How to Be a Good Social Worker
Be sure you have the personality of a good social worker., Realize that you cannot help all your clients., Get experience in your chosen area as soon as possible.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Be sure you have the personality of a good social worker.
Social work can be a very demanding job.
You are constantly interacting with people in need, and often despite your best efforts, you are unable to help them due to social factors or your clients’ own resistance.
Those who succeed as social workers tend to share common personality traits:
Empathy – You must be caring and understanding of those who come to you for help.
Patience – You must work through problems at your clients’ own speed.
Dependability – You must be there for your clients when they need you if you are going to earn their trust.
Organization – Because you will often be dealing with a heavy case load, the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects efficiently is key.
Perceptiveness – You will be dealing with topics that are difficult to talk about like abuse.
More than just being a good listener, you need to be able to read between the lines to get at what your clients’ want to tell you, but are often afraid to say.
Objectivity – Becoming too emotionally involved can both drain you and make you less effective.
Even while being empathetic, you must maintain the emotional distance necessary to be effective.
Persistence – Continually overcoming setbacks is the nature of the job.
Perseverance is vital.
Flexibility – Social work is not always a 9-5 job.
The best case workers have the flexibility to help their clients when they need them most.
Resilience – You will see the worst in humanity and face heart-rending problems every day.
You must be resilient in order to last in the job.
This means knowing how to take care of yourself and recharge you batteries when not working. -
Step 2: Realize that you cannot help all your clients.
People go into social work hoping to change the world and improve lives, but things rarely go as smoothly as that.
You will have clients who have been mandated to see you and those who do not want to be there.
You will have clients who miss more appointments than they attend.
You will have clients who do not want to change.
You will have mountains of paperwork that take up more of your time than your clients.
Being a social worker means dealing with frustration, pushing disappointment aside, and being able to celebrate small successes.Talk with your colleagues – Don’t be afraid to tell them about your disappointments and frustrations; they no doubt have them too.
Knowing you are not alone can help you deal with frustration.Do not blame your clients – They might miss meetings.
They might not do as you ask.
They might even lie to you.
Blaming them will not help you, or them.
They are dealing with huge problems.
Remind yourself of that every day.
It is the problems to blame, not the clients.Focus on problems you can control – Of all the problems you face, some you have total control over solving (e.g. when you do your paperwork or how your write up your reports), some you have limited control over (e.g. your schedule), some will be totally out of your control (i.e. whether a client shows up), and some will be so confusing you can’t even figure out what the problem is (e.g. office politics; managerial incompetence).
The key is to focus on the things you can control or influence, and to recognize you cannot control the rest and let it go., There is no better way to see if social work is right for you than to actually do social work.
You should get an internship or begin volunteering before or shortly after you start the education required to be a social worker. -
Step 3: Get experience in your chosen area as soon as possible.
Detailed Guide
Social work can be a very demanding job.
You are constantly interacting with people in need, and often despite your best efforts, you are unable to help them due to social factors or your clients’ own resistance.
Those who succeed as social workers tend to share common personality traits:
Empathy – You must be caring and understanding of those who come to you for help.
Patience – You must work through problems at your clients’ own speed.
Dependability – You must be there for your clients when they need you if you are going to earn their trust.
Organization – Because you will often be dealing with a heavy case load, the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects efficiently is key.
Perceptiveness – You will be dealing with topics that are difficult to talk about like abuse.
More than just being a good listener, you need to be able to read between the lines to get at what your clients’ want to tell you, but are often afraid to say.
Objectivity – Becoming too emotionally involved can both drain you and make you less effective.
Even while being empathetic, you must maintain the emotional distance necessary to be effective.
Persistence – Continually overcoming setbacks is the nature of the job.
Perseverance is vital.
Flexibility – Social work is not always a 9-5 job.
The best case workers have the flexibility to help their clients when they need them most.
Resilience – You will see the worst in humanity and face heart-rending problems every day.
You must be resilient in order to last in the job.
This means knowing how to take care of yourself and recharge you batteries when not working.
People go into social work hoping to change the world and improve lives, but things rarely go as smoothly as that.
You will have clients who have been mandated to see you and those who do not want to be there.
You will have clients who miss more appointments than they attend.
You will have clients who do not want to change.
You will have mountains of paperwork that take up more of your time than your clients.
Being a social worker means dealing with frustration, pushing disappointment aside, and being able to celebrate small successes.Talk with your colleagues – Don’t be afraid to tell them about your disappointments and frustrations; they no doubt have them too.
Knowing you are not alone can help you deal with frustration.Do not blame your clients – They might miss meetings.
They might not do as you ask.
They might even lie to you.
Blaming them will not help you, or them.
They are dealing with huge problems.
Remind yourself of that every day.
It is the problems to blame, not the clients.Focus on problems you can control – Of all the problems you face, some you have total control over solving (e.g. when you do your paperwork or how your write up your reports), some you have limited control over (e.g. your schedule), some will be totally out of your control (i.e. whether a client shows up), and some will be so confusing you can’t even figure out what the problem is (e.g. office politics; managerial incompetence).
The key is to focus on the things you can control or influence, and to recognize you cannot control the rest and let it go., There is no better way to see if social work is right for you than to actually do social work.
You should get an internship or begin volunteering before or shortly after you start the education required to be a social worker.
About the Author
Jeffrey Nguyen
Brings years of experience writing about cooking and related subjects.
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