Where’s the roadmap? The transition from student to professional for new Master of Social Work graduates

Abstract

In 2015, more than 25,000 Master of Social Work (MSW) students in the U.S. graduated and embarked on their career, and while some studies have discussed this transition for undergraduates, few studies have focused solely on the school to work transition for MSWs. This grounded theory study focused on the professional journey of 27 new MSWs employed for less than 18 months. A conceptual five-stage model called Riding the Waves is proposed, which captures the transition experience. Implications for social work students, educators, and employers are discussed, including better preparing students for the transition, improving orientation and supervision, and providing the support that these new professionals require and deserve.

Keywords

New graduates social work transition to work grounded theory early career

Scott et al. (2008) state, “The first year in a profession establishes an individual’s career framework and influences long-term professional development and satisfaction” (p. 75). The 233 accredited Master of Social Work (MSW) programs in the United States produced 25,883 graduates in 2015 (Council on Social Work Education, 2016). Despite this large number, researchers have expressed concern that there is sparse literature that explores the experience of transition from student to professional for social work (Grant et al., 2017; Moriarty et al., 2011; Newberry-Koroluk, 2014). This article will explore the transition experience of new MSW graduates into the workforce. By understanding the transition experience, educators and employers can better prepare and support these new professionals.

Literature review

What is known in social work about transition to work?

The literature on the transition from student to professional examines four primary areas: preparedness for the world of work, the helpfulness of orientation/induction to the job, job satisfaction, and factors which influence the transition. In terms of preparation for employment, there are mixed reviews from new graduates on self-report measures. Generally, many undergraduates felt well prepared by their educational institution (Carpenter et al., 2015; Grant et al., 2017). However, other studies found that new undergraduates did not feel prepared; they felt isolated and lacked support despite practicum preparation (O’Connor and Dalgleish, 1986). Field experiences did not truly prepare them for the ethical issues on the job and the busyness of the workplace (Agllias, 2010), and they wished they had more practical training while in university (Tham and Lynch, 2014). MSW graduates specifically have reported feeling generally well prepared from their university (Choi et al., 2015; Guerin et al., 2010).

In terms of orientation, new undergraduate social workers reported their orientation to the workplace was inadequate and did not sufficiently support them during the transition to work (Bradley, 2008; Hunt et al., 2016), and the process was often reported to be an extremely variable process with no set structure. The new employees felt thrown in like a “baptism by fire” (Bates et al., 2010; Jaskyte, 2005). Recommendations have been made to extend the orientation/induction period for new social workers, as well as reducing the volume and complexity of cases for new social workers for up to one year, to give them a protected caseload (IFSW, 2012; Hay et al., 2012; Hunt et al., 2016).

In terms of job satisfaction, new undergraduates experienced loss of job satisfaction as they progressed through their first year and had a reality shock experience when encountering the real world of work (Jack and Donnellan, 2010). Hussein et al. (2014) surveyed 280 newly qualified social workers (bachelor’s level) in the U.K. and found that the two biggest predictors of job satisfaction were the importance of team support and self-efficacy, in which the social workers felt involved, their values were honored, and they had autonomy. Job engagement was also found to be more important than caseload size. New undergraduates in Australia faced three key challenges in the workplace which impacted their satisfaction: value and ethical issues, perceptions of social work roles, and lack of time for reflective practice (Agllias, 2010). Good preparation from university was also linked to job satisfaction (Hussein et al., 2014).

The transition to work for new social workers is affected by multiple factors, including academic and personal attributes, the quality of the preparatory education, and the ability of the new workplace to provide supports necessary for new graduates, such as ongoing mentoring and regular supervision (Hay et al., 2012). Many factors have been identified as having a positive impact on the success of new graduates, including supervision, substantial structured orientation, supportive colleagues, and a protected caseload which is graduated and allows the new graduate considerable time to acclimate to the intense responsibilities of the job (Agllias, 2010; Chiller and Crisp, 2012; Donnellan and Jack, 2015; Hunt et al., 2016; O’Donoghue and Tsui, 2012).

