When training to qualify as a social worker, we learn generic skills. We don’t learn how to be a learning disabilities social worker or a fostering and adoption social worker; those are additional skills we develop as we gain experience. Engaging service users to determine the care they receive, effective communication with service users and their support networks and effective assessment skills are commonplace across most social work roles. Think about the transferable skills you have gained and where you might need extra training before applying for a role in a different field.

Many social workers these days may be concentrating on avoiding the latest round of redundancies or getting through the next month without burning out. But we should always try to stay in control of our long-term professional development by adding new skills and gradually developing our knowledge base. There is no better way of doing this than gaining experience in a variety of settings. It’s refreshing and could help you develop a renewed interest in the profession.

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Join recruitment experts and fellow social workers for Community Care’s live online job hunting advice clinic on 30 January from 7-8pm.

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I’ve witnessed social workers moving from children’s services to adult services who have brought exceptional assessment and report writing skills that have otherwise been lacking in the team. As a result, they’ve rejuvenated those skills in the rest of the team. Similarly, I have seen moves in the opposite direction that have brought creative thinking to a children’s team, where a systematic, structured approach is often the norm. It’s exciting to see the difference a single person can make by bringing new approaches and ways of thinking to a team.

In this age of personalisation, which involves putting service users at the center of their care, it’s ironic that professionals and organisations still find it difficult to work effectively with one another. Changing fields of social work can help integrate professionals and methods of working, which is to the benefit of service users.

If you are considering making the brave leap into another field of social work, don’t be afraid to ask a lot of questions. Clarify from the outset what kind of support you would receive and what the organisation would expect of you. Talk to as many social workers in that field as you can, to find out what the role entails.