Social Work Field Class Sociology

SOCIOLOGY

Sociology: Social Work Field Class

Part 1

Three Things I Learned From the Podcast

The first thing I learned from the podcast is that having strong communication skills for negotiation is important. Companies these days are looking for strong communicators, be it any field or even social work. Businesses are highly dependent on such good facilitators. Great communication skills are evident from the negotiation skills of a prospective employee who knows his worth and can talk about money, which is a difficult subject. There is another aspect related to communication taking place in negotiation. People who are good at it can tackle difficult topics intelligently and have a problem-solving capability reflected in their negotiation. This would be considered a passing feature for an interview where the employer might be subtly judging this characteristic. Taking initiate and delivering messages with creative answers is a plus point for any new hire. 

The second thing that I learned from the podcast is that the person must be knowledgeable about negotiation, which was salary in the given podcast. They must be fully aware of the information they would have at hand so that their strong position with comprehensive information helps them get what they want. Research is the key in this aspect (Arendt, 2015). 

The third thing that I learned is that one does not have to be assertive to get what he wants. He would have to make a win-win situation for both the employer and himself, for which he would have to let go of some of his desired or expected components of the entire demand for a salary. For example, if he has thought of being hired at $30,000 and the employer is willing to pay him $25,000 only and not a penny more. He would either have to go somewhat down in his demand or think of an added value that the company wants or seeks in his employees to prove favorable for its clients; for example, the podcast mentioned Spanish speaking skills. 

What Surprised and Impressed Me

One thing that surprised me in the podcast was that during the research about the company, one has to research the facilities one can buy within the company’s pay. For example, researching how much I have to pay for the car or house rent and whether that would be affordable at the company’s pay rate. Initially, I thought that I would only have to look onto the Internet about the market pay rate of a specific position that I have to apply for so that I could demand a fair rate from the employer in my interview. I was unaware that I would have to search for each item that I would afford from that specific salary rate that the company would offer and even know about my competitors at the same position. 

Another thing that impressed me is related to the same topic that I have talked about here. A well-equipped person with thorough information about the position he is applying for would display himself as a self-confident and valuable person the organization is hiring. For instance, if the employee has additional skills that would help long-term client retention, like mitigating food allergies for school children for whom the social workers are supporting in various ways, the social workers’ knowledge regarding food allergies would be valuable. It would make him self-confident while negotiating for the salary, even in front of the company’s Executive Director, an exhibition of self-assurance and poise in the social worker’s respective field. 

Discussion of Two Concepts that were Reinforced 

The two concepts reinforced are communication in which not only speaking but listening comes for giving a good, well-thought-out reply and convincing with appropriate skills for which not letting the employer know that you are being repetitive about your anticipated salary but still being able to convey your message. 

It is evident from the podcast that negotiation is not about shouting and keeping your pint at the table in front of the employer. It is about exchanging ideas and thoughts with each other so that both parties could co-exist well in a common circumstance without losing much. A healthy and effective discussion has to be maintained throughout the process, for which listening also matters. One has to know about the other person’s thoughts and what he has to offer so that counter-offer can be made after giving a thoughtful reply with creativity. The employee negotiating for his rightful salary must acclaim the power of speech he should not waste by putting random thoughts on the table. After research, he should be loaded with relevant and meaningful information so that haphazard thoughts and sentences do not seem to be a waste of time. 

Convincing the other person without being over-emphasized about one’s demands is another skill taught in the podcast. The negotiation goal is not to make the employer irritated by repeating things, such as what you are good at or how the company can benefit from him. It is mandatory to put across the same thoughts in other words so that no confusion is left. The style, accent, and clear communication play key roles in convincing the employer to realize that you would be of high worth to the company once you join. For that, he should be convinced to pay extra dollars for the skills you are offering. The employee should maintain his calm and polite tone throughout the conversation, so that cultured mannerism is reflected in his way of communication. One’s educated behavior and emotional intelligence would be shown in his convincing personality and patience, and the rest of the part would be played by his thoughtful choice of words and notions about the salary demand (Indeed, 2021). 

Part 2

Negotiations for a Professional Partnership with Clients and Contributions to the Personal Side of Relationship 

My local field placement is in an agency for child welfare, and my clients are young adults aging out of foster care, so I have worked close to this community. My interactions and the activities that I was engaged with them in have helped me consider that I should build a professional partnership to help them get employment opportunities in the outside world. Research has shown that young people aging out of foster homes have not been able to get considerable jobs that pay well compared to the general young adults in the country’s population that even persists in their adulthood (Edelstein & Lowenstein, 2014, p. 2). 

I was able to negotiate with them if I could be of help to them in assisting in finding employment at suitable places since I told them that I could connect with the Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration that regulates training programs for local youth for gainful employment access (Edelstein & Lowenstein, 2014, p. 3). These programs are for six months to sometimes longer periods until foster youth are stable within their careers. On the personal side, I have been able to gain their confidence and convince them that I can work for their betterment without considering any of my benefits. This helped me gain their trust to generate positive employment outcomes based on their abilities and expectations. I was able to take note of their interests; for example, some young girls liked teaching or boys interested in mathematics, I considered them for teaching and accountancy jobs, respectively. It also involved elusive touches of career counseling. I had to give them advice for the best available jobs in the outside job arena and make optimistic use of their trust to search for the best apposite jobs and their independent living. 

Use of Evidence-Based Practice and Strength-Based Approach to Social Work Practice

I used a strengths-based approach for the youth aging out of foster homes since I helped them fortify the skills and educational abilities required for their desired job. I aided in increasing their interest and building upon their existing capacities so that inherited capabilities outshine when they perform in the outer world. I have learned that social work’s key aspect is the empowerment that could be best achieved by fulfilling the clients’ needs (Pulla, 2017). I taught the foster care youth that being disappointed is not the solution; rather, they must realize that problems exist, accept them as challenges, and become self-sustained to face them confidently. 

Based on the evidence-based practices for child welfare for foster homes, I followed the identification guidelines for employment opportunities for the youth aging out of these homes. I collected data and analyzed it for its relevancy with the targeted community depending on their employment needs, engaging the beneficiary communities to interpret the perception and value of this endeavor to them, assessing the alignment of intervention with the detected needs, assessing any racial or ethnic disparities, enduring the needs fir with the community and federal priorities, and making calculations about the capacity of the organizations who should have financial and cultural resources for the intervention (The Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2018, p. 8). 

Agency Policies, Procedures and Behavioral Norms that I Have Noticed Tending To Undermine and Discourage Social Work Professionalism within My Field Practicum 

Some of the behavioral norms in the outer world that I noticed towards youth aging out of foster homes as social workers like me working for them to get better employment opportunities was their reluctance in hiring them at good posts or even hiring them at all. I tried to convince a school principal, for example, about the young girl who was interested in teaching and had good knowledge of geography; however, she kept reiterating the fact that she does not have experience and might not be able to fulfill the district standards of the teachers such as cultural competency for addressing the diversity in that school. This behavior was seen consistently in the other two neighboring schools as well. I added on to convince them to have her as an intern for a month or two so that she could be trained; they did not respond positively to it.