the past 18 months. A lot of these pressures can be avoided if things are managed effectively in the first place. However, I actually believe I work better under pressure and it has aided me in producing some of my best work.
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I also understand the importance of working closely with colleagues during this time, and utilisin/offering debriefing oppurtunities to help protect against staff burnout.

Question 8

How do you work under pressure?

Answer 8

Working under pressure is something I am very used to in my working life, particularly with the challenges of the past 18 months. A lot of these pressures can be avoided if things are managed effectively in the first place. However, I actually believe I work better under pressure and it has aided me in producing some of my best work.
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In terms of stress management-
I also understand the importance of working closely with colleagues during this time, and utilisin/offering debriefing oppurtunities to help protect against staff burnout. I usually find the drive home, listening to a podcast of a hobby etc very helpful in reducing any work stress.

Question 9

What do you think the worst part of working in this sector would be?

Answer 9

Seeing people return to their abusers and having to respect their right to make that decision. I’ve seen that in my current roles, and it is difficult. I imagine it would continue to be difficult here.

Question 10

Why do you want to leave your current role?

Answer 10

Seeking to expand myself and challenge myself/ develop knowledge in this area specifically. This isn’t really available where I am currently.
I’m very keen to learn more and this simply isn’t possible in my current roles.

Question 11

Do you have any questions for us?

Answer 11

i.e impact of a current campaign they have
Based on what I’ve said do I have the personality and skilsl that your team is looking for?
Can I ask what the decision process is and when they will have made a decision?

Question 12

Tell me about yourself?

Answer 12

As you know, my name is Catrin. Over the years I’ve built up a wide range of skills and qualities that I believe are a match for this job description.
I am a very positive and motivated person.
I am good at problem solving, thinking on my feet and I particularly enjoy working with vulnerable client groups and have a wide range of experience with this.
I am happy working on my own, but I’m also a great team plater.
I a a fast learner and have been told I perform professionally to a high standard.
If I had this opportunity I am confident I could provide safe, compassionate and effective support for individuals who call the helpline.

Question 13

Why do you want to work for WWA?

Answer 13

I’ve been aware of WWA and the live fear free helpline for a number of years. WA has been so important in raising awareness of DA and SV, and has also had a significant impact on influencing policy in this area and the organisation is crucial in prioritising women and children who experience DA.
This is great for me, I share the same values of wanting to end violence against women and girls and empower them to achieve their full potential.
I am also committed to challenging inequalities and the need to value the feminist perspective and the diversity of lived experience.
I am at a stage in my career where I have found a particular area I am very passionate about and interested in and wish to develop my knowledge and experience further and stay in this area for a long time.
Obviously, during lockdown DV has increased and the need for organisations like WA, and the helpline is even more important than it already was. Want to be a part of this to support women and children in these situations.

Question 14

What experience do you have that is relevant to this role?

Answer 14

Before I applied for the role I downloaded the job description and I am confident I fulfill the requirements.
I have recently been training as a student mental health nurse and also working as a healthcare assistant for betsi cadwaldr. The combination of these roles means I have worked ina variety of settings with a variety of invidiuals. I also have the skills of risk assessing, safeguarding, record keeping and a working knowledge of confidentialtiy.
I am an empathic invidiual who is used to supporting a range of invidiuals from all walks of life.
I have always treated service users with respect and compassion and value empowering these inviduals to make their own decisions as much as possible.
I am used to working shifts in a fast paced environment with multiple objectives needing to be acehived within a certain timeframe. I am a good problem solver, and have extensive experience of working under pressure and with client’s experiencing high levels of distress.
I am used to working in highly complex teams, with the service user at the centre of the process.
I am a good communicator and also have good literacy and IT skills.

Question 15

What makes a good team?

Answer 15

An effective team is made up of many different components which need to come together to be a good team.
Firstly, it’s important for every team member to recognise that the client is at the centre of the team, and is a key part of it that the team needs to be built around in order to deliver person centered support.
Secondly, there needs to be a clear objective that all members of the team are committed to. For example, safeguarding an invidual at risk in a domestic abuse situation.
Clear communication is vital for fulfilling these aims- not just talking bu listening to.
Team members should be supportive of other people in the team. The skill set of the team should be diverse and built around how best to support an invidual. For example, when safeguarding unborn babies in previous role, team built of nurses, midwifes, social workers and the mother and the father.
It’s also important that teams are open to feedback from others about what is working and what itsn’t. So, if a service user felt that the team wasn’t meeting their needs the team should take this on board and adjust their ways of working.

Question 16

Tell me about a time when you have worked as part of a team?