Research question

This focus of this article, drawn from a larger dissertation study, is: What is the process of transition from student to employee like for new MSW graduates? A model of transition was developed to answer this question using grounded theory.

Methodology

This study used constructivist grounded theory methods (Charmaz, 2014) which build upon the grounded theory methods of Glaser and Strauss’s (1967) original work, but emphasize flexibility, the co-creation of data with the researcher, and the construction of an interpretation of the data. Charmaz (2014) believes that the constructivist paradigm highlights the subjectivity of the process and positions the researcher as a part of the interpretive process. The researcher does not bracket off their own ideas and notions; instead, they understand that their own values shape what they see and what they are drawn toward (Charmaz, 2014). In grounded theory, coding of the data begins with the very first piece of data, whether it is an interview transcript, a memo, or field note. The researcher is both a generator of and a collector of data (Birks and Mills, 2013).

Participant sampling

Sampling in grounded theory involves seeking out sources which will yield rich data: data which will provide thick descriptions of participants’ thoughts, feelings, intentions, and actions (Charmaz, 2014). Both Morse (2011) and Charmaz (2014) recommend choosing a sample size that is not so small as to engender skepticism about results, and not so large as to make excessive data an impediment to analysis. Usually, a sample size of 20–30 is typically adequate to identify one psychosocial process (Creswell, 2009; Noerager Stern, 2011).

In this study, IRB approval was secured, and potential participant emails were identified through the alumni database of recent MSW graduates from a Midwestern U.S. university and were sent a study recruitment email.

Description of participants

Twenty-seven new graduates met the inclusion criteria of being willing to talk about their insider knowledge of the experience, having been employed at least nine months in a social work job, but not more than 18 months. Those who agreed to be interviewed were scheduled for an interview at their convenience and were given the informed consent statement. Twenty-four of the participants had been employed for at least 14 months, and the other three from 9 to 13 months. Only one participant was male, and the others all identified as female. Twelve had a BSW prior to getting an MSW. Their ages ranged from 24 to 49 with the average age being 31.5 years old. Four participants were non-Caucasian (one African American, one Asian, one Mexican American, and one who designated as “other”). The majority of the participants graduated in May of 2013, with only four participants graduating in August or December of that same year. Eleven of the participants did not have an MSW supervisor but were supervised by someone with another degree.

Data collection

Interviews were semi-structured, and participants were invited to tell the story of their journey from the beginning—how they got their first job, what orientation was like, experiences that were satisfying, dissatisfying, surprising, scary or challenging, as well as how they felt overall about their journey. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed by the researcher and a professional transcriptionist. These interviews were time sensitive, and no one was interviewed outside the time frame of 18 months post-graduation. Question asked included these as well as follow-ups:

How did you get your first job?

Tell me about how/if your MSW academic career prepared you for practice.

What has been your experience with supervision?

What has surprised you about your transition from student to employee?

When you were still new at your job, what did you do you do when you found yourself in a situation and you did not know what to do?

How is the person you are now different from the one at the beginning of the job?

What are you most satisfied with about your job then and now? What are you the most dissatisfied about—in the beginning and now?

Data analysis

The goal of data analysis was to identify shared common processes across participants that can offer a model of the journey of new MSW graduates in their first year of employment. Charmaz (2014) uses several layers of coding: initial (or line by line), focused coding, or second-level coding, as well as theoretical coding. After completing the first level of initial coding, focused coding was used to identify tentative categories and themes. Coding was performed by the primary researcher as well as several doctoral colleagues. The qualitative software program Maxqda^© was used for focused coding work and putting together conceptual categories. In this study, constant comparison techniques were used that involve simultaneously collecting and analyzing data, writing memos and forming tentative categories with the goal of data reduction, and the generation of theoretical categories. Theoretical sampling was used to ask participants to speak to emerging themes (Morse, 2011). Through the technique of constant comparison, categories emerged and relationships between categories were developed and refined to illuminate a conceptual model of a process that captured the journey of new MSW graduates.

