April 13, 2011

The UCLA 2nd Year MSW Internship: Social Work Interview Questions and Other Resources

I am currently going through the dreaded second year internship interview process. While the first year internship is assigned, students go through a formal interviewing process for their second year. The UCLA MSW program limits its students to elect 2 agencies to interview with. For those interested, a list of possible placement agencies can be found HERE.

Preparing for interviews is definitely stressful, but having a solid list of interview questions from which to practice from is a great way to clam the nerves. Below is a compilation from various sources around the web, which I felt were particularly helpful in my interview prep:

Questions/interview prompts compiled from UCLA Faculty:

1. Please tell me about a particularly difficult case in which you felt challenged by.
2. Please tell me about a case/client, in which things did not go your way. How did you rectify the situation?
3. How do you visualize yourself as a social work professional after you graduate?
4. What are you looking for in a supervisor?
5. (Micro students) What theoretical orientation are you inclined to?
6. How do you typically handle countertransference?

Links to other helpful resources:

1. A Social Work World
2. The Social Work Career Center

3. Student Handout_Smith College


4. University of Texas Interview Questions

2 comments:

Lindsey said...

I just came across your blog when looking for the list of 2nd year placements that UCLA offers. I'm about to finish up my first quarter of my first year in UCLA's MSW program and I can confidently say that this blog is extremely helpful. I know you aren't posting anymore but i so appreciate the posts that you have from your two years at UCLA. I'm actually also at an inpatient psych ward right now (Olive VIew), so I feel like your first year posts are especially relevant to me.

Thanks!

Tony M. said...

Good post.