Helping people, doing a job with a meaningful purpose,and getting a decent bacon for your service–social work in certainly one the all-time fields of employment. Merely how to succeed in your interview?

Ever more people face adversity, and the social sector is growing each year. It ways more job opportunities, only also a stronger competition in your interview. Let's have a look at some questions you volition face, and a guide on how to answer them.

Why exercise you want to become a social worker?

The interviewers want to hear that y'all intendance for their institution, and for the target grouping. I suggest you to talk about your desire to help people—the detail group of people yous'd work with in your new job.

On the top of that, you shouldn't connect your chore option to the past, saying that you lot desire to work equally a social worker considering y'all graduated from the field. Such an answer would bespeak a must, while yous desire to show a desire.

You tin talk about your want to make things amend in your city, canton, or land (and in that location are enough of things we can improve everywhere), nigh your wish to help the others, to make a departure in the earth, or at to the lowest degree in local customs.

Say them that you lot see a meaningful purpose in this career, and imagine doing it for many years to come.

Why are you lot applying for a task in our establishment?

Show empathy for their target grouping (seniors, unemployed, homeless, orphans, drug addicts, refugees, prisoners, other groups they piece of work with), and tell them that y'all believe to have the correct personality, skills, and values to help the detail group of people.

Alternatively you lot can talk near their institution. Y'all tin can praise them for the practiced things they have achieved over the years.

A brief research should assist you to find a proficient reply to this question.

Perhaps a local press published an article, describing the activities of the institution. Mayhap they have carried out a particular project that helped the local community. Endeavour to detect such news and refer to them in your answer.

Yous tin can praise them for many things–their system of work, their reputation, the values and principles they follow in the organization, etc. Yous tin also say that you like the location of the place, that it will exist convenient for you to commute to piece of work.

A scene from a social wortk interview. Young job candidates talks to the senior case manager. Both women are smiling.

What is your experience with the target group?

Try to focus on things you lot take achieved with the target group before. Did y'all aid some children to find their mode in life? Did you lot help the sufferers to find new hope? Did you hep the homeless to reintegrate into working society?

Speak about things you have achieved, and how you have achieved them. Characterize the details. Speak with enthusiasm. Show us that you really intendance for the target group.

And if you accept no professional experience with the target group (perhaps you are applying for your very first chore), talk about the feel with the people from your personal life (your schoolmate was an orphan, many homeless people alive in your street, yous visit a nursing home ofttimes to run into with your grandmother, your cousin suffers from downwards syndrome, etc).

Experience with people aid us to sympathise their needs and desires. Show us that y'all understand the target group, and are prepare to start working with them from day one.

How exercise you imagine a typical day in work?

Try to nowadays yourself equally someone who wants to piece of work, who likes to work, and who always looks for something productive to do.

Wait at the job clarification, listing the principal duties, and say you would devote your fourth dimension to study and research–if there were no other things to do.

Practice non forget to listing as well the "unpleasant aspects" of the job in social sector (for example helping the clients with their personal hygiene, or anything else that feels difficult to yous), showing us that yous see your chore realistically. Testify u.s. that you lot are ready to handle everything the chore presents.

Where do you see yourself in five years time?

At that place aren't many career growth options for most positions in social sector (the few exceptions just bear witness the rule). And a good social worker (or a person with a expert personality for this job) should actually not seek promotion, or a career change.

Oppositely, they should exist happy with their chore, seeing the purpose, enjoying doing the same thing over and over, trying to amend their work with the target group.

You lot can say that yous volition exist happy to accept the same position, or you lot can actually plough your focus to your personal life. You can say that y'all encounter yourself starting a family in 5 years time, or simply run into yourself existence a better social worker, a better mother, a meliorate person…

Special Tip: To know how to answer a question, and to come up up with an amazing respond on a big mean solar day, when facing a console of interviewers, are 2 different things. If you experience anxiety, or do non know how to answer the questions, take a look at my eBook, the Social Work Interview Guide. Multiple great answers to 25 most common social piece of work interview questions will aid you simplify your interview preparation, and deliver when it matters the most–when you sit in front of your interviewers. Give thanks you for checking information technology out!

