Getting Started Social Work Degree

Preparing for Your Social Work Interview

Individual universities and colleges select and admit students for social work training programmes using their own criteria but they are also required to make a judgement on applicants’ prospective suitability for professional registration with the General Social Care Council.

The admissions tutor will assess your educational and employment details, your personal statement and reference from your UCAS application and will decide if you are to be short-listed and invited to attend for an interview.

It is likely that you will be asked to submit a short piece of written work beforehand based on your experience of social work or social care or on some current topical issue. Some universities may ask you to complete a questionnaire designed to assess qualities such as your ability to work with others, adaptability, resilience, commitment, organisational skills and communication skills.

The interview is likely to explore your understanding of the knowledge and skills required for social work along with the reasons for your interest in social work, your personal qualities and ability to study at the required level.  Interview panels are often made up of the course tutor and an experienced practising social worker. Users of social work services also contribute to the admissions process.

To prepare for your interview you should read widely about social issues so that you are fully aware of the nature of social work and if possible, talk to practising social workers about their role and the requirements and complexities of professional social work.

You will find a selection of books on social work and related issues in most libraries. Some titles to look out for include:

• Coulshed V & Orme J. (4th edition, 2006) Social work practice, Palgrave
• Cree V (ed) (2003) Becoming a social worker, Routledge
• Cree V & Davis A (eds) (2006) Social work: voices from the inside, Routledge
• Davies M. (Ed) (2000) The Blackwell encyclopaedia of social work, Blackwell
• Horner N (2nd edition, 2006) What is social work?, Learning Matters
• Shardlow S. & Nelson P (eds) (2005) Introducing social work, Russell House Publishing
• Thompson N. (2nd edition, 2005) Understanding social work – preparing for practice, Palgrave

You should try to read a national newspaper – look out for articles on social issues,
Tune into news programmes and documentaries on TV and radio.
Read Community Care magazine, a weekly journal available in newsagents, reference libraries and online at www.community-care.co.uk
Be aware of recent government policies and legislation – look at the websites of the Department of Health and the Department for Children Schools and Families.

Try answering the questions below? Preparing answers to these should help you to demonstrate your motivation to undertake social work training and that you are aware of the nature of professional social work and the demands of the degree programme.

What has prompted your interest in a career in social work?

If your motivation comes from personal experience, can you be sufficiently objective to be able to benefit from the programme and work within professional boundaries? 

What rewards, benefits and challenges will social work offer you?

What do you think you have to offer social work?  Are you aware of your own strengths and weaknesses, particularly in relation to your values, skills and knowledge?

How will you organise your time to meet the course, work placement requirements and your personal life? 

What have you done to broaden your knowledge and experience of social work?

What do you know about recent changes in social work practice? Think here about multidisciplinary working, training, occupational standards and regulation - what has driven these changes.

All applicants for social work training will need to demonstrate that they can understand and make use of written material and are able to communicate clearly and accurately in spoken and written English.

How can you demonstrate that you are ready to undertake a programme of higher education or study at Master's level?  What examples can you give to demonstrate that you have the study skills listed below?

Research skills e.g. using library and Internet sources to gather evidence and material for essays, making notes, analysing and interpreting what you have read.

Written skills e.g. being able to write clearly and concisely, organising your work into paragraphs, using correct grammar and spelling, presenting a well-reasoned argument, using references and a bibliography. 

Communication skills e.g. presenting your ideas verbally, discussing and exploring issues with people who may have different opinions, taking part in group activities.

Good luck and remember that thorough preparation is key to a good interview.

(Any formal offer of a place would usually include a statement that it is made on condition of satisfactory criminal, barring and health checks.)