Answer 16

Throughout my professional life I have worked in a variety of different teams in a variety of different settings.
A recent example was supporting a patient who was experiecing short term memory loss and living at home alone.
The team’s objective was to begin to invesitgate the cause of the short term memory loss by conducting assessments, investigating any physical conditions that could be continuvuting, therefore working with radiologists to have CT scans. The team also worked together to minimise the risk to the client during this time. For example, it was identiied that there was a risk of not taking essential medicaiton correctly, or a risk of fire due to the client being a heavy smoker. Therfore, appropriate risk minimising strategies were put in place, such as a referral for a fire safety check and organising home carers to assist with medication.
Client was at the centre of this team the entire time, and he felt empowered to live his life safely and as he wanted whilst dealing with short term memory issues. Consent and confidentiality were observed.
As a result we achieved a prompt diagnosis for the client, ensured his safety and quality of life during the process, whilst ensuring he was at the centre and felt empowered during the process. This was all done whilst following local and national policies. Positive feedback received from client and his family.

Question 17

Tell me about a time you completed a difficult task under pressure?

Answer 17

Working in the areas I have worked in, I am used to working under pressure and I understand it would be a key part of working for the helpline.
A recent example, I was supporting a client that was currently absintent from alschol, after having an addiciton for many years. However, she identified that she was at high risk of relapse due to his marriage break up. She felt the best way to ensure she didn’t relapse was to attend rehab, so that she physically dould not be tempted.
My supervisor and I understood that we needed to act quickly to support her. First of all we developed a plan, and prioritised what we needed to do. I researched rehab centres and found places with availability. I then met with the client and allowed her to select the one she felt met her needs the best. I then sought advice from Gwynedd Council about applying for funding, and completed the application process promptly. This meant I had to stay late, but I didn’t mind as it wasn’t the norm and I understood the huge difference this would make to the client.
Within 24 hours funding was approved, and the my supervisor and I drove the client to the rehab centre in England.
Whilst that week was full on, it was extremely important and I got a lot out of it. I felt I developed skills working under pressure, particularly with placing the client at the centre of the process and empowering them, regardless of time constraints. It was also fantastic to see how the practical support I had provided made such a difference to the direction of the invidual’s life during such a difficult time.

Question 18

How would you resolve conflict with a co-worker?

Answer 18

I have to be honest, I don’t have a lot of experience with this.
However, I think it would be important to try and resolve the conflict right away due to the negative impact conflict can have on the team in terms of distratcing from goals, supporting the service user, and also draining any positive energy.
Firstly, I would review my own actions and reflect on whether any of my behaviorus and actions were contributing to the situation. It can be easy to always blame other people, but it’s important to look at yourself and by critical.
I would speak to the invidual in private and try and keepthe conversation positive and open. I would also for feedback and see if there was anything I oculd act upon to resolve the problem. I would suggest amicable ways to move forward.
Hopefully this would solve the issue. But if it din’t I would seek advice from management.
But ideally I would try and solve the problem quickly and with respect.

Question 19

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

Answer 19

I genguienly see myself working with WWA, on the live fear free helpline.
Now, of course, I would say that. However, genuignely at this point in my professional life I really want to work ina field that empowers and priorities women and children.
I want to work at the helpline for the reasons I have stated previously and to develop and support women and children.
I want my managers to see me as good at my job, to be ahigh performer and a respect member of the team.
I enjoy supporting new team members to learn, so after five years here I like to think I could be involved in developing newer team members.
Above all, I want to have made a difference to numerous women and children and to have helped them to feel empowered and supported following da or sv.

Question 20

How do you handle stress and pressure?

Answer 20

As you can imagine, working in the NHS during a pandemic has meant I have become very used to working under stress and pressure!
I work well under stress and pressure.
Key part of handling it- remaining organised, remaining calm- a clear mind helps more effective working. Comnunicaing clearly with others when needed,.
I personally find it important to maintain a positive mindset also, and to try and keep the team I’m working with feeling positive about things.
Following stressful situations I also find it useful to debrief with more experienced colleagauges, but it’s also important to offer other colleagues the chance to seek support from you also.

Question 21

Can you tell me about a time you provided excellent customer service/ patient care?