How practise you lot plan to build relationship with our target group?

Practiced respond depends on your attitude, your methodology of work, and the philosophy of the particular social piece of work establishment. Many institutions accept their ain system of piece of work, and the employees are bound to follow the internal rules.

Still, proverb that you will always effort to think on the aforementioned wavelength every bit the people (your target group), or that yous volition look at the state of affairs from their point of view (trying to understand their needs and desires, their emotions), will work in most job interviews.

Getting shut is an respond. Get close to the people, open your heart, and win their trust…

Here is a trouble we face. Retrieve about a solution to this problem, and describe it to united states.

Social workers face a lot of challenges in their jobs. Conflicts with colleagues and clients, cases we tin do aught most, clients that but won't cooperate, and and so on, and and so forth.

Show u.s.a. that yous are ready to address the most common challenges, that you won't panic in a given situation. Design a uncomplicated solution, speak in a calm voice, and admit your inexperience (if you are just starting your professional career).

Good social worker should exist able to think independently, and make up one's mind on their ain. On the other hand, the all-time social work is e'er a team-try. Say that you will consult your colleagues, people with more feel, people who have already faced the same challenges, someday y'all aren't sure what to do.

Practise you accept any questions?

Task interview is a dialogue (or at least it should exist a dialogue). Ask questions. Start a discussion. Elaborate on their answers.

Each good question shows them that you care, that you lot want to know more about the things they do, that you are interested in their institution. You can talk about the challenges they confront, virtually the working environment, about the goals they attempt to attain, etc.

And if you tin not come with anything better, ask them well-nigh the next steps of the recruitment procedure, or when you can start the chore.

Other questions you may confront in your social work interview

  • What practice you hope to accomplish equally a social worker?
  • Why did you decide for this specific filed of social piece of work, and non for another one?
  • What practise you consider to be your major successes and accomplishments in your last job? Who did help you the well-nigh to achieve them?
  • What was your biggest failure in social piece of work and then far?
  • Think of an ambitious/angry customer from the past. How did you deal with the situation?
  • Think well-nigh conflict situation grade your last task. How did you lot solve the conflict?
  • Draw a state of affairs when yous did something more than than expected from you in job.
  • There are always cases we tin do nothing near. Describe such a instance from your experience. What have you tried earlier giving upward on the case?
  • If a client did non sympathize a elementary linguistic communication y'all used, what would y'all do?
  • Why should we hire y'all, and not one of the other task applicants?

Decision, answers to all questions

Chore interview in social work belongs to interviews with average difficulty. Y'all take to convince the interviewers not simply nearly your knowledge of the field, merely also about the right mental attitude to work, stiff motivation, and about your desire to make a divergence in the life of each client.

If you are not certain how to answer the questions, or feel anxiety, have a await at the eBook I wrote for you lot, the Social Piece of work Interview Guide. Peachy answers to all difficult interview questions will help you to relax, and to deliver your very best in the interviews.

Thank you!

* You lot can also download the full list of interview questions for social work in a i page long PDF, and practice your interview answers anytime later, even when offline:

interview questions, PDF

May besides interest you:

  • Body language in an interview – What exercise your gestures and movements say about yous? Tin can nosotros command our non-verbal communication? The way you walk, shake easily, the chair you choose in the room-it all says something nigh you. Learn more near your body language, and how to "say" the correct things.
  • How to wearing apparel for your interview – 4 rules to consider when choosing dress to clothing. A unproblematic commodity that will help yous to finally decide what to put on for your interview.
  • Salary negotiation tips – Time to finally go as much every bit you deserve.

* This is a guest mail published by Ellen King for InterviewPenguin.com. The article was edited earlier publication.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts

Antony

Latest posts by Antony (see all)