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  • The Terrible, Horrible, etc... Interview (Part II)

    Specifically, how can the sequel to October's riveting saga be averted?

    It took quite a bit of work and several meetings between myself, my academic and internship advisers, and the director of the social work program at my university, but I finally have another interview lined up for this week.

    This is a problem.

    Why is it a problem? It's a problem mainly because this is how job interviews tend to go for me. I freeze up and start babbling.

    I've also been informed that one must do, figuratively of course, a sort of Dance of the Seven Veils whenever one is being interviewed for any sort of job or internship position. You must beguile them, seduce them, convince them that they absolutely cannot live without you. I'm no good at that and never have been, mainly because my philosophy on this sort of thing is as follows:

    "Hire me, train me, and get out of my way because chances are excellent that I'm as smart as you if not smarter, and if you leave me alone and let me do the work I'll get to the point that I will do it better than you do. So stop talking and let's do this shit."

    This is not considered an appropriate sort of thing to say, and probably not even to think, but there we are.

    So, tell me how to whore myself out appropriately in this upcoming interview. Give me tips, pointers. Tell me how to play the game.

    The place where I will be interviewing is a domestic violence shelter who is partners with a local social services agency that I am extremely interested in working with. Without saying too much, the partnering agency is most assuredly not that agency where my first interview went so terribly.

    What do I say? How do I say it? I worry that I'm already coming in at a disadvantage thanks to the fact that I have a penis and am absolutely riddled with testosterone. This shelter doesn't seem to get a lot of male visitors and regards the ones they do get with suspicion. I have a to run a sort of gauntlet every time I call -- although I do understand their caution. Many a man becomes extremely indignant when informed that he can no longer reduce his wife's face to paste, and is thus looking for someone to take it out on. Hence, the gauntlet every time someone calls and they discover that the caller on the other end has testicles.
    Drive it like it's a county car.

  • #2
    Hmmm...that's quite the tough one.

    I'm going to go on the assumption that you already know the laws and such in your area regarding social work, and that you know your stuff (you seem to have a firm grasp on the social worker field in your area).

    Your comment:

    "Hire me, train me, and get out of my way because chances are excellent that I'm as smart as you if not smarter, and if you leave me alone and let me do the work I'll get to the point that I will do it better than you do. So stop talking and let's do this shit."
    Reminds me of something in a book I just started reading. The author took it as a challenge when his dad basically said he (dad) didn't think he (author) could get a job by the end of the day.

    The author went out, and at the last place he went, he basically told the guy, "Try me. If you don't like my work or my work ethic, you don't have to hire me."

    He ended up getting the job.

    Of course, that's rife for abuse and "free work", but it might be an option for you, if you have the means to do that. And I don't know how much that would affect your pay rate, either.

    And, of course, if you're currently employed it does make it much harder to do something like this. There are other extraneous circumstances, too. I'm just tossing it out as a potential option.

    I've also been informed that one must do, figuratively of course, a sort of Dance of the Seven Veils whenever one is being interviewed for any sort of job or internship position. You must beguile them, seduce them, convince them that they absolutely cannot live without you.
    Unfortunately, this is true. Sometimes, though, it's not a matter of convincing them that they cannot live without you. It's a matter of convincing them you're better (or at least better suited) for the role than other candidates. Have you done social work before? How many cases worked over what period of time? What was the success rate? Go into the interview armed with information. If you have information like this, it will go a long way toward helping you.

    You said:

    I worry that I'm already coming in at a disadvantage thanks to the fact that I have a penis and am absolutely riddled with testosterone.
    You could use this to your advantage! If I'm not mistaken, most social workers are female. So in many cases of DV, it's women talking to other women.

    That's great, because the victims are getting help and support, but if the words are coming from a male perspective, and you're saying (in a paraphrased way), "I know that <whoever> abused you. As a man I find that horribly wrong and dishonorable. Women should be treated with respect and courtesy...Let's get through this together..." it may be beneficial and help them break out of and get past the DV. It may help them see that they're above the person that the abuser has made them seem to be, in a different way than a woman may help them do the same thing.

    And if you're asked about it (being male) in an interview, just start off with, "I believe that provides me with an advantage and a unique perspective because..." or something like that.

    Isn't part of social work helping people turn their lives around? Last time I checked, one can help turn lives around, regardless of their "parts". Don't phrase it exactly like that, but you could say that you believe helping people knows no gender (or whatever). It's about the helping.

    Think about what you're selling (because, unfortunately, you are selling). You're not just selling yourself as a social worker there to toe the bureaucratic line and/or draw a paycheck. You're selling yourself as a compassionate, understanding individual with a goal of making the lives of battered women better. You're selling a different perspective. You're selling your experience, knowledge, and hard work.

    I'd also suggest promoting how you "believe passionately in the cause" of social work. Sometimes in interviews, it's about telling people what they want to hear (or what you think they want to hear), even if you have to use empty words to do it.
    Last edited by mjr; 12-07-2015, 12:46 PM.
    Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

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    • #3
      Since they partner with the local services agency you are interested in, you could talk about how on board you are with that.

      Try and find a unique angle. We covered this a little in my school program recently for our physical therapy assisting program. One student is a dance instructor and she ties that in to her treatments. Another is interested in working with local school sports programs, so she can offer that to a clinic she interviews at.

      Also, if you have any community connections that could help promote this shelter's services, that is helpful too. Maybe you have friends in healthcare or law enforcement that could network with this shelter and/or the local services organization via you. Think about how you could promote the services to the community and bring in community support, and that gives you a way to sell yourself to the interviewer.

      Good luck!
      Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

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      • #4
        Occurs to me that a male staff member could be useful at a place like that, both to model for the kids coming in with their mothers what a GOOD man is like (and that not all men are abusive) and to deal with any abusive "men" who do find their wives/SOs, since that type of "man" would not back off from a female staff member but is likely to be easily intimidated into going away by a male his own size/strength.
        "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

        "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

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        • #5
          Update?
          "Crazy may always be open for business, but on the full moon, it has buy one get one free specials." - WishfulSpirit

          "Sometimes customers remind me of zombies, but I'm pretty sure that zombies are smarter." - MelindaJoy77

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth Seanette View Post
            Update?
            Update!
            Drive it like it's a county car.

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