Social Worker 

(Female, Age 25) from Kalamazoo, MI

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 25 who works as a Social Worker in Kalamazoo, MI. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Social Worker
Salary $35,000
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week 40
Company Size (not answered)
Location Kalamazoo, MI
Years Experience 4 months

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
Non Profit Hospice Care organization. About 200 employees at all locations.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Visiting clients and families in their homes and providing interventions to address psychosocial needs.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
403b Retirement Plan, Dental and Vision benefits, Blue Cross Blue Shield Medical Insurance, PTO for vacation and sick time, personal development fund

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Well compenstated

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes, I visit clients in their homes and I love working with people. I also collaborate with other staff, but not always on a daily basis.

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
I have a cubicle in our main office, but I also work a great deal from home. I like this because it offers flexibility but it can also be more difficult to focus at home.

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 8
Benefits: 7
Hours: 4
Co-Workers: 2
Supervisors: 3
Job Title: 6
Level of Responsibility: 5
The Actual Work: 1

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am NA
8am to 9am Begin working at 8 am. Call in and listen to Morning Report – report of new admissions, discharges, deaths, and clients who called the on-call staff overnight. Sync computer databases, check email, prepare for daily visits.
9am to 10am Call clients and schedule visits – prioritize new admissions. Make plan for the day. Depart office and head to first visit.
10am to 11am Conduct Routine visit with client in a assisted living facility. Engage in life review and provide emotional support. Check in with facility staff. No immediate needs noted.
11am to 12pm Conduct first visit with a new client. Introduce myself as Social Worker, explain role, inquire about how the family is doing and answer any questions. Address needs the client has. Explain Hospice services, offer possible referrals, and provide emotional support. Schedule next visit for the following week.
12pm to 1pm Lunch Break.
1pm to 2pm Begin charting on the morning visits in agency Electronic Medical Record.
2pm to 3pm Training – Personal Death Awareness. Training program that explored employees experiences with and feelings regarding death. Explored how these feelings can impact client care and some parallels between employees feelings and client feelings.
3pm to 4pm Continue Personal Death Awareness Training.
4pm to 5pm Finishing client charts, email, sync, making tomorrow to-do list.
5pm to 6pm NA
6pm to 7pm NA
7pm to 8pm NA
8pm to 9pm NA
9pm to 10pm NA
10pm to 11pm NA
11pm to 12am NA

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
Met with one of the other social workers there, and found the actual job posted online at the website.

What was the application process?
Resume and electronic application

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes, I had a brief telephone interview, then one interview with my supervisor and one with the HR Department.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
What I knew about the agency, what former supervisors would say about me, my comfort with the job, what I thought the job entailed, how I would handle certain situations.

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
YES – I had a very sophisticated training program and felt very prepared. I learned about what was expected of me and the requirements of my postion. I also learned how to handle different situations.

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes, I had an in-depth training period. I had a preceptor – one person in my position- who showed me everything. I shadowed her on visits and learned the policies and procedures. She also accompanied me to my first visits with clients and helped me enter my data in the computer system. The process took about 3 weeks in total. I also went to several agency trainings that went over additional policies and procedures.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes – I had coursework and fieldwork training that was relevant to my job. I studied about older adults and hospice in particular.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
yes – I worked with older adults with teminal illness in my internship and learned how to provide social work services for that population.

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Network with others! Set up informational interviews and meet with people at the organizations you are interested in. Also volunteer – gain experience in Hospice.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Willing to go into client’s homes, empathy, tolerating others’ points of view, comfort with illness, death, and dying, ability to handle crises.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes – you really need a Master of Social Work degree

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Take some time to reflect on your own experiences with death and dying and how that may impact your work.

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. This is exactly what I want to be doing.

What are your current career goals?
Continue to provide Social Work services to older adults, research, mentor others.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
No

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 Graduate Social Work Intern 9 months 0 Internship to meet requirements of my MSW program. Provided psychosocial interventions to adults with dementia and their families, including activity planning, case management, and supportive counseling.
Prior Job 2 NA

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:3.9

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
3.6 Eastern Michigan University B.S. Psychology
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)
NA Univ. of Chicago M.A. Social Service Administration

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