1. What exactly do you do?
- What field is your job in?
Social Work - What is your job title?
Social Worker - Please provide a brief description of the firm or organization that you currently work for (size and general description of what type of organization it is)
I work for the Weymouth Office of the Department of Children and Families (Formerly Dept of Social Services or DSS) This is the state wide child protection agency in Massachusetts
- How long have you been employed in this position?
3.5 years - How many hours do you work a week on average?
40 - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
40 - Please provide a BRIEF description of your duties and responsibilities. (job description)
͢__둢 Provide professional child welfare social work services within the Dept of Social Services
͢__둢 Assess, develop, evaluate and monitor client service plans and programs
͢__둢 Assess for risk
͢__둢 Respond to emergencies and initiate court action
͢__둢 Track and monitor individual caseloads
͢__둢 Make home and foster care visits
͢__둢 Coordinate visits between children and family members
͢__둢 Transport children
͢__둢 Provide services for the protection of children
- What was your gross income last year? Please include any bonuses or incentives received.
42000 - What is your expected gross income for this year? Please include any bonuses or incentives you expect to receive.
45000 - Please list any benefits you have (Please include number of weeks vacation, sick leave and type of health insurance, retirement plan 401k)
2 weeks vacation, 3 personal days health insurance, 401K - Do you feel you are under/well/over compensated at your current position?
under
2. Work environment!
- Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Explain
It does- I like that aspect of my job as my collegues are great and we get a lot of insight from each other.
- 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
The nature of my job has me working closely with my supervisor as any significant desicions on a case have to be run by her. I have weekly supervision with her as well. I work collaboratively with my co workers as we all have different skill levels and knowledge and are able to gain that from each other.
- Please rank in order of importance from 1-8 (1- most important 8- least important) Assign each number once.
- 2 Income
- 3 Work Environment - co-workers
- 4 Work Environment - supervisors
- 7 Benefits
- 5 Hours
- 6 Level of responsibility
- 1 The actual "work" you do at your job
- 8 Job Title
3. How should someone new to the workforce get a J-O-B like yours?
- 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 they really look into what the job entails and make sure they are able to handle the responsibility
- What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours? Please be specific and explain why (e.g., social skills, organization skills, technical skills)
patience, compassion, empathy, and organizational skills,
- Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
you need to be familiar with the issues that affect families today - What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Utilize your co workers if you get stressed or overwhelmed as they know exactly what you are feeling and going through b/c we have all been there
4. How did you get your J-O-B
- How did you find your current job? (e.g. newspaper, internet, referral, etc.)
referral - What was the application process for your job? (e.g. submitted resume, paper application, electronic application, all, etc.)
submitted a resume and cover letter - Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail? (e.g., number of interviews, who you interviewed with, group interview, individual interview, etc.)
I did- I had an initial interview and then was called back for a 2nd interview with our Area Director - If you can remember, what questions were you asked at your interview?
I got a scenario and had to explain how I would handle it and I had to talk about my resume expierence - Is this the job / field you planned to work in?
Yes - If your job is in a different field from your original plan how did you get here? Explain (Plan can be from high school/college/post college/personal plan)
5. Background: Are you qualified?
- Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
There was training- we had a 4 week training with 1 day out of each week we spent at the office and shadowed other social workers - Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain
The training was very in depth but very much "book information" The actual job is very different - Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain
In some ways- you mostly learn when you are actually on the job and doing the direct work with the families - If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare you for your job?
6. The Future and Beyond (FINAL SECTION)
- If someone were to observe you at work, what would he or she say is "fun" about your job?
Sometimes working with the kids. - What is (are) the most fulfilling aspect(s) and least fulfilling aspect(s) of your current employment? (e.g. fiscal, spiritual, type of work, hours, commute, compensation, etc.)
Most fulfilling- helping families get stronger and healthier through your work with them. Least fullfilling- dealing with all the red tape as we are a government agency - Is your current employment part of your career plan? Why or why not?
It is- I am challenged daily by my job and learn new things all of the time - What are your current career goals? (Can be broad or specific)
to continue in this field - Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
N/A
7. A Day in the Life Of...
- 7 am - 8 am
N/A - 8 am - 9 am
N/A - 9 am - 10 am
check my voicemail messages and my emails - 10 am - 11 am
I picked up 2 children at their daycare and brought them back to our office so I could supervise a visit with their parents - 11 am - 12 am
same as from 10am-11am - 12 am - 1 pm
- 1 pm - 2 pm
I caught up on my "dictation", notes from what I have done with my clients in the last few days - 2 pm - 3 pm
went to a home visit for one of my families - 3 pm - 4 pm
I picked up 2 children at their daycare and brought them back to our office so I could supervise a visit with their parents - 4 pm - 5 pm
came back to my office and caught up on my documentation - 5 pm - 6 pm
- 6 pm - 7 pm
- 7 pm - 8 pm
- 8 pm - 9 pm
- 9 pm - 10 pm
- 10 pm - 11 pm
- 11 pm - 12 pm