When you get your social work degree online, you just get the book learning out of the way. You will still need to get some actual experience. The trouble is that for those just starting out their social worker career, there are a lot of challenges that come up.
For many new social workers, these first few steps into their career can be very difficult. If you want to make things simple, here are eight useful tips that will make your first year as a social worker a lot easier on yourself:
* Go Into It Knowing It Will Affect You. A lot of newcomers think that they can go into social working and think they can handle turn off their emotions and do the job logically. However, you will not be able to be protect your heart fully from the job’s effects. As social workers, you tend to encounter bad situations, usually involving children. Acknowledge that you are not a person with a heart of stone and get a therapist or some emotional support of your own.
* Don’t Think You’re a Superhero. One of the many reasons for people to go into social work is to help people. The trouble is that no matter what you do right, there are other factors in play. Your client may not be cooperative or the situation may not be easy to resolve. You will be sure that there will be clients that you will not be able to help so you have to accept that.
* Be Ready to Handle Difficult Clients. As a social worker, you will be encountering quite a few types of people. Though you will meet a few sympathetic people, there will also be a lot of difficult people. You will be meeting clients at the end of their rope and they will be desperate. You need to be ready to handle them. You don’t have to like them – you just have to try your best to help them.
* Don’t Be Envious. You are not alone in the field and sometimes you co-workers will describe a great field experience. Don’t give in to despair if you have nothing like it. Odds are you’ll have your own soon. Just keep on working.
*Learn to Be Quiet. A lot of new social workers come in and have a lot of suggestions. The trouble is that coming in with your plans doesn’t give your client the opportunity to do their own thing. Sometimes, silence is the key. This lets your client reflect on their own so they can come up with their own ideas.
* Work With Your Client. Remember that to fully help your client, you need their cooperation. Your entire job is trying to help them help themselves. This has a better result than just ordering them about.
Being a social worker is a great calling. However, the emotional, physical, and mental demands can be staggering. Hopefully, these eight tips can help you handle them when you first enter this profession. Check out more tips at socialworkdegree.online. You can also check some more important advice for social workers at http://onlineprograms.ollusa.edu/msw/resources/learning-the-social-side-of-social-work.
You’ve earned your social degree online, then what’s next? Our team at socialworkdegree.online can guide you on how you can fulfill your dreams as a social worker.