It is difficult for Veterans with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and others with disabilities to enter the workforce, resulting in a low employment rate. The job interview presents a critical barrier for obtaining employment. To improve job interview skills and the employment prospects of people with disabilities, we developed Molly, a virtual human resource manager. The simulation provides repeated job interview practice with extensive feedback and accommodates a variety of special needs. This paper will focus on the methodology and steps used to develop the simulation, and then report on four single-blind controlled studies and four field validations of the training solution.
During each virtual interview, Molly asks trainees questions about their skills and experiences. Using information provided on a job application, she randomly selects questions tailored to the trainee’s needs from a database of 1,200 options. The trainees practice until they master the skills at three difficulty levels.
The four studies included veterans with PTSD (n=33), people with mood disorders (n=37), people on the autism spectrum (n=26), and people with Schizophrenia (n=32). Those who used the simulation (treatment) demonstrated significantly greater improvement than the control group during live role-play interviews showing efficacy. They were also more confident in their interview abilities. Separate follow-up studies surveyed people from these study groups after six months. For each follow-up study, people from the PTSD and the Mood Disorder Cohorts were combined. The data analysis used logistic regression to adjust for known covariates and to estimate the odds of receiving a job offer. For each study group the estimated odds of receiving a job offer were about 8-9 times greater for the treatment group than the control group.