Knowledge of modern slavery is highly desirable for this role but is also covered in the training. It is essential to have compassion, patience, good oral and written communication skills, decent IT skills, and the ability to be calm under pressure.
The interview is an intense process and involves questions regarding modern slavery and human trafficking. The interviewer asked me to identify potential indicators of modern slavery from hypothetical scenarios.
I was also asked how I would respond to different kinds of callers, such a potential victim, a person with concerns about a local business, a bigot with a heartless attitude to victims of trafficking, and a curious person who wanted more information.
There is also a writing/typing exercise in the interview, as the role involves a lot of note taking during helpline calls and writing a report after the call with all the important information.
The interview ended with a mock call, where the interviewer pretended to be a potential victim calling looking for help. The scenario is realistic and (from my personal experience of working at the helpline) similar to real life calls received. It involved a woman who was being forced into sex work by an abusive partner. She called the helpline while he was out. I had to ensure the potential victim was in a safe place to talk, find out about her situation, ask what sort of help she was looking for, discuss her options to receive help, and describe how the helpline could assist her.
The phone call at the end is used to assess if the interviewee can handle the pressure of working at the helpline.
This job is intense but it is vitally important in the fight against modern slavery. If you have a desire to help vulnerable people and make a difference, I highly recommend this job.
