Your Social Work Career Coach: Prepare for the Questions They’ll Ask at Your Social Work Job Interview

by Jennifer Luna, MSSW

Editor’s Note: Jennifer Luna, MSSW, officially joins us in the Winter 2020 issue as Your Social Work Career Coach. She is a leading expert in social work career development. Welcome, Jennifer!

     As any well-prepared social worker knows, interviews are crucial to the work that we do with clients. The interview gives the social worker an opportunity to establish a rapport with clients and an opportunity for clients to tell their story. We all learn these skills from the “interviewer” side of the table, and many of these same skills are transferable to the job search. The following tips will help you to prepare for your social work job interview!

Prepare for What You Want Them To Know About You

    Wouldn’t it be great if we knew the questions ahead of time? Since that is usually not the case, the best way to prepare for the questions is to know your strongest skills, knowledge areas, transferable skills, and personal characteristics that you would like to tell them about. By preparing your ideal answers, you will feel more in control of the interview.

    The best way to begin to identify what you want to tell the interviewer is to think of work responsibilities that you enjoy, and why. How do you feel when you are in your element? Your greatest strengths and skills are most likely those you enjoy using the most. Remember, especially if you are applying for entry-level jobs, skills stay the same regardless of the area of practice or population. For example, if you are proficient at assessment when working with children, chances are you will be very good at assessing adults, as well. To begin this process of identifying your skills, think about the following and, most importantly, write down the answers. You must do this so you will begin to formulate statements you can articulate to employers. The better you articulate, the more confident you will be.

• Write three skills you enjoy using.
• Write three knowledge areas or issues you are familiar with. Remember, these can be theoretical or practical areas of knowledge.
• Write two specialized intervention skills you have learned.
• Write three transferable skills that you have gained from your experience (not necessarily from your social work experience).

Frame Your Limitations

    Almost every interviewer will ask a question about limitations or potential areas for growth. Don’t use clichés like “I bite off more than I can chew,” or “I spread myself too thin.” Rather, speak confidently of your limitations, by turning them into learning opportunities. Choose a limitation that the position you are applying for could address. For example, if you are applying to an organization working with older adults and don’t have that experience, use that as a limitation. “Although I have done case management for the homeless population, I have never done it for older adults, which is why I am so excited about this position and the opportunity to expand my skills.”

Interview Formats

    You should expect one or two of the following types of interviews:

• Phone interview: A call is typically a first-round screening to see if you’re a fit to come in for a full interview. These interviews are typically 30 minutes, and the same set of screening questions is asked to all candidates.
• Traditional one-on-one interview: You sit down with a solo interviewer and answer a series of questions designed to help them figure out if you’re a good fit for the job.
• Panel interview: You will be interviewed by a panel of interviewers that may consist of different representatives from the organization, including the supervisor, a human resources representative, and other key staff that you may be working with.

Behavioral Interviewing

    Behavioral interviewing has increasingly become the most common type of interview for social work positions. Rather than asking hypothetical questions, these questions inquire about how you handled a certain situation. The premise behind behavioral interviewing is that the most accurate predictor of future performance is past performance in similar situations. Organizations that employ behavioral interviewing have predetermined the skill sets or core values they require for a particular position. These could include:

• decision-making and problem-solving
• leadership/motivation
• communication, interpersonal skills
• planning and organization
• critical thinking skills
• team building and the ability to influence others
• and more specifically for social work, like ethics, supervision, and conflict resolution.

    Questions typically start with “Tell me about a time...” or “Describe a situation....” The best way to answer these questions is by using the STAR technique:

• Situation/Task: Describe the situation that you were in or the task that you needed to accomplish. This situation can be from a previous job, a volunteer experience, or any relevant event.
• Action you took: Describe the action you took, keeping the focus on you. Even if you are discussing a group project or effort, describe what you did—not the efforts of the team.
• Results you achieved: What happened? How did the event end? What did you accomplish? What did you learn?

    When preparing for these questions, remember, you will need to give real-life examples. This is another area of preparation in which you will want to write down a few examples ahead of time. Usually, these stories can be interchangeable—for example, if you have a story about a time when someone asked you to do something unethical, there was likely conflict and the need to speak with your supervisor. These examples can come from work, field placement, volunteering, participation in organizations, or even group projects for class. You may have never disagreed with your supervisor before, but you could discuss a time when you disagreed with a grade that a faculty member gave you. The point is to let the employer know how you resolved the issue or what you learned from it.

Common Interview Questions

    The following are common questions the interviewer may ask, but remember that the best way to prepare is to know ahead of time what qualities (that fit with the job) you would most like to share about yourself. Don’t be afraid to brag a little!

• What counseling strategies are you particularly skilled in?
• How do you view the role of the social worker on a clinical team?
• Please describe your first steps in establishing rapport.
• Describe how you discuss confidentiality with clients. Please include at what point in the initial interview you talk about confidentiality.
• Describe a time you witnessed an ethical dilemma and how you handled it.
• How would you explain HIPAA to a client who is new to social services?
• What led you to pursue a career in social work?
• What type of work environment do you thrive in—team or individual work?
• Are you drawn to working with a specific population? Please explain.
• Is there a specific population with whom you would not want to work? Please explain.
• Passion and commitment to a cause are important in talking to individuals and raising money. What gets you excited about fundraising?
• Would you rather draw up plans and design a program or be responsible for implementing it? Why?
• How would you convey a message with someone (a legislator, a constituent, a stakeholder) you know is going to disagree with it?
• How would you communicate a new program to agency members who may not be willing to add work to their routine?
• What is your approach to the evaluation of [services/operations/programs]? How would you approach that here?
• How would you approach the process of making key contacts in this community?
• Describe your management/leadership style.
• Tell us about a particular project. What was your role? How was it accomplished? What were the results?
• Tell me about a time in which you experienced conflict with a co-worker or colleague. How did you handle it?

    By thinking about your answers to these questions, you’re preparing yourself to answer them and similar ones. Think about stories that demonstrate your strong suits. This will make your answers more genuine and compelling. Going in with a game plan also boosts your confidence and makes you look better to the interviewer. Although you can’t prepare for everything that may happen in an interview, answering questions and writing out skills and knowledge areas will better equip you for success.

 Jennifer Luna, MSSW, writes about social work career development. Jennifer is a social worker, career coach, keynote speaker, and trainer. She serves as Director of the DiNitto Center for Career Services at the University of Texas at Austin, Steve Hicks School of Social Work. Jennifer utilizes a collaborative yet strategic coaching approach to assist social workers in identifying their strongest skills, areas of knowledge, key strengths, and leadership characteristics.