Social Service Worker
(Female, Age 26) from fontana, CA
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 26 who works as a Social Service Worker in fontana, CA. 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 Service Worker |
|---|---|
| Salary | $43,500 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 40 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | fontana, CA |
| Years Experience | 5 years |
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.
i work for child protective services. it is with the county & i deal with child abusers, etc. we have several offices which contain about 1,000 people.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
i am a social worker who goes & assesses houses for kids to live in. i make sure that there is water, food, the toilet flushes and that the child has an adequate amount of shelter
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
medical, dental, vacation, sick leave, 401k
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
I feel like I work hard for the salary that I receive, so I am probably under-compensated.
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
Yes, sometimes I am required to make home visits to assess client’s homes. I enjoy meeting new people and collborating.
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.
This job requires me to constantly be asking my supervisor & co-workers questions about the tasks that I am performing. I enjoy learning more about the process.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 1
Benefits: 6
Hours: 4
Co-Workers: 8
Supervisors: 3
Job Title: 2
Level of Responsibility: 5
The Actual Work: 7
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 | I get to work at 7:00am. I checked my e-mail messages. There was nothing interesting about checking the company e-mail because I basically get irrelevant junk mail that just bores me. So, I check my phone messages but the one message I received was a wrong number, so I delete it. |
| 8am to 9am | My supervisor arrives at 8am, and I had an important call from a client. The client tells me that she would like to re-schedule the home assessment but doesn’t give me a legitimate reason as to why. Then, after my prompting her, she says that she is no longer interested in adopting her sister’s son because he is a “pest”. The client starts getting mad at me because she says that I am making her feel guilty which I am not but she interprets my understanding for anger. |
| 9am to 10am | I staff the call with my supervisor because I like to let her know every single important thing that happens. She tells me to close the case, so I do. She also tells me to call the social worker on that case, so I can explain the situation which I do. The social worker on the case does not seem surprised because she describes the potential caregiver as having an anger problem so it is nothing unusual. |
| 10am to 11am | I start checking the live scan log, so that I can close some of my referrals. Still no results for any of my clients. My phone starts ringing like crazy. several of my potential caregivers have called and are asking what is taking so long to certify their home. I explain the situation but they are getting annoyed, as am i by all those phone calls… |
| 11am to 12pm | we have a meeting where the 2 supervisor’s talk about what they expect from us. they want us to dress more professionally, no jeans. they also want all of us to attend all of the meetings. they also want us to ask more questions, if we don’t understand something. just found out that we will be getting a new supervisor. not too happy because i really like my sup. she is tough but still treats me like a human being which i really like. we are having a going away lunch for her on the 19th. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Lunch |
| 1pm to 2pm | i go to perris for a home assessment. when i arrive, the caregiver happily greets me. i explain the orientation packet with the title 22 procedures. she asks me about what i look for when i certify a house & i tell her that i make sure that there are no safety hazards for the child. |
| 2pm to 3pm | i start checking her house. the rooms are big & clean. the fridge is well stocked w/food. the smoke detectors work. the water is warm. the toilets flush and the home is free from hazard. i go to the backyard and see a dead dog’s carcus rotting. Oh oh. I can’t certify the house & ask her about the dog. |
| 3pm to 4pm | she said that she used to have a dog named “Peanuts” but she was 15 & just died one day. she loved the dog, so much that she couldn’t bare to get rid of the body. she said she thought about freezing it but couldn’t do that because her husband would see it. apparently no one goes in the yard, so she just thought that she would leave the dog there. |
| 4pm to 5pm | i come back to the office & tell my sup what i saw. i explained that there was no way in hell that i would certify that house & she agreed. we staffed it with the regional manager who agreed that i should not be approving the placement of a young child in a home that has a mentally ill woman. i start writing a denial letter regarding why i cannot certify the house. |
| 5pm to 6pm | work finished at 5:30pm, so I am on my way home. i drive on the freeway and it takes me 30 minutes to get home. |
| 6pm to 7pm | |
| 7pm to 8pm | |
| 8pm to 9pm | |
| 9pm to 10pm | |
| 10pm to 11pm | |
| 11pm to 12am |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
I found it on the internet.
What was the application process?
I submitted a resume online. And then, I had to take a test to make sure that I had the right qualifications.
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
Yes, the interview process consisted of two people asking me questions about social services. They, then judged me on how well I answered those 6 questions. I only had one interview, thank god!
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
No, I can’t remember now because it was about 10 months ago.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes, I still get a lot of on-the-job training which is very helpful because it makes me better at what I do.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Before I actually started the job, there was a 3 month training. In all honesty, it was not beneficial because it basically taught us about things that were common knowledge. But I did get paid for those 3 months of training, so I’m not complaining.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Definitely, without having a background in sociology, I would have been at a disadvantage because all of the things I deal with at work are directly related to what I learned in college.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
I never had an internship experience but I did volunteer at a hospital but that didn’t help me at all.
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
I would recommend that the person start working in this field at an early age. Meaning, they should get an internship with the county when they are in college. This opens more doors. Also, it also helps if you know people in this field. Networking will help you a lot.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
I think that a person needs to have an actual desire to help children because if you don’t, then you won’t perform well on the job. This job is very stressful, so you have to make sure that you love what you do.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes, you need a BA in psychology,sociology or social work
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
I would tell them that this is a hard job and you have to be willing to work really hard. This job is very stressful but it is also very rewarding.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes, because I plan on possibly continuing my education, so that I can be a therapist & this job will look good on my resume if I decide to do so.
What are your current career goals?
To stay in the “helping profession” and make a difference by becoming a therapist. I enjoy giving people advice so I would love to do that.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Nope, I pretty much said it all.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | loan assistant | 6 months | $10.00 hr | I assisted senio loan officers which duties such as telemarketing, office work, faxing, typing, etc. |
| Prior Job 2 | volunteer | 1 year | 0 | I volunteered at a children’s hospital in the oncology department. I played with children in the playroom. It was very rewarding, to see the smiles on those kid’s faces. I don’t regret working there & I’m sure that it looked good on my resume. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3.5
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
3.2 | UC Riverside | Sociaology/BA |
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
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