Hi I’ve an interview on Wednesday with the CAB to be a voluntary advisor. I’m so nervous as it’s been years since me last interview for work and 8 years since Ive worked due to the damn illness. Do or have you worked here in the past? I’d just like to know what to expect at the interview because I’m getting a bit panicky.
Thanks
Wishing you good luck for the interview.
I alway think it is a good idea to find out as much as you can, about what the firm does , when going for interviews.
Check the CAB websites to gain some understanding of them, yeh?
luv Pollx
[quote=“Boudica”]
Wishing you good luck for the interview.
I alway think it is a good idea to find out as much as you can, about what the firm does , when going for interviews.
Check the CAB websites to gain some understanding of them, yeh?
luv Pollx
[/quote] Thanks. I just hope it goes well and hope that I don’t mess up xx
Oi
B*gga lugs I’ve PM’d you 
You’ll be fine x
Michelle
I have worked there before, but before I was diagnosed. I depends where you are based, but be warned the work CAN be very stressful, even though it’s unpaid volunteer work. I worked in a busy inner-city one, and we had clients queuing round the block at times, so there was a lot of pressure to get people sorted and out-the-door as fast as possible. Some of the cases are thankless tasks, where you can’t really do anything for them, OR you will sort out the mess, but they’ll be incapable of learning from experience, and back the next month in the same fix as before. I don’t know if there are set interview questions, but I know I was asked, at mine, how I’d feel about this - i.e. helping someone out of a mess, but then they go and repeat the whole thing, and you find yourself back to square one. Also, they are very, VERY politically correct, so you might be asked what you would do if you heard someone mouthing off racially offensive remarks in the waiting room, or something like that. Apparently, the correct answer is you should ALWAYS confront them and ask them to leave. I didn’t answer that “correctly” - I admitted that I might take the cowards’s way out and pretend not to have heard. I was NOT turned down on that basis, so it’s OK not to get everything right - they won’t expect you to respond as if you were already trained. It is helpful to have some idea of problems in the local area. You don’t have to be an expert, but a couple of things that have affected you personally could be useful - you are not expected to show you have firsthand experience of homelessness, or anything like that (though if you did, don’t fail to raise it), but any little problems you have noticed - if you have personal experience of a benefits claim - successful OR unsuccessful, that would stand you in good stead, as it makes up a lot of the caseload - but again, there is no assumption you HAVE to have experience of such things - it’s just useful to throw in, if you happen to. You might be asked what types of problem you think people might come in about. Debt is a big one, benefits is a big one, but consumer issues, like what to do if you bought something faulty from a shop is quite a common one. Also work issues - queries about pay and holiday entitlements and stuff like that. But I’ve been on a training course where we met people from quite rural bureaux, and generally they saw quite a different type of client, and the atmosphere was a lot less pressured, so I think the volume and type of problems varies hugely. Try to consider likely issues for the area you’re in. Unfortunately, I got sick (I didn’t know what with) not long after completing the training, and had to quit. Because I didn’t have a diagnosis, I think they concluded I was a bit of a time-waster and a malingerer. Despite being so very politically correct in their training, it was a shame it didn’t extend to their own staff. Nobody from the bureau EVER got in touch to ask how I was, or if I ever found out what was wrong. All they were interested in was if and when I’d be back in the bureau, and if I couldn’t answer, they just didn’t want to know. I don’t want to put you off, and your local branch might be quite different, but my sad experience was they DON’T practise what they preach, and when something happens to one of their own, they’re not particularly sympathetic or accommodating, despite the fact the person was working for free! It’s not an easygoing, relaxed environment - at least, it might be for their clients, but didn’t extend to their own volunteers. I’m sorry if I sound a bit bitter, but I feel I might have persevered with it IF I’d had more support and understanding when I got ill with a mystery illness (now known to be MS), and not been treated as if it was damned thoughtless of me. Tina x
I’m sorry that Tina had such a negative experience at CAB. My story is just the opposite. As my SP developed and I became more disabled the CAB bent over backwards to make it possible for me to continue advising. They tried all sorts of adjustments including paying for a taxi but in the end I had to retire because my eyesight became too compromised to work on the computer.
I would echo the fact that the work can be pressured and stressful if you are in an inner city situation but there is lots of on the job support. There’s a lot to remember and I must admit I was finding that aspect challenging.
With regard to your interview - it’s a long time since I was interviewed and I can’t remember specifics but I feel that the questions centred round the CAB’s
Stated aims:
”We provide free, independent, confidential and impartial advice to everyone on their rights and responsibilities. We value diversity, promote equality and challenge discrimination.”
Good Luck
Jane
Fi The very best of luck. No idea of working in that area but I dealt with cab in my last role. I wish you well. Are you still in my neck of the woods? Neil