It turns out though – that even though we are assisting people in finding their way – their choices and their desired outcomes aren’t up to us.  One of the main tenets of social work is self – determination.

The National Association of Social Workers states self-determination is an ethical principle of professional practice.

 “Social workers respect and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals. Social workers may limit clients’ right to self-determination when, in the social workers’ professional judgment, clients’ actions or potential actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others.”

It is imperative that a social worker is aware of their own value system and beliefs so they aren’t subconsciously or subtly moving the client to the clinician’s goals.  You want to act for your client’s best interest but who decides what that is?

Maybe you are a social worker providing case management to an individual in the community who is struggling with medical needs.  The client is diagnosed with diabetes and has dangerously high blood sugars because he isn’t interested in following the diet.  If he continues to disregard the diet it is possible his kidneys could fail and he will have to go on dialysis or he may lose a limb.  As the social worker you may be thinking the choice to follow the diet is obvious but the client doesn’t agree.  What could you do?  You would discuss with him the consequences of not following the prescribed diet and explore the barriers and his feelings.  However, if the client still says “I get it, I am not going to follow the diet.  It is just not important to me” then that is OK.  The social worker doesn’t get to say – let’s throw out all the unhealthy food or I’m not going to help you get assistance if you don’t follow the diet.  His choice may not be the same choice you or I might make but it is still his choice.

Clients often make life choices we wouldn’t choose for ourselves.  Sometimes people prefer to be homeless rather than live in an apartment.  Sometimes people will choose to cheat on their spouse.  Sometime people will stay in a job that seems to be completely unhealthy.  Someone could choose to not take psychotropic medication and still function in the community.   A client’s religious or other cultural values might feel abhorrent to you but it is not on the social worker to change them but to meet the client where they are at and let them live their own destiny.  It can be frustrating for a social worker because you want so much for your client’s to be successful.  Each of the clients we work with know themselves better than we know them.

I had a client once who left a destructive and abusive marriage and really struggled with self-confidence.  Almost immediately after the separation the client came in and said she met someone on an internet dating site.  She went on to share all these reservations she had regarding the man.  Within 2 months she was engaged to him.    In my head – I’m thinking “this seems like a really bad idea.”  She ended up being engaged for about a year and then married this man.  Now, they have been married about 4 years and this relationship seems to be the most stable and affirming that the client has ever been in.  I definitely wanted what I believed was in best for this client but if I had pushed her to what I thought was going to be better for her – I would have been wrong.  She knew herself better than I knew her.

Of course there are times when safety and well-being take precedence over self-determination.  A social worker will use their professional judgement to make that decision.  There are obvious situations such as when a client is suicidal with a plan or planning to cause destructive harm to another where the decision to act against the client’s choice is relatively.   However, deciding to limit a person’s self-determination is often not clear cut at all.

How can you make sure you are encouraging client self-determination?

• Start by asking the clients what they want for themselves? Ask those open-ended questions and see where it goes.
• Help them clarify their goals and set concrete hopes. Make sure they are the client’s goals – not what you think they should work on.
• Be cautious of having an agenda. There might be things you want to cover in a session but the client should determine where the conversation goes.
• Ask yourself – Is this what the client wants or is it me who thinks this is a good idea?
• Is what the client plans to do put them or someone else at imminent risk for harm.
• Consult with other social workers to get different perspectives.
• Remind yourself that your client’s reactions and their situation is not about you.
• Ask yourself – Is there a really good reason I am taking away this person’s right of choice?

As a social worker, self-determination is a value I have a huge affinity for. I have found there are times when I am in a room full of professionals and everyone is stating what they think will be best for the client regardless of what the client is saying they actually want.  As a social worker, I am sometimes the lone voice advocating for the individual’s choice.

Perhaps one of the reasons I became a social worker is that I want to choose my own path and I believe that each person should be able to choose theirs and this career gives me a way to fight for people.

Find Career-Specific Resources

Job sites like Monster and Indeed may be great for finding a job in general, but sites like Social Workers.org will be much more tailored to professionals in the social work field. Also, looking into non-profit job searching sites can prove beneficial through resources like Nonprofitalent.

Networking

A good way to find new opportunities is to connect with people in your job field, not just locally, but around the country and world. The National Association of Social Workers likely has a chapter near you and they often have events that will put you face-to-face with other professionals in the field and could very well open up a new job. Additionally, joining their LinkedIn page will certainly put you in direct contact with these people and make getting to know them much easier. Social Work Chat also gives you a chance to speak with working social workers, letting you become more educated on issues, and more readily prepared for interviews.

Consider Graduate School

Sometimes the best way to find a job is to invest in furthering your education. Social work jobs are divided into direct service, which requires a bachelors, and clinical, which requires a masters degree. Going after a Masters not only opens up more jobs upon graduation, but gives the social work field more time to recover from the economic fallout. Additionally, employment of social workers is set to expand by 19% between 2012 and 2022, so by graduation, there will almost certainly be more jobs available.

Work With Social Work Advocacy Programs

If you’re in between jobs, advocacy groups can be a great way to become involved with issues that are imperative to the social work cause. Volunteering your time for organizations, such as Social Work Reinvestment Initiative and the Council on Social Work Education, will look great on a resume and can also have an impact on the future of social work.

Make Your Resume Stand Out

Focusing on relevant experience and job content is a great way to make employers take notice to what you’re capable of and helps sell the benefit of hiring you. By removing parts of job descriptions that will be useless to potential employers, it makes your resume more dense with content that is closely related to the job you’re applying for. Stay concise and on-point for what you’re talking about. Describe what groups you worked with closely the most; highlighting your experience with social, medical, and psychological issues very well may by the defining attribute to hiring you. In the social services field, it is also crucial to detail the social work skills you have put into practice before.

Here are some great headings for different experience you might have:
Human Services Experience
Community Organizing Experience
Administrative Experience
Program Planning Experience
Clinical Experience
Therapeutic and Advocacy Experience
Child Welfare Experience
Experience with Children and Families
Experience in Gerontology
Substance Abuse Treatment Experience

Working and Interning Abroad

A great way to differentiate yourself from others when applying for a job is to emphasize your ability to adapt and perform in different environments. Since the social work field is expanding so rapidly, there is an increasingly large base of opportunities around the world for becoming further involved. Look into those opportunities to get a new worldview and increase job prospects upon your return home. Various international nonprofits are eager to hire social workers or those currently pursuing a social work degree to come abroad and help with projects. Initiatives such as Global Internships offers a variety of opportunities to volunteer abroad.

Attend Seminars and Workshops

Going to conferences, seminars, and workshops is a good way to educate yourself on specific issues and better yourself as a social worker. As so many of these take place, there are almost always emerging opportunities to expand your breadth of knowledge. The specificity of the events will leave you informed on whatever issue they’re covering, which will provide additional conversation pieces for interviews with potential employers, better educate you on particular areas you may be interested in working in, and help build an impressive resume. Keep an eye on the CSWE calendar of events for upcoming conferences.

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