More Education & Experience = Less Opportunity?!

[winneythepooh7]

I know that a lot of this has to do with my field but I am feeling really discouraged lately about work.

I went on an interview yesterday for a School Social Worker position. I don't honestly know how it went but I went out of there feeling really bad about myself.

First of all, it turned out to be a group interview which they never told us. Second of all, the position is for a SOCIAL WORKER and it seems like outside of 2 of us, the rest had degrees in everything else but SW.

I have never worked directly in a school and it seemed that most of the people at the interview had, either as a teacher or guidance counselor or some other form of support staff. Then throw into the mix that like 1/2 of the group IS NOT EVEN LIVING IN NYC at this time!!!!

I am just bummed because it is one thing to compete with OTHER SOCIAL WORKERS but when I have to compete with other people who are not even in my field, and on top of that, not even LIVING in my city, it is discouraging.

Everyone says I need to get out of non-profit and go to a private agency or a hospital because it's not gonna change anytime soon. I am planning on doing that I think once I get my SW license.

I think the fact that it was a GROUP INTERVIEW made me feel even more bad about myself because it shows who has more experience than you. And when you are not prepared for that situation, it is even worse.

Sometimes I think that I wasted my time and my money getting a Master's in something that they seem to be giving jobs to people with degrees and experience in underwater basket weaving.

[wordsmith]

Interesting. I think in my state, you can't be a school social worker without the appropriate degree. I have background and experience in social work, but without an MSW, I don't think a school district would hire me, let alone interview me. It would be like going in for a teaching job without an ed certification, and saying, "But I'm really good with kids."

It really surprises me that they are giving social work jobs to people with degrees in other ares. But I will tell you that if you go into the private sector, it may actually get worse, because private organizations may not be held up to the same laws and restrictions as public ones, i.e., they may have even more free reign to hire whomever they want, regardless of degree or area of specialization. Case in point, the couple of years that I did social work (mainly working with youth and families in a poverty stricken area, lots of educational services, a little family service), I worked for a church. A privately run institution, they weren't required to hire someone with a degree in social work. My degree was in English and education, and I was hired for that background and area of expertise (lots of ESL, lots of kids who struggled in school). The second year I was there, I was made program director, and got an assistant outreach worker...who had just completed her degree in social work. We were an AWESOME team.

[paperjam1015]

TO me private is better because they have more flexibility to hire. and more flexibiliity to allow specialty positions.

Don't worry about your group interview. That is kinda shady that they didn't let you know it would be a group interview. Whenever I left an interview that was strange it always made me wonder whether I actually wanted to work for that org. If they shaft you as an interviewee what will they do to you when you work there?

[wordsmith]

Originally posted by paperjam1015
TO me private is better because they have more flexibility to hire.

Exactly...but b/c they have more flexibility, her degree wouldn't automatically put her at the top of the list like it would somewhere where that's mandated criteria for hiring.

[paperjam1015]

Exactly...but b/c they have more flexibility, her degree wouldn't automatically put her at the top of the list like it would somewhere where that's mandated criteria for hiring.

Right, but private agencies have more flexibility to really evaluate what is important to the postition. Is the degree really what is important or is it the skills?
A degree means little. It's what you actually know that is meaningful.

So it's not as easy in this situtation to get the job, but they are hiring based on fitness for the job not the title of the degree. Which means, hopefully, they would get the best candidate.

[winneythepooh7]

I think paperjam said it best about the shadiness of the agency. As cool as it seems to have a 10-month position with the summers off, I still have my reservations after that interview. Did I forget to mention that it is also a CONTRACT position which leaves me uncomfortable. Too many people I know who worked in a contract position got let go at a moment's notice due to lack of funding or some unrelated trivial issue. I am feeling better today and enjoying where I work for the moment. I love all my clients, the environment and my co-workers are great. That is very rare in this field.

[pittgirl]

I have to agree with paperjam and stating that working for a private agency is ten times better than a public/non profit. The privates are able to hire who they want and go into more detail. Plus experience matters more to them than any degree.
I have worked for both and I work in the same field as winney and it is a strict competition out there. Plus it's really hard to get into a "great" agency, I was lucky enough to get into one back home. Which sucked because I had to leave, I just hope the agency I amworking for down in Philly is just as good. At my agency at home, over half of the work staff had been there for seven years plus.

A contract position is not always as good, I had a job offer down here to do contract work, but I was going to have to pay my taxes right out of my pocket.

Winney-sometimes it takes going to another agencies interview to make you realize how lucky you have it where you are at. I coudln't tell you the number of times I went to an interview somewhere and I felt better about my current position when I left.

[paperjam1015]

Winney-sometimes it takes going to another agencies interview to make you realize how lucky you have it where you are at. I coudln't tell you the number of times I went to an interview somewhere and I felt better about my current position when I left.

I had an interview where I nearly cried afterwards b/c I realized how crappy my old agency was.

[pittgirl]

Wow that is pretty bad paperjam, I had an interview once like that but thankfully I got the job.

[paperjam1015]

ha. yeah really. It made me sick.

But hopefully I will get a great job next.

[pittgirl]

Your next job will be a better job, you will know what to look for when you go for interviews.

Actually no place can top the one place I worked for, they actually hired someone with less experience and education to do a BA level job...she screwed up everything and everyone bailed out at once. The agency was left hanging to dry after that.

[maxwell78]

They all want their hirees to have all the experience and education in the world, but aren't willing to pay for it.