steps to placement -...
TRANSCRIPT
TO: MSW Class of 2015
FROM: Greg Merrill, LCSWDirector of Field Education
DATE: January 24, 2014
RE: Your Second Year Placement Process
Welcome back and congratulations on making it to the 25% mark! Ready or not, it is time to turn your collective attention to the second year placement process. As a reminder, the second year placement is more than 90 days in length and usually is more focused, specialized, and complex. Students play a more active role in the process – considering a wider range of options, refining their choices to four placements, interviewing competitively, and re-ranking their preferences.
Today’s presentation is intended to provide you with an overview of the process so that you can maximize your efforts and access all the supportive resources made available to you. For most students, your current field consultant (i.e. the person who facilitates your field seminar) will serve as your case manager throughout the process. This consultant will meet individually with you, will provide you with updates during field seminar, and is available to help you think through and resolve the dilemmas that may arise.
In addition to your home consultant, you will be granted access to an online data base, the Internship Placement Tracking (IPT) system, which provides descriptions of a wide range of available placements and allows you to store your searches and record your preferences. You may also access other field consultants who hold placements of interest on a special placement advising day scheduled for Friday, February 7th. In addition, you may reach out to any current students or alumni and may also access former student placement evaluations in the Social Welfare library.
The goal of this process is to help each of you obtain the available second year placement that will most substantially meet your educational needs. All resources for the second year placement process are available on the Berkeley Social Welfare website at the following URL: http://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/resources-current-students
Should any difficulty arise, please contact your field consultant as soon as possible. For technical assistance using our Internship Placement Tracking System, please email or call Sandra Alexander at [email protected] or 510-642-1306.
Enjoy, if you can, the opportunity to explore, clarify, and refine your goals and interests!
STEPS TO PLACEMENT
STEP 1: Re-Assess Your Educational Needs, Goals, and Interests
Review your original Pre-Placement Questionnaire on IPT Think about what type of social work job you’d like to obtain 1-3 years after
graduation. Consider the populations, problems, types of settings/organizations, intervention modalities, and skills you will need.
Consider how you learn and kind of person (field instructor), context (agency), and structure that best promotes your learning
Complete a second year placement planning questionnaire (p. 3-4) Meet with your “home” field consultant for individual advising
STEP 2: Identify the Four Best Available Placement Options
Spend time on IPT searching out a variety of options Seek suggestions from your home field consultant Seek consultation from your field instructor, other mentors Talk to a wide range of MSW students and alumni Attend placement advising day on Friday, February 7th
STEP 3: Present Yourself Effectively in Writing and at Interview
Take your resume up two notches: redesign, reorganize Attend carefully to how you present yourself during all stages of scheduling
and completing interviews Attend Resume and Interviewing enhancement workshops (see schedule) Use available check-in time in field seminar improve your ability to present
yourself successfully in professional situations
STEP 4: Review and Re-Rank Your Options Post-Interview
Carefully review your self-assessment from STEP 1 Consider all of the information you received and intuited from your
interview experience about the people and setting Seek advising from consultants and others as needed Learn about how you make decisions, what comes up for you Trust the process – the universe has a plan . . .
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SECOND YEAR PLACEMENT PLANNING QUESTIONNAIRE1. After reviewing the preplacement questionnaire you submitted before beginning your MSW,
summarize how your interests, goals, needs, and/or skills have changed and/or solidified.
2. What are the exposures to populations or settings or the skills that you most need to reach your career goals?
3. What do you know about yourself as a learner? Ideally, what kind of person (field instructor) would you prefer to learn from? What types of on-site learning opportunities appear to best help you advance your competencies and confidence? What motivates and inspires you?
4. Describe any logistical or practical needs related to transportation, scheduling, commuting distance, stipend eligibility, disability accommodations, and/or caregiving responsibilities.
5. In less than three sentences, describe what you are looking for in a second year placement.
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PLACEMENTS OF INTEREST
Name of Placement What Interested You1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
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TIMETABLE FOR THE SECOND-YEAR PLACEMENT PROCESSFriday, January 24 ATTEND Live Orientation, Social Welfare Library, 3-4:15 pm
Internship Placement Tracking (IPT) OpensUsername and Passwords distributed at Orientation
Monday, January 27 - MEET with Field Consultants to Refine Interview OptionsTuesday, February 18 Begin by meeting with your “home” Field Consultant. PLEASE
BRING YOUR COMPLETED DECISION MAKING GUIDE TO THIS MEETING.
Check with current student, if applicable, and review placement evaluations in Social Welfare Library, if applicable.
Friday, January 31 Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) Information Session with Robert Ayasse, 1-2 pm, 5 Haviland (required if interested in PPSC)
Tuesday, February 4 Graduate Student Funding Opportunities Workshop, 9-10 am, 5 Haviland Friday, February 7 Graduate Student Funding Opportunities Workshop, 9-10 am, 5 HavilandFriday, February 7 Placement Group Advising. This will provide students with an Opportunity to consult with other field consultants who may hold cross-listed placements of interest, 2:30-5 pm, Social Welfare Library.
