SOCIAL WORK WEBSITE - PUSWP-BETH.ORG
Social Work Jobs - Where to Start Looking?
Social work in general is diversifying, and since positions in the human services field are increasing, there are plenty of ways to find a social work job. Almost every newspaper classified section and every online job board advertises vacancies for jobs that require social work skills and human services education. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, "employment for social workers is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2018. Job prospects are expected to be favorable, particularly for social workers who specialize in the aging population or work in rural areas".
Indeed, if you are about to begin your education in social work, watching these trends will certainly help you to position yourself in the right field of expertise. In addition to the courses resulting in a degree, if you spend your practical hours working or volunteering in a specific sector, then finding a job when you graduate should be quite a bit easier than other fields of endeavor. Further, when completing practical work or physical training while working toward a degree, there is a distinct possibility that the social services organization will keep you on for higher ranking positions as they become available. The more education and the more experience that you obtain can be hugely beneficial when applying to job postings within an organization.
Assuming, however, that you have just graduated and must look for a social work job, the first place to start is the university or school from where you received your human services degree. Nowadays, higher education institutes are keen to help their students find relevant employment, as this helps them with future recruiting and admissions. Universities and colleges hold career days which are officially, organized events wherein potential employers visit campuses with the purpose of meeting students. In some situations, the day is informational only, but in other circumstances, the organizations are there to interview and hire social work graduates.
Additionally, it is important to look for social service employees' associations and networks. These types of organizations tap into the social services market and are usually particular about whom may post job vacancies. Some require you to be a member, but that would be advantageous anyway since other benefits are available long term. These associations can be at the city, provincial, state or federal level. That does not necessarily mean they are run by the government, but each area in which social work employees exist, there is most likely a relevant association that understands the unique nature of its membership.
And then, there is the sea of job websites which can be a good or bad thing depending on your own circumstances. Because looking for a social work job, and then applying for jobs online can be time consuming, it is probably wise to review those sites which cater to social work jobs only. This is a broad field and as such, many online job sites can be found with the words "social work" right in the domain name. Only after having reviewed these types of sites, would it be helpful to branch out to general job sites.
Finally, one word of caution. For the very same reason that there are plenty of jobs available, there is an enormous amount of junk to siphon out of your social work job search. Be careful of sites that require sending up front payments to see the postings, and in general be selective in where you post your resumé. For example, using sites where you can clearly see that postings are outdated would be of no benefit to your social work job search. And remember that everything on the internet is public so it does affect how you are perceived if you just randomly stick your resumé everywhere.
