Prospects look good for new social work grads:
Planning is the key to successful job search

By Karen Metzger, MSW, CSW Management/Career Consultant
(April 1997)

Congratulations Class of '97, and welcome to the job market! According to recent surveys at the graduate school of social work, the prospects for new graduates are good; by four months following graduation, most members of the Class of '96 had found social work positions.

To be successful, a job search must be proactive and mindful of the "Three P's": Preparation, Positioning, and Presentation. To this, we can add a fourth "P": Participation. On page 11 you will find an NASW application. If you are not already a member, you'll find joining your professional organization to be one of the best things you can do to enhance your career. If you are a member, pass the application on to a colleague.

PREPARATION (Self Assessment, Career/Job Plan and Tool Bag)

The foundation of an effective and powerful search is Self-Assessment. The results help you build a strong resume, write powerful letters, and help you to network and interview successfully. The concept of assessment is central in virtually all areas of social work. You would not think of counseling a client to move into an alternate living residence without looking at a combinations of social, medical, familial and economic factors which may help or hinder the success of that move. You would not develop and outreach program for troubled youth without first establishing a model, having a good command of the funding an staffing requirements, or without operating criteria and evaluation procedures. Yet there is a tendency to thrust yourself into the job search, either by answering ads, responding to postings and seeking interviews without stopping and taking stock of where you are.

Self-Assessment is a disciplined, even critical, approach to looking at your special talents, skills, specific accomplishments, range of interests and likes and dislikes. Self-assessment include the two year Masters experience, as well as reaching back to previous career, work and volunteer experience. There is a tendency to disregard or devalue prior work, yet transferability of all your assets may ultimately make you more marketable.

Self assessment also means identifying knowledge gaps, learning needs, clarification of personal and professional values and surfacing balance of life issues. It also means identifying special considerations and priorities such as family, travel, commuting, relocation and evening hours which may become either drivers in your search or break issues for you. Self assessment also involves developing realistic priorities and having a working understanding of areas of tradeoffs.

I recommend using some handy self assessment exercises available in most job search books or at workshops and school career offices. Commit yourself to paper. Consider it a work in progress and periodically review and adjust. I also recommend selecting a few people with whom to bounce around your findings. Brainstorming with 'safe' people who are interested in you or who know your work may prevent you from using your first interviews as cold practice ground.

Self assessment is critical in evolving a Career/Job Plan with short and long term professional direction and goals. Most people don't plan. It's more typical to focus only on what will be a good next position. You may identify a field of practice that caught your interest as a result of your fieldwork. Or, you may determine that you don't want to work with a particular population or in a type of setting. Perhaps you had a negative experience or you think you wouldn't like a particular environment, (your friend didn't!). You might want a practice area where you believe there is more upward movement, or you may reject one because you see it fraught with too many political problems.

While any of these considerations can be legitimate, you may be doing yourself an injustice if you dismiss a wide range of future career possibilities without linking your plan to your comprehensive self-assessment. In other words, self-assessment allows you to make choices of jobs that work into your career plan. You may then find that the job that pays more is not the one that will give you promotion opportunity. You may find that a highly political environment can help you hone your managing and negotiating skills. You may find that the setting you had preferred offers little variety, is short on supervision, or has too few professionals of any discipline on staff.

Preparation is also assembling your Job Search Tool Bag, consisting of your accomplishment-oriented Resume, sample Cover Letters; Networking Lists and Techniques; and your Career Overview Statement (also known as the Two Minute Pitch, see below).

POSITIONING (Self-Marketing, Research, Follow Up)

Positioning is turning your self-assessment into a Self-Marketing plan that is both strategic and tactical. It's understanding that in looking for a good next position, you are building life-long professional relationships as well as uncovering, even tailoring your next position. It's learning that hiring organizations and hiring managers are looking for what you can do for them, not just helping you get what you want.

Positioning requires Research. Research means gathering information from hard sources like directories, journals, articles, brochures, and reports, and by networking sources such as other job seekers, faculty, potential colleagues and others in and out of the field. Research efforts will help you uncover areas of concern, trends, specific practice opportunities, how a particular organization is structured, reporting relationships, the issues you would face and how to characterize the particular cultural environment. Research via networking serves as a powerful positioning tool; your can find out which of your specific skills are transferable and what your can contribute.

Not all of this information is readily available. An inquiring posture and some digging will yield results. Contact former graduates or former employees. Maybe your previous supervisor knows the director: Contact her. Keep in mind that you get fact and opinions; factor them all.

Following Up and following through are critical positioning. It is not enough to have a wonderful networking meeting or interview and wait for the next step. Waiting has a way of diluting the impact you may have had and puts you in a reactive mode. Following up keeps them thinking about you. It demonstrates your continued interest and enthusiasm. Following through keeps up the momentum and allows you to stay in the information loop. Staying in touch helps you track changes in their thinking that can help you continuously adapt your positioning.

Write thank you letters to everyone you talk to and see in networking and interviewing. Consider what you can offer in return (send an article of mutual interest, suggest next step possibilities). Remain proactive.

PRESENTATION (Interview)

Successful interviews have several key elements. Show your confidence in your competencies and ability to do the work. If you feel successful and exude success, you will be seen as a winner. Be ready to describe your experiences with specific illustrations of accomplishments. Know your lines really means knowing and owning your story and being prepared to talk about yourself in a variety of ways.

Consider why the employer would want to hire you and what is your added value. Prepare your two minute pitch or overview statement. You should be able to offer this as part of your opening or in response to questions like "Tell me about yourself"; "What should I know about you?"; "What have you been doing?"

Make the meeting interactive. Interviewing is a business conversation where both parties need to determine if you can do the job, if you are interested in doing the job and if you fit. It is a mutual exploration. Most candidates get ready for the interviewer's questions, fewer prepare for asking questions. Ask questions and comment throughout the interview. Your informed comments and inquiry will further demonstrate your interest, show depth, and provide you with better information with which to proceed.

Prepare, prioritize and pre-think your questions. Since you can expect to have multiple interviews for any one position, continue to anticipate their questions and what else you want to know. Defer your questions about compensation and benefits until later interviews, preferably when you receive an offer. This helps in your negotiating.

Give yourself permission to ask a wide range of questions. Use your knowledge of trends and issues to help formulate questions, e.g. "It's my understanding that in some settings the roles of social workers and other professionals are blurred: What is it like here?"; "In what ways do you make the distinction between MSWs and those without this training?" Ask about the specific structure and funding and philosophy of the organization: "Outcome thinking is quite popular; how does it play out here?" Ask about the reporting relationships, work teams, ongoing training and what can you expect with regard to supervision. Continue to probe responses so you get clarity. "Since supervision from a CSW is not available, what provisions for supervision are you open to?" Ask about the clients, the projects they would like to launch, and your potential roles in these. It's okay to ask about limitations, challenges and relationships with other disciplines. It is also desirable for you to meet others on staff: Ask for this opportunity.