Most kids don’t think about social workers unless they are forced to interact with one. Those in that situation rarely view them aspirationally. Social workers are important but criminally under-recognized.
As a school guidance counselor, you are uniquely well-positioned to point this career opportunity out to the next generation of workers. But how do identify what students are going to be a good fit? Soft skills are an enormous component of social work.
In this article, we take a look at how soft skills influence the profession. We will also examine how you can present social work as a compelling option to your students.
Should a Lack of Soft Skills Exclude Certain Students?
The premise this article is emphasizing, of course, is that you might be able to identify students with a high aptitude for social work based on their soft skills. Still, it’s certainly possible that you will find students who do not neatly meet any of the criteria we are about to get into, who will still strike you as a good fit for the job.
That’s valid. While the mythology behind soft skills is that they can’t be taught, they can at the very least be nurtured and built upon.
You don’t need to wrangle up your school’s biggest extroverts to begin your social work recruitment initiative. If you think someone is a good fit for the job, put it out there. It’s their choice what they do with the recommendation.
Now, let’s get into it. What soft skills are a good fit for the job?
Communication
The ability to listen actively and communicate information in a way that is efficient and effective. Personality needn’t necessarily factor into how well a person communicates. Your shy students may be just as good at this skill as the talkative ones.
Social workers are constantly interacting with other people. Their job is often to communicate complicated processes to people who may have a wide range of different educational backgrounds. The ability to communicate clearly is very important.
Organization
Social workers also have large caseloads. Every person they work with will have a completely unique set of circumstances that bear consideration and attention. Students who can balance multiple responsibilities at once could potentially be good candidates.
Time management
When social workers are late, it could influence an entire family’s future. Timeliness, as they say, is next to godliness. Students who can’t quite figure out your school’s four-minute passing period protocols might not be a good fit.
Compassion
This is probably the most important ingredient. Social workers need to care, both about the people on their caseload, and about the general concept of social work itself. They need to be passionate about the idea of social services that lift people up while they are down.
The job is so difficult that, without that compassion, bad-fit job candidates will inevitably churn out.
Academic Aptitude
Finally, it’s a good idea to identify students with some academic ability. You needn’t necessarily limit your search to the honor roll but do keep in mind that most social workers go on to graduate school. You’ll want to find students who are up for that.
Why Social Work?
So that’s what it takes to be good at the job. Why do these kids care? Right now, they don’t. Rare is the child who weighs their pillow down with dreams of social work each night. You can change that by pointing out what makes the profession special.
For example:
- Compensation- No, social workers aren’t out there getting rich. Their salaries rarely break into the six-figure range. Still, they pay their bills. They don’t worry about their debit card balance as they stand in line at the grocery store. Social workers in many states are also on pension plans which means they get strong retirement benefits. Retirement plans are extremely abstract for 17-year-olds, but try to bring the point home. They’ll appreciate it one day.
- Variety- So many jobs become dull over time. You go in. You do your work. Tomorrow, you do the exact same thing again. Social workers, at the very least, do not live a life that feels like one interminable day. Their caseload could see them balancing numerous complex situations every single day. This is both a challenge and a reward of the job.
- It’s meaningful work- So common is the story of the thirty-five-year-old [insert soulless business career here] who, after ten-plus years of successful employment, pivots dramatically into something new. Healthcare. Education. Social work. A job that actually makes a difference in the world. For many high school-aged students, the concept of meaningful work is as abstract as retirement. Still, as someone with an impactful job yourself, you are well-positioned to emphasize the rewards of doing work that makes a difference.
You should be honest, of course. Social work can be brutally hard emotionally. Terribly frustrating—as someone who works with high schoolers, frustration is another professional experience you should be well equipped to explain.
As with anything, it is important to paint a complete picture. The ideal social work candidate will be as prepared for the challenges as they are excited about the rewards of the profession.
Conclusion
One other thing to emphasize: Your students may find that there are lots of good scholarship opportunities out there for people who are willing to consider a career in social work. Like healthcare and education, there are major social work shortages.
These shortages, though bad for the communities experiencing them, are an opportunity as well. As you make your pitch, consider having resources handy that will explain potential scholarship opportunities. There is a reasonably high chance that your state has programs in place to usher in a new generation of social workers.
