Interview Paper

Interview Paper

Allison Marler

BSHS/385

7/17/2017

Sheila Dupuis

Interview Paper

Human services are a program that meets the basic needs, health, and welfare of a society or group. Examples are the sick, poor, or elderly. ("Human services | Define Human services at Dictionary.com," n.d.). This paper will discuss what the purpose and function of interviews in health and human services are, what type of information do you hope to gain during interviews, what are the steps that should be considered when preparing for an interview, how does the interview process allow human service professionals to assist clients in establishing goals, what are the types of interviews in the human services setting, and how does the type of interview direct the selected format?

What is an interview? An interview is a meeting between two or more people to obtain information. In human services interviews are important. By interviewing clients, the worker can find more information out about the client and get to know the client better. Interviewing is an interactional communication process between two parties. (Stewart & Cash, 2011). The purpose and function of interviews in health and human services is to provide a means to establish a predetermined purpose aside social interaction, informal, or unplanned conversations.  Interviewing clients help see what the client is dealing or struggling with. The purpose of an interview is to gain more knowledge about the client. In the interview, the worker will get to know the client better and hopefully gain some of the client’s trust. If the worker and client can establish trust then they can develop a plan and set it into action. During the interview, the client and worker can talk about barriers that are needed to overcome and what kind of feelings and responsibilities does the client have. There are steps that should be considered when preparing for an interview. Some steps are to choose a location, plan what the worker will say, have valuable information, find what he reason is for the interview, be prepared for the interview by gathering information before hand, and allow for time for both parties to be able to get everything out that they need to. The interview process allows for human service professionals to assist clients in establishing goals by gathering information during purposeful conversations and building and engaging with the client (Vang & Rooney, 2011). Human service professionals can ask questions, paraphrase the client’s responses, and show empathy and support towards the client. Human services have many types of interviews. Some interviews are: the informational, a probing interview, a survey interview, a recruiting interview, the employment interview, the performance interview, the persuasive interview, the counseling interview, and the health care interview. The type of interview directs the selected format by it depending on what type of interview the worker will conduct. The worker will not treat an abused and battered child the same what he or she would interview a mental disabled.