Answer 21

This is something I always strive for, as you can understad in the NHS excellent or poor patient care makes the difference between life and death.
I also understand why this is vital for WWA, as an invidual calling the helpline who receives compassionate and support they deem relevant and empowering can also potentially make the difference between life and death.
One particular example that springs to mind is an invidual I met whilst working within substance misuse services. This invidual was receovering from a heroin addiction, and felt that peer support would be helpful in this goal. Research does back this up. Therefore, I spent time assessing her needs. After developing rapport and building trust, she disclosed that one trigger for her addiction was exepriecing extensive sexual violence by a family member during her childhood years. Therefore, she, and I agreed, that attending local peer support with males to discuss her addiction was not approroriate, or empowering for her. Therefore, I explored other options for her to access single sex peer support. I could not find anything locally, but I did find online zoom meetings online which would allow her to access the peer support she needed. I regularly checked back with the client to inform her of my progress and seek her opinion on the developing options. mI also placed her in touch with charities that specifically support women who have survived seual vioelnce. As a result, this lady was able to access single sex peer support for addiction and felt safe to explore the issues that had led to her addiction.

Question 22

What are your strengths?

Answer 22

I am a fast learner- I like to get up and running and be a competent and effective team member as asson as possible.
I am an excellent communicator- not just talking and writing but also in listening and encourgaing others to share.
I am non judngemental and compassionate to those I work with. I value empowering invviduals to make their own decisions, rather than telling them to do something.
I have been told wherever I work that I am an excellent team worker, and am always ready to help to make sure that the team reaches their goals.
I naturally have a very positive nature, and have been told that I am good to be around and to have on a team because of this.
I am calm under pressure and am a flexible worker.
I can be left to work alone to a high standard.
I also take my personal and professional development seriosuly. FOr example, I regaulrly complete non mandatory training courses professionally and I always try and develop myself personally also. For example, painting!

Question 23

What is your biggest weakness?

Answer 23

I believe my biggest weakness would be that at times I find it difficult to say no to extra things people ask me to do.
In the past this has led to me taking on too much work, and becomed overwhelmed. For example, university asked me to be on a panel to develop a distance learning style of learning for nursing. I said yes, but this led me to regularly working late at night following a day’s work on wards. Obviously, long term tis is not good for my concentration or my mental health. I am now much better at saying ‘no’ when I am operating at full capacity.
Having said that, a strength of mine is my cintoinous self reflection on my weaknesses and being open to construtive criticism. Therfore, if you ever saw anything you felt I could improve on, you could let me know respectfiully and I would go away and address it.

Question 24

Why do you want to leave your current job?

Answer 24

Training to be a mental health nurse, and working as a healthcare support worker has been brilliant, up to a point. I have really felt that I have learned a lot and grown persaonlly and professionally. However, recently I have found that I was really interested in offereing more practical and person centred support, rather than solely medicalised care. For example, many women I supported in susbstance misuse services were in domestic abuse relationships, however, I couldn’t offer any practical support for this. My role, as a student nurse, was to support their medicaiton for abstinence and conduct mental state exams etc. I foudn this difficult, as many times women in domestic abuse relationships are likely to misuse substances for this reason, so it’s a chicken and the egg scenario. I realised I wanted to work particualrly with this vulnerable client, and working here would allow me to do that and really develop my skills and knowledge.
I am on really good terms still with Betsi and my old mangers and asessors, I still speak to all of them! But it just seems now is the right time for me to move on to a more specliased supportive role.

Question 25

Why should we hire you?

Answer 25

You should hire me because I believe I have the skills, experience and wualities that match the job decription for the helpline advocate.
A key strengh og mine is that I am good with clients, parrticularly vulnerable service users. I am able to make them feel safe, assess their needs ad empower them to act as they wish. I am also kind and compassionate, and I am particualrly good at maintaing this even when clients are in great distress as I am a good communicator.
I have experience supporting women who are experiecning domestic and sexual violence and I understand the emotional and practical difficulties this group of invidiuals may have in leaving abusive situations. I have practicacl experience of the improtance of record keeping, following policy and preoducesures and safeguaridng, consetn and confidentiatily.
I have expereince of supporting these inviduals to obtain housing, benefits and mental health support after leaving abusive relationships.
I am a fast learner and highly motivated, so I will be up and running and working as an effective team meber as quickly as possible. I am also a good team player, and I feel I have a positive energy which people have commented makes me motivating to be around and working with me a good experience.

Question 26

Do you have any questions for us?

Answer 26

Thank you for today, really enjoyed the process.
I just have a few questions to ask.
1) As I’ve mentioned before, I would really like to stay here for the long term and I would be intrerested to ehar what long terms plans there are for the helpline and any expansions/ changes?
2) For previous employees who have left the roles what would you say they have particularly struggled with?
3) If I was successful in the role, what would you say I should focus on particularly in the first 30 days?
4) Is there anything else you’d like to me to clarify or have I caome across unclear in anyway?

Thank you again for today, it’s been great meeting everyone.