In this episode I talk about 3 ideas I hold with me when I start something new, and how you can adapt these for your first year in social work.
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The Home Visit Guide
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Thank you so much for listening.
Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.
In this episode I talk about 3 ideas I hold with me when I start something new, and how you can adapt these for your first year in social work.
To subscribe to my videos on youtube:
youtube.com/@socialworksorted
Instagram.com/socialworksorted
Email: vicki@socialworksorted.com
Lets connect!
To book in a free 15 minute chat with me, to talk about training, development, courses or membership, head here.
Sign up to my free newsletter
Join The Collective
The Home Visit Guide
The Child and Family Assessment Guide
Email: vicki@socialworksorted.com
Instagram.com/@socialworksorted
Youtube.com/@socialworksorted
Facebook.com/socialworksorted
Disclaimer
Thank you so much for listening.
Please rate, review and share with one other person - it makes such a difference and I really appreciate your support.
[00:00:00] Hi, and welcome to social work sorted podcast. I'm Vicki Shevlin. I host this podcast and I lead social work sorted as an online platform for newly qualified social workers. I provide CPD accredited training to universities and organizations. I provide lots of free resources via this podcast, YouTube and Instagram.
And I have an online monthly membership for students and new social workers. The collective.. If you are interested in joining the collective, or if you would like to talk to me further about training for your university organization. All the information is in the show notes.
In this episode, I want to talk to you about starting something new because as a newly qualified social worker, the clue is in the name, everything is new. It's your first year in social work. And even if you have been as well, a lot of you will have been in social work environment. You will have had placement experiences.
It doesn't mean that everything is going to be the same. Once you step [00:01:00] into social work and you are in that employed position as a newly qualified social worker. Now, obviously a lot of what I share with everything that I share comes from my practice experience, but I'm not a newly qualified social worker anymore. And my aim is to never forget what it felt like to be. In that environment when everything was so new. And whilst I do that through talking to you through reflecting on my own practice, through constantly sharing. Practice skills and stories from my experience, it's also really important for me to experience new things because whilst nothing is the same as starting in your first social work job. There were lots of similar feelings when you start something new.
And I'm going to use the example of my YouTube channel, because that is a new thing that I've started recently. And there were three things that are really helping me. Through this new thing, and it can be anything that's happening in your life. This is just my [00:02:00] example. I've started a YouTube channel. Because as a lot of, you might know if you've listened to this podcast before, whilst I love Instagram and I'm so grateful for the platform.
I'm so grateful for how it allows me to connect with you. I have found myself wanting to move away from it more and more. And I started my Instagram page because I was using Instagram a lot at the time. And I've actually started using Instagram more. I was in I'm consuming more video content on YouTube
and whilst I love Instagram as a platform.
I'm so grateful for it. Bringing me to you, being able to connect to so many of you. And it was a platform that two years ago I was starting to use and be really active on. I have started personally using YouTube. So I'm consuming a lot videos on there. I'm really enjoying watching videos or sometimes listening to. Things via YouTube. And so starting something new over there.
Yeah. It feels a bit scary,
[00:03:00] but it's the platform that I am drawn to and I'm connecting with it a lot at the moment. Also being on YouTube. I love doing Instagram lives. If you go to my page, you can look through all my Instagram lives.
And I like being in that conversation with you. I like you being able to ask me different questions whilst I'm on alive. But it's not possible to add captions to lives. And I get a lot of requests and questions about that from people who were unable to access. Content anything video wise without captions.
So being on YouTube. It means that people can access close captions and it's a lot easier for them.
And it also means, and then I guess sometimes we step into new things because we want something. You, if you followed this podcast for a while, you'll know that I am trying to move my training into organizations, universities, and local authorities. Whilst I love again, connecting with so many of you online.
I want this training to be accessible to everybody. I value the training that I produce. I know how much [00:04:00] of a difference it makes. To students in new social workers in practice. And I want to be able to live, to deliver that. On a bigger scale and it feels a bit scary to say that out loud, but what I've allowed to say it.
And a lot of people who might be interested or want to know more about me and the training I deliver might not be an Instagram. Whereas YouTube, I feel as a platform where I can. Showcase what I can do. I can give you really valuable resources that go beyond a couple of squares on Instagram. But it also means that there are videos I can share with people.
If they are heads of social work courses, if they are heads of learning and development, I can send them a YouTube video. And if they don't know me or they've never seen anything that I've produced or listened to this podcast, it's a really good way for them to connect.
And I'm just showing that in the interest of transparency, because I think it's important when you start something new to understand. Why you are doing it. And we're going to talk about that a little bit later, but the three things that are really helping me through this or three reminders [00:05:00] and three things that I think will really help you. In your first year as a new social worker, or maybe if you're a student and you're listening to this starting place, then. Focusing on comparison. Focusing on why I'm focusing on learning and reflection.
So the first thing that I remind myself to do all the time is to stop comparing, stop, comparing myself to people who have been on YouTube for years and years, and who are obviously incredible video editors. When I am just not. And I'm probably never going to be very good at stuff like that, but I know I will get better.
