Changing Careers The Role of a Social Worker - CareerAlley

Changing Careers The Role of a Social Worker - CareerAlley We may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners. Never too old, never too bad, never too late, never too sick to start from scratch once again. Bikram Choudhury. Those looking for a change of career may not have considered the jobs associated with social work. Social workers can come from all walks of life and carry out an invaluable role supporting the most vulnerable people in society. They often work long hours carrying out a selfless task that requires patience, resilience and motivation but it can be highly rewarding. Social workers make a difference to individuals who may be suffering from many problems caused by the stresses and strains of modern life or disabilities which affect the way they function within their community. What is a social work? A social worker is a professional who works with people and helps them manage their daily lives. They can help people adapt to psychological and physical trauma which may lead to disabilities that manifest in things like mood swings and negative behaviour such as anger and aggression. They often work closely with the Police to resolve issues that, without social work input, may lead to things such as repetitive offending, drugs, drink and depression. Other tasks for social workers may involve conducting research in for example, childrens services; investigating the impact of child abuse and working for independent fostering agencies who aim to treat the children in their care holistically in order to develop the best possible outcomes. Areas of Social Work: The key areas of social work include child protection, elderly care and mental health as well as the work done whilst on-call in an emergency setting and finding solutions alongside local authorities for those at the fringes of society. Another important area of work for social workers is foster care. Within this sphere, the role of a social worker is to support, train and mentor foster carers in addition to checking the suitability of the home environment for potential and existing foster carers. The job can be very demanding and it is important to maintain a level of perspective and focus in order to avoid taking on the stresses and strains encountered when dealing with other peoples issues. Social workers care, look after, help and support: When called on to help, for example within a healthcare team, a social worker will focus on assessing your needs, whether they are support from friends and family, living arrangements or any other social issues that impact upon an individuals daily life. The key to good social work is dialogue and exemplary communication in addition to respecting different cultural perspectives. Social workers interact regularly with their service users by phone and through personal contact by scheduling visits. Their tasks include helping you make the most of the resources available to you within your community. When looking at social work as a profession, it is a very rewarding career that can lead to many positive personal achievements that will ultimately make a difference in the society we live in. With the wide variety of jobs that come under the social work umbrella, there will never be two days the same in the life of a social worker. Bio: Outcomes UK are specialists in providing interim management within the social care sector. This is a Guest post. If you would like to submit a guest post to CareerAlley, please follow these guest post guidelines. Good look in your search. Visit me on Facebook