Hi guys
I have just submitted my application for a master in Social Work and i'm really excited about getting back into education. However, I'm starting to get a little concerned about my job prospects when I qualify. It would be really interesting to hear peoples experiences of applying for statutory qualified social worker positions in Yorkshire. Also as males appear to be under-represented in the profession, are men finding it easier to get interviews/ jobs?
Thanks
Like you, I also live in one of Yorkshire’s poorest areas.
My first piece of advice would be to trust in your own capabilities and not to view these forums as necessarily representative of what your experience will be. By definition, many of those who are seeking support/advice via these forums are those who have had negative experiences in the job market - which is why I have tended to avoid coming on CC as it got a bit dispiriting and began to skew my perspective.
I graduated in September 2011 with an MA Social Work and as a newly qualified black male with placements in adult mental health and statutory child protection I expected to walk in to a qualified statutory post. After all I ticked all the boxes: black, male, CP experience. I’d be snapped up, surely?! Well, in a word…no. My arrogance and complacency was rewarded with precisely 1 unsuccessful interview in the ensuing months.
I then got frustrated with passively completing application forms and waiting to see if I got shortlisted so I changed my strategy in the new year and decided to take ownership of my situation. I sent off speculative applications to a number of organisations I was interested in working for. I did my research and targeted my letters at the senior decision-makers in each organisation.
In one case I received a prompt reply from a Director who invited me in for a chat the following week. I arrived for my appointment and was kept waiting outside her office for 2 hours as she was delayed in a meeting with some senior CQC officials.
Our meeting was pleasant but she made me no promises; nevertheless the following day I followed up with a short letter thanking her for taking time out of her busy schedule to see me.
I then began 'cold-calling' the Principal Social Worker (PSW) in the same organisation. It took many attempts to get hold of him and I eventually decided to leave him a voicemail. And yes, I was very nervous but I did it anyway.
He called me back and we had a short chat and I asked if I could come in and see him, which he was happy to facilitate. I had a number of relevant questions prepared which I asked in our meeting and which demonstrated my mental health knowledge, my knowledge of the organisation and my enthusiasm. I was open about the fact that I had also spoken to the Director. And I was careful to keep the meeting brief.
Another week went by then I received a phone call from the above-mentioned PSW. He and the Director had decided to offer me a position as a Forensic Social Worker. The entire process took less than 1 month.
Sometimes a huge amount of hard work, persistence, humility, and a proactive approach can reap dividends.
If you are passionate about becoming a social worker then go for it and don’t give up! Good luck!
Hardly seems like Equal Opportunities recruitment!
Unfortunately Rupert I think that is the way it has to be now. As long as you can do the job and don't get it handed on a plate...
I have tried following the orthodox and formal routes and had little success. For example, the Local Authority I trained in made a superficial show of following the recruitment process but the reality was that certain candidates were earmarked for the available posts. Nepotism is rife within this particular LA.
Still appears unlawful.
Why does it appear unlawful?
Because of Equal Opportunities legislation / employment law.
Rupert M: Because of Equal Opportunities legislation / employment law.
which bits of the law does it contravene? The practice is commonplace in other industries....
Is there a legal requirement for employers to advertise every job vacancy that arises?
There is no specific legal requirement for employers to advertise every job vacancy that arises. However, the risk in recruiting friends, family or other contacts of current employees without advertising a vacancy externally is that this may give rise to allegations of unlawful discrimination. Where the workforce is predominantly male or female, or comprised of, for example, a particular racial group, informal recruitment methods such as word-of-mouth or personal recommendation perpetuate the existing imbalance and restrict the choice of applicants. This can constitute indirect discrimination against the sex or race that is under-represented in the workplace. As a result, applicants who do not hear about a vacancy until it is too late to apply for it because candidates have been sought through an informal recruitment exercise may be able to claim discrimination on the basis that the recruitment method was a discriminatory arrangement.
so, yes, it may be unlawful and in any case it is not an open and transparent process.
It is poor practice and does not inspire confidence in either the workforce or the genenal public as there has been no opportunity to demonstrate that in 'open competition' you were the best candidate. As you rightly state it MAY be unlawful and I am unaware of any Local Authorities who would ever take on permanent staff on that basis as they would view it as breaching their Equal Opportunities policies.
You talk of Local Authorities and their recruitment process as if they all uphold some utopian notion of openness and transparency which i find puzzling as in my experience the world does not always work like that.
Obviously you have a breadth of experience in social work which as a NQSW I haven't acquired yet and I only have experience of a small number of LAs in my area but I can categorically state that the LA I trained in has used the veneer of 'open competition' to 'select' candidates that were already earmarked for posts. It was common knowledge amongst the staff.
I would rather I secured employment via the means that I have stated above rather than waste my time completing applications, waiting to be shortlisted, interviewing, aptitude tests etc. only to be overlooked by a well-connected candidate that was earmarked for the post all along. We all know it happens. I have many friends who work within the NHS who also state such practices are commonplace.
I should also add that I work in the independent sector.
Yes, few recruitment processes are really totally independent and objective but I just feel that we have to try to keep the pressure up on employers to behave more correctly.
I congratulate you on your initiative and attribute no criticism to yourself personally.
Rupert M: Yes, few recruitment processes are really totally independent and objective but I just feel that we have to try to keep the pressure up on employers to behave more correctly. I congratulate you on your initiative and attribute no criticism to yourself personally.
haha a process demonstrated there known as "back-pedalling furiously"
Out of interest did you offer that same sort of advice to the service users you worked with? That they shouldn't fight tooth and nail for good outcomes because it might be "unfair"?
Just try reading my postings 'romeo...' - the problems are with the employer. The person who got the job did nothing wrong / did nothing unlawful. As they say 'the devil is in the detail.'
I think that " Nepo" guy gets a bad press, after all, we would probably never have heard of him if some people hadn't like him and watched out for him!
A bit like Marmite - you either love him / her or hate him / her (depending on whether you got the job!!!)