And I know it's so important for me not to compare myself to somebody who. Is incredibly passionate and really good at video editing. I know. From social work, I'm from having a social work business. That the first time you do anything. It's unlikely. It's going to be any good. And I look back at my early Instagram posts or listen back to my first ever podcast episode. Watch the first [00:06:00] ever Instagram live that I did. And cringe a little bit because it's no way near what it is now.
And in another couple of years, I'll look back on this episode of the podcast or whatever else I'm doing at this time. And I'll probably think that's not so good as well. And that's the problem with comparison because things change all the time and our metrics change all the time. And so whilst I don't ever want to compare myself to other people, I don't really want to compare myself to myself either because I'm constantly growing and constantly changing. And I think that's a really important thing to take through the you into social work. Because the first instinct that so many of us have, I know it's the first instinct that I have is to compare. Why am I not doing as many. visits is this person, or why am I not able to manage this phone call in the same way as the other person? There might be lots of reasons.
It might be that person has been a social worker for 10 more years. And yet it might be that person's working with a different family and they have a different relationship to you. There is a number of reasons you [00:07:00] could list them for days and days, which is why comparison. Is so dangerous because it takes up so much of your time that could be spent on other things.
First thing important when you start something you avoid comparison. The second thing. To think about and a really important question that I ask myself all the time and I've asked myself all the time through social work. Is who are you doing it for? Who are you doing it for? If I was to start YouTube channel. And I was doing that too. Prove a point to somebody. Or I was doing that to get 10,000 subscribers, but. That would not be helpful because who would I be doing that for?
I'd be doing that for my ego, or I'd be doing that to be able to say a particular number and so much of what I've learned. In being online, being in and around social media is numbers are just so unimportant. [00:08:00] They really don't matter. And it's never really been a driver for me anyway, but that's just my example. But if I'm doing it for me, if I'm doing it for me too. Improve my skills.
If I'm doing it for me to push myself forward. If I'm doing it for you, which I am to provide you with an amazing resource to provide you with something that in 10 minutes of a video, you're going to have at least one takeaway into practice the next day, then that matters. The same. Can be sad for you starting in social work, doing something new, whether it's a new task that you're undertaking, whether it's a new family that you're working with, whether it's just everything about having a new job. Remember who you were doing it for? And when you're making any decisions, who are you doing that for as well?
Are you doing it for your manager? Are you doing it for your local authority for things to look good
are you doing it for your senior manager? Or you doing something for a child right here [00:09:00] right now? Are you doing something for that child or that they're going to read back in a couple of years? So it's just a really nice reflective question to think about. And the final thing when you're starting something new is to focus on what you are learning and ask them, ask yourself, I ask myself this all the time.
What am I learning? What is the new thing that I am learning today? YouTube, like I said before. I am not the most skilled when it comes to videos and technology, I'm putting all those things together. I know I'll get better. Because already in making about five videos, I've learnt so many new things that I didn't know before. When I focus on that, when I focus on what I'm learning, instead of comparisons. It puts me in such a better head space to be able to move forward. And again, this is relevant for you as a new social worker. Focus on what is your learning from what you've learned? If something goes, not the way that you want it to, or don't want to say the word wrong, because it's not [00:10:00] necessarily about things going wrong. What have you learned from it and what will you do differently?
Because with anything new. You are always going to be in that position of learning because it is new because you've never done it before. But the thing is it won't always be new. And so whether it is your first phone call, whether that is undertaking your first home, visit your first assessment, chairing a meeting. Constantly putting yourself in the Headspace of what am I learning? Is going to mean that you move forward and you move forward faster. I hope this is helpful for you.
I hope it's a helpful reflection. I think it's really important to share with you when I'm doing something new that I'm never doing it from a place of thinking, wow, this is going to be amazing. There's always a little bit of fair. There's always a bit of a doubt in the back of my mind. There's always the urge to compare either compact or the people, or compare myself to myself. Which is an even worse had space. And no, I'm not a [00:11:00] new social worker anymore, but I absolutely try and put myself in new. Positions in new situations.
So I can remember those feelings and tap into those feelings and connect them with social work. And if this has resonated with you in any way, Make sure that you let me know if this podcast was helpful. Send me an email, DM me on Instagram. Leave me a comment. I'm one of my YouTube videos. And if this is connected with you. And you think somebody else would find it helpful, then please share it with them because it might just make a massive difference in somebody's day.
So with all that in mind, with all those reflections in mind, I invite you to close your eyes. Just for a couple of seconds. Enjoy a pause in your day.
Focus on your breath.
So Chris on all the [00:12:00] positives. That come from doing something new.
And know that you can come back to this little moment of calm. Whenever you need to.
Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this, make sure that you subscribe. And head over to my new YouTube channel where you can subscribe and watch the videos that are up there. Including how to manage difficult phone conversations. Top tips for organization and a video which talks all about Maslow's hierarchy of needs, maybe a few things that you didn't know about Maslow's hierarchy of needs that might change the way you practice.
All the links you need are in the show notes. Take care and see you soon.