Full Description
So, you've passed your degree and have started your first job. But are you confident about translating the theory into practice? Are you prepared to juggle the workload of a busy social worker? Do you have a plan for your continuing professional development? This practical guide provides a wealth of suggestions to help you to hit the ground running in the early stages of your new career. The book will guide you over the initial hurdles you will face in the transitional phase from student to employee. The Survival Guide for Newly Qualified Child and Family Social Workers provides a range of strategies for managing your time and workload, and offers suggestions for finding support, coping with stress and maintaining job satisfaction. Ways of handling difficult situations - with colleagues, managers and other professionals, as well as service users - which may be new and challenging are also explored. Each chapter concludes with a checklist of key points as a ready reference for practitioners preparing to face the daily challenges of their new professional status. This invaluable guide will be an essential support for all students, post-qualification and returning practitioners specialising in the fields of child and family social work in sustaining their commitment to their chosen profession and working successfully within it.
Contents
Preface. Introduction. Section I. Thud! Professional Status. 1. Developing a Professional Orientation. 2. Transitional Change. 3. Getting Started and What Helps. Section II. Warming Up. 4. Induction. 5. Roles and Tasks. 6. Job Demands and Time Management. Section III. Jumping the Hurdles. 7. Dealing with Stress, Emotion and Exhaustion. 8. Finding Support from a Range of Sources. 9. Taking Part in Supervision. Section IV: Going the Distance. 10. Working in a Satisfying Climate. 11. Building on Reflexive Practice and Analysis. 12. Moving Forward - Promotion and Progression. References. Index
