Graduate scheme ideas delivered by the experts

Making the transition from university to the world of work can be extremely hard. First of all, it seems to require young people in their final year or recently graduated to know exactly what they want to do in professional life. Some subjects lend themselves in a very straightforward fashion to specific career paths: medicine and law are just two examples taken from the academic realm, while vocational courses tend to be even more job-oriented. However, a number of other degree options are far less suggestive of a particular direction to go down after graduation – take history, theology, and philosophy for instance. In one sense, students graduating from the latter category of humanities subjects have an advantage: they have greater freedom to choose which graduate jobs or graduate scheme they will postulate for. In another sense, the humanities students are unfortunate: such is their flexibility that they often find themselves caught up in the complex situation of indecision and internship schemes.

The internship culture has a negative press. In the worst case examples, bright young graduates positively brimming with ideas are taken on by an enterprise that exploits them; using them for only the most basic tasks such as archiving press and opening mail. Obviously, these internships are to be avoided. But how do graduates know to steer clear of such bad practices? What they absolutely need to remember is to do their research. Careers websites will often supply descriptions and insider lowdowns of internship programmes and as a rule, the more established the employer, the less likely graduates are to find themselves being used for cheap or free services.

An even more certain way to avoid exploitation on the job or internship market is to apply for graduate jobs or a graduate scheme that promises a competitive starting salary. Careers services online tend to figure a large number of recruiters from lucrative fields such as law, consultancy, advertising and retail. The better websites will not narrow themselves in such a way though and may offer details of opportunities in publishing, charity, not-for-profit and the public sector. And, if the amount of choice is just too vast and overwhelming, the very best careers sites allow graduates to complete psychometric tests and receive news of recruitment events so that the whole affair becomes more personal.

Please visit http://www.careerplayer.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.careerplayer.com/

4e89de91e6d52

Social worker jobs: a brief job description

Those employed in social work jobs work with people who have been socially excluded, or coping with a crisis in their lives.  Rather than providing long term support, social services jobs are designed to enable service users to help themselves.  They would typically act as guides, advocates or critical friends in order to achieve this aim.  Those who are thinking about social worker jobs will need strong social skills, but also the ability to remain unbiased and keep an open mind in difficult situations.

Social workers may be required to be involved in a variety of settings, depending on the needs of individual service users.  Typical places might be the service user’s home, schools, hospitals, and other public sector organisations.  Social workers need to be able to work independently but should not expect to be unsupported.  Once qualified, social work professionals are generally supported by social work assistants.  Health and social care staff are also likely to work closely with those in social worker jobs.  Recent government health legislation focusing on the integration of these sectors means that professionals in these sectors often work in multidisciplinary teams.

The majority of social work jobs will involve working with young people and their families, so a willingness to help this group is important in this sector.  Social workers may also work with young offenders, those with mental health conditions, school non-attenders, drug and alcohol abusers, people with learning and physical disabilities, and the elderly.

Tasks can vary widely, from practical one-to-one help to looking after the wider organisation of the lives of vulnerable people.  As with many jobs, paperwork is a necessity in social services jobs.  Social workers will have to spend a sizeable amount of time undertaking and writing up assessments, often together with with medical and other professionals.  A lot of their time will be spent conducting interviews with service users and their families, to ensure they keep on top of their situation.  This will often lead to a need for social workers offering information and counselling support.  There is an active decision making element to social work jobs, in that social workers organise and manage packages of support to enable service users to lead the fullest lives possible.  Liaising with other agencies is an important part of the job, and recommendations will sometimes have to be made.  social worker jobs also demand that professionals keen accurate records of their work, and are sometimes called upon to give evidence in court.

Please visit http://www.sanctuarypersonnel.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.sanctuarypersonnel.com/

4d2387e417f95

Why I opted for internship jobs after finishing university

I always knew it was going to happen, but somehow it still surprised me when it did.  In my third year at university, talk turned to graduate jobs, and I realised that I was going to have to make some plans for my life.  Unlike some of my friends, who had spent their summers in internship jobs with a view to getting on a graduate scheme at a big organisation, I had decided to journey to far flung corners of the world during my breaks from university, teaching English in Asia and South America.  This left me feeling rather like a blank canvas, which I tried to see as a positive thing, and so I set about trying to think about what kind of positions might be fitting for me.

The first thing I did was to make an appointment at my university careers service.  The problem with this, though, was that they had a wealth of information about how to get graduate jobs in your chosen area, if you had worked out what that was.   The staff there seemed a little fed up of confused finalists expecting them to provide answers to all the tough questions in their lives. It was apparent that I was going to have to do a little more thinking by myself before I could enlist the help of somebody who didn’t know me.

I decided to start scanning all the job adverts printed in newspapers, to get a better idea of opportunities that were available.  Part of my job search involved expanding my outlook to get a better sense of potential career ideas, beyond the classic graduate scheme jobs and ‘professions’, which I didn’t think were for me.  From scanning a large number of these I managed to get a good grasp of the kind of roles that interested me and their requirements.

I could see that the kind of jobs I was interested in were mainly in the charity sector, but most of the jobs advertised required that applicants needed to have a demonstrable interest in the charity sector and some work experience.  I was concerned that this might be difficult for me to illustrate, so I decided to apply for internship jobs and work experience in the charities that I was interested in.  I was offered a couple of placements at medium sized UK charities.  After working as an assistant at both of these for a couple of weeks, I was convinced that this was the kind of thing I wanted to be doing. After a few weeks, I had a phone call from somebody I had worked with at one of the charities, saying that there was a vacancy that they would like me to fill. I was pleased that I hadn’t gone for a graduate scheme like most of my friends, and the graduate jobs market had not been quite as much of a nightmare as I had expected!

Please visit http://www.careerplayer.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.careerplayer.com/

4cfdf8a38e9fb

Social worker jobs offer help to vulnerable people

Social services jobs help to provide social justice for the more vulnerable members of society. As a professional career, social worker jobs appeared in the early twentieth century with a number of links to the medical professions. In the early twenty-first century these jobs are of tremendous value in providing practical help and support to those in need. Social work jobs take many forms, but what unites all branches of this area of work is an effort to support other people to live their lives.

Within the social services a distinction is normally made between social work and social care. Since April 2003, in order to be a social worker it has been necessary to obtain an honours degree in social work. Social workers are involved at a high level in the social care structure and are trained to provide advice and to address complex issues which arise. Regularly they work together with others (such as the police and doctors) to assess individuals’ needs. By contrast, social care workers work on a more personal level with no more than one or a few individuals, helping them with the everyday tasks of life. Social care workers often do not require any qualifications when they are first employed because they will be given education during the course of their work. Working as a social carer enables people to study for relevant qualifications (such as NVQs) whilst they work. With these qualifications people can take on increased responsibility and can progress to study for the required qualifications to become a social worker.

The essential part of social care is building relationships and trust with other people. Many social carers are employed in residential accommodation or in individuals’ own homes. In this setting one role might be assisting old people with dementia and other mental illnesses. A social care worker might be the only person these people see all day and the help that social carers give is invaluable in helping these people maintain a decent quality of life. Training that might be required for this work would include handling and lifting individuals in care.

People take social services jobs for all sorts of reasons and come from a variety of backgrounds. Social care jobs provide excellent experience for moving onto social work jobs at a later date. social worker jobs are very varied and experience in social care can help practitioners decide which area of social work they want to specialise in.

Please visit http://www.socialworkandcarejobs.com/ for further information about this topic.

http://www.socialworkandcarejobs.com/

4cb51264b8746