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mommy2B3
2 boys 2 girls!!!!
Member since 7/08 3324 total posts
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M
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Message edited 3/27/2015 1:55:56 PM.
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Posted 9/2/14 9:47 AM  |
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
A lot of places it's key word specific.
I've had to change my resume based on places I was applying.
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| Posted 9/2/14 10:55 AM |
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
P.S. While it's good these days to have working experience, he will also need to complete 2 field placements for most programs and it's the school's responsibility to find them, unless he finds a job in the field and can use the agency towards his placement hours.
There's also a lot of good, bad and ugly as a social worker and it's not all the time going to be about even wanting to give people the shirt off your back.
Like anything else, you frequently have to start at a job/population you hate, build networking contacts and go from there.
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| Posted 9/2/14 2:56 PM |
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mommy2B3
2 boys 2 girls!!!!
Member since 7/08 3324 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
Posted by MorningCuppaCoffee
P.S. While it's good these days to have working experience, he will also need to complete 2 field placements for most programs and it's the school's responsibility to find them, unless he finds a job in the field and can use the agency towards his placement hours.
There's also a lot of good, bad and ugly as a social worker and it's not all the time going to be about even wanting to give people the shirt off your back.
Like anything else, you frequently have to start at a job/population you hate, build networking contacts and go from there.
Thanks for your post. Ill let him know about the 2 field placements, hes in NJ if its any different there, but hes pretty smart with doing his research so I would assume he knows about that.
He does realize being a social worker is hard and draining, I think hes looking to help people. In his current field he is working for the gov and feels like he is hurting people in the long run bc of politics.
Do you have any advice for someone starting out? He wants to end up in a non profit, and is obviously willing to put in the hard work, but is unsure if there is a good starting point he should be aware of so he doesnt waste time or wish he knew beforehand.. does that make sense?
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| Posted 9/2/14 7:59 PM |
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
Ha, social work is often about politics and playing the game. But he will quickly learn that.
I think it's very important to have a strong background in mental health no matter where he ends up, because this crosses over into every population of people he will end up working with.....adults as well as children.....
I am also pretty sure most accredited schools of SW in the U.S. are similar in terms of curriculum and field placements.
Since he has working experience already, this is also a huge plus in my book.
I am a Field Instructor and after having had two bad experiences with students who were young with little real world working experience, I have basically decided that unless the person blows me away in their interview, I'm not taking them on for the year.
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| Posted 9/2/14 8:10 PM |
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mommy2B3
2 boys 2 girls!!!!
Member since 7/08 3324 total posts
Name:
M
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
Posted by MorningCuppaCoffee
Ha, social work is often about politics and playing the game. But he will quickly learn that.
I think it's very important to have a strong background in mental health no matter where he ends up, because this crosses over into every population of people he will end up working with.....adults as well as children.....
I am also pretty sure most accredited schools of SW in the U.S. are similar in terms of curriculum and field placements.
Since he has working experience already, this is also a huge plus in my book.
I am a Field Instructor and after having had two bad experiences with students who were young with little real world working experience, I have basically decided that unless the person blows me away in their interview, I'm not taking them on for the year.
Its unfortunate that politcs play a roll in most jobs, Ive been a SAHM for 5-6 years now so I forget things of that nature, being removed from it for so long.
I did talk to him and he said the field placements would start next year for him and he appreciates knowing each job will possibly be keyword specific as he was wondering why he wasnt even getting any hits yet. He was hoping you would say mental health as that is where he sees himself, but wasnt sure if that was a good starting point.
Thank you for all the information! Hes been working for about 6 years at a job hes hated, so I hope this will end up being a great fit for him, its hard to see him so miserable when hes such a great guy. Again thanks so much!
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| Posted 9/3/14 10:37 AM |
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
I'm hoping that some others will chime in too. I know there are many other social workers on here.
It's been my experience, that the field over the last 10 years has changed a lot....it's really about knowing people too to find a job in addition to the resume matching up. It wasn't always like this. Now we are competing with nurses and other professions because it's more cost effective for places to go that route to get more bang for their buck, since RNs can cover both disciplines.
He has time, but second/final year is really about securing a job so he should look for a placement that may hire him at the end.
I also would really research the schools and find out what they have to offer, especially when it comes to second year and letting their students be placed with a population they like and hopefully at an agency that will hire them. I have heard a lot of feedback from people that one of the local private schools on LI sucks in this regard. He needs to really know that for his area too.
Also, my biggest mistake was going to a private school for social work. I now have loans that seem like they will never go away. In the end, you are still competing for the same jobs, and it's really in most cases about who you know and where they work in order to get hired.
He shouldn't rule out social media either to find a job. Sites like FB and believe it or not, Twitter.
Lastly, he should think about who he wants to work under. I have had experiences too where my supervisors were not social workers but businessmen and that's not what I went into this field for.
He also needs to be comfortable knowing the reality out there in most places is limited supervision in general and he needs to be okay with working out insane problems on his own.
It can be a very isolating field at times, and we are not always liked by a lot of people....not just clients.
Message edited 9/3/2014 6:16:06 PM.
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| Posted 9/3/14 6:08 PM |
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hmm
Sweet
Member since 1/14 7993 total posts
Name:
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
Posted by MorningCuppaCoffee
I'm hoping that some others will chime in too. I know there are many other social workers on here.
It's been my experience, that the field over the last 10 years has changed a lot....it's really about knowing people too to find a job in addition to the resume matching up. It wasn't always like this. Now we are competing with nurses and other professions because it's more cost effective for places to go that route to get more bang for their buck, since RNs can cover both disciplines.
He has time, but second/final year is really about securing a job so he should look for a placement that may hire him at the end.
I also would really research the schools and find out what they have to offer, especially when it comes to second year and letting their students be placed with a population they like and hopefully at an agency that will hire them. I have heard a lot of feedback from people that one of the local private schools on LI sucks in this regard. He needs to really know that for his area too.
Also, my biggest mistake was going to a private school for social work. I now have loans that seem like they will never go away. In the end, you are still competing for the same jobs, and it's really in most cases about who you know and where they work in order to get hired.
He shouldn't rule out social media either to find a job. Sites like FB and believe it or not, Twitter.
Lastly, he should think about who he wants to work under. I have had experiences too where my supervisors were not social workers but businessmen and that's not what I went into this field for.
He also needs to be comfortable knowing the reality out there in most places is limited supervision in general and he needs to be okay with working out insane problems on his own.
It can be a very isolating field at times, and we are not always liked by a lot of people....not just clients.
So true, especially with the lack of supervision and supervision by non LMSW/LCSW. Makes it very hard to get appropriate feed back esp. if having an issue with a client and you need someone to vent to and receive feedback
Message edited 9/4/2014 8:35:23 PM.
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| Posted 9/4/14 8:34 PM |
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
Yeah, where I used to work, they'd feed into a lot of client nonsense because all they saw were $$$$.
It was out of control and not how things work in the real world for anyone who needs help. Lost a lot of amazing staff this way.
Now, where I work if a client doesn't want services, or wants us to change to appease them tough noogies.
Ironically I'm not supervised by a social worker, but I am given a lot of independence and the team is extremely supportive.
When I start working with my students each semester though I train them that my environment is NOT the norm.
I have field trips planned to colleague agencies to show this. 
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| Posted 9/5/14 5:29 AM |
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hmm
Sweet
Member since 1/14 7993 total posts
Name:
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Re: Social workers pls come in!
it is such a numbers game, sometimes it not about quality but quantity and that drives me nuts!!!
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| Posted 9/5/14 4:07 PM |
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