Monday, February 10th Writing a Professional Resume workshop with Emerald Templeton, 4-6 pm, 5 Haviland
Tuesday, February 18 SUBMIT 4 interview choices on IPT by no later than 12 midnight Friday, February 21 CHECK IPT after 5 pm to see which interviews were approved UPLOAD updated copy of your resume to your Student Detail page on
IPT
Monday, February 24- IMMEDIATELY CONTACT ALL assigned placements to set interviewsMonday, March 31 SEND resumes and application materials as requested INTERVIEW at ALL assigned placements BEFORE the deadline SEND personalized thank you notes INFORM relevant consultants how your interviews went and your
general feelings about each site (email ok)
Friday, February 28 Interviewing Skills Enhancement workshop with Greg Merrill,12:30 – 2 pm, 5 Haviland 5Monday, March 24- SPRING BREAK (note: some interviews are held over Spring Break)Friday, March 28
Tuesday, April 1 RE-RANK AND RE-SUBMIT CHOICES ON IPT by no later than 12 midnight
Monday, April 7 CHECK IPT after 5 pm to see your confirmed placement
Wednesday, April 9- CONTACT your assigned placement to INITIATE clearance processesFriday, May 9 and to RESERVE key orientation and start dates CONSIDER calling, emailing, or sending thank you cards to agencies that
you did not select or who did not select you (keep the door open!)
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AVAILABLE RESOURCE PERSONSYOUR FIELD CONSULTANTS
Listed below are the field consultants’ office locations and contact information. Please schedule a meeting with your “home consultant” and attend the group placement advising day on February 7th to access other consultants.
Name Office Location Email Phone Robert Ayasse (C&F, PPSC) 332 Haviland [email protected] 642-0303Luna Calderon (CMH) 329 Haviland [email protected] 664-9183Andrea Dubrow (MAP) 314 Haviland [email protected] 643-6663Christina Feliciana (C&F, IVE) 304 Haviland [email protected] 642-2424Jennifer Jackson (CMH) (on maternity leave; will return toward semester’s end)Greg Merrill (HLTH) 313 Haviland [email protected] 643-6397Catharine Ralph (C&F, IVE) 302 Haviland [email protected] 642-8251Barrie Robinson (HLTH, GERO) 206 Haviland [email protected] 642-7176
Sandra Alexander, Field Education Assistant [email protected] 642-1306
YOUR CURRENT FIELD INSTRUCTOR AND OTHER MENTORS
Often your current field instructor or mentors who know your knowledge, skill, and style well can provide meaningful input that can help you assess your educational needs and goals. Ask for dedicated time with them to discuss and explore.
OTHER STUDENTS
Please feel free to request consultation from any student currently placed in a placement that you are interested in. The master placement listing for first year and second year students is available on the bulletin board across from the Haviland Commons.
You are also free to consult the placement evaluations from prior years that are organized in binders and available in the Social Welfare Library.
In our experience, students can often give a helpful description of the agency’s culture, the field instructor’s style, and the range of duties they are assigned and skills they are learning. Please understand, however, that the person-environment fit between student and agency varies widely. In other words, a placement that is a great match for another student may not be a great match for you, and vice versa. Your field consultant can help you sort out conflicting information that may arise.
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AVAILABLE INFORMATION OR SKILL DEVELOPMENT SESSIONS
Orientation to the Second Year Placement Process (Required)
Friday, January 24th, 3-4:15 pmSocial Welfare Library
Greg Merrill
Pupil Personnel Services Credential (PPSC) Information Session (Required for eligibility to PPSC Program)
Friday, January 31st, 1-2 pm5 Haviland
Robert Ayasse
Graduate Student Funding Opportunities Tuesday, February 4th, 9 am or Friday, February 7th, 9 am, 5 Haviland (choose one)
Robert TeagueJoshua Dullaghan
Group Placement Advising: Meet other Field Faculty Consultants who hold cross-listed placements of interest and can describe available opportunities in other settings
Friday, February 7th,2:30-5 pmSocial Welfare Library
Field Faculty
Writing a Professional Resume (workshop) Monday, February 10th,4-6 pm, 5 Haviland
Emerald Templeton
Interviewing Skills Enhancement (workshop)
Friday, February 28th12:30-2 pm, 5 Haviland
Greg Merrill
All resources for the second year placement process including a word doc version of this handout are available on the Berkeley Social Welfare website at the following URL:
http://socialwelfare.berkeley.edu/resources-current-students
To navigate there, go to www.socialwelfare.berkeley.edu. Click on “Field Education” and then click on “Resources: Current Students.” All related files and links will appear at the top of the page.
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