Establishing trustworthiness

Trustworthiness of the study was established by adhering to Charmaz’s standards for grounded theory: credibility, resonance, originality, and usefulness (Charmaz, 2014). While space does not permit in-depth discussion of each, specifically, credibility was enhanced by using direct quotes, multiple coders, consultation with experts on grounded theory, and maintaining an audit trail of all coding and memos. Participants were asked to react to emerging categories and proposed relationships between categories to see if they accurately reflect their perceptions. A research team comprised of two social work colleagues (fellow doctoral students) met five times and assisted in reviewing de-identified data, memos, and emerging themes in order to ensure that the voices and spirit of the participants were accurately captured.

Findings

In this study, grounded theory principles and methods were used to generate a process model of the common experience of transition for new graduates called Riding the Waves. The voices of the participants were coded according to theme, and these themes were organized to reflect a process of transition. This model tells the story of the journey of new MSW graduates as they begin their careers. Although the model is presented as a series of stages, it is a conceptual rendering of the process of transition for new MSW professionals. These stages are not necessarily discrete, prescriptive or rigidly chronological, but each of these stages occurred for the majority of the participants and is an amalgam of their experience. Because several participants mentioned water metaphors, this model emerged from the stories of the participants’ experiences. The five stages of the model are: testing the waters, jumping in, sinking or swimming, treading water, and riding the waves. A brief description of each stage along with supporting exemplar quotes follows.

Testing the waters

The first stage new graduates encounter in this conceptual model is Testing the Waters. The most salient issue in this stage is securing a job, and because of the external and internal pressure to find a job, several graduates described taking the first social work job that came along, even if it did not mesh well with their background, coursework, or practicum training. As Myra (all names are pseudonyms), a 28-year-old, said, “Honestly, I just took the first job I got offered.” Several participants described their feelings about having to get a job before they graduated, not necessarily the job of their dreams. Gloria, age 30, is someone who needed a job because of her financial obligations.

Yeah, you start freaking out because you are like, I really need a job, you have to pay bills, so many of us who went through the MSW program were not living at home anymore, we’re paying rent, we’re paying our own bills, so you kind of have to get that job….

Salary

Salary is a significant source of uncertainty for new graduates. Several graduates mentioned they did not know how to negotiate a salary or what to even expect as a usual and customary salary for new MSWs. Gloria, a 30-year-old, said, “Social workers don’t really get trained about how to ask for more money, like how to ask for a good salary. We don’t even know what we should be getting paid, unless you do some research.”

Jumping In

The second stage that new MSW graduates experience is Jumping In. During this time, new graduates get oriented to the agency. They begin to size up the agency and see how things work. They are confronted with whether their concept of what they expected of an actual post-MSW social work job is actually the reality. And, they begin to see whether or not school prepared them to deal with the real-life situations they begin to encounter on the job.

Orientation

Several graduates did receive what they considered to be good orientation to the job, although they were not the norm. Wendall says that he got “no orientation really, so ….it was like 4 hours.” Myra, age 28, relates that she got one week of learning the paperwork, one week of shadowing, and then got a caseload of 30 because her supervisor was swamped with her own cases. Candace, age 33, also got “zero training” as the agency gave her paperwork to read, a tour, and then left her to figure out how to carve out her own orientation. Charlotte, age 32, had considerable experience both before the MSW program and during the program, so she was surprised at the lack of training that she received in her job, although she felt that she could handle it because of her experience and maturity. She wondered if others would be able to get what they needed to work with very difficult and complex clients.

Preparation from school

Being prepared for the realities of work is important, and once new graduates start working, any perceived gaps in preparation become more evident to them. For those new graduates who took a “panic job” or one which was outside of their concentration area or their own comfort zones, the gap between expectation and reality was even wider. Greta, age 26, focused on healthcare in the MSW program, and her first job was providing therapy to clients with complex mental health issues. She felt unprepared despite having completed a practicum with this same supervisor and client population. “I can truly say that the first individual session I conducted was in a real job after graduation. …I was so unprepared to actually conduct real counseling with people.”

Expectations versus reality

In terms of preparation, most graduates have expectations about what the job will be like and for some, reality was much different than what they expected. Charlotte, age 32, was also surprised that providing therapy was not nearly as satisfying as she thought, and she felt bored relatively quickly. Another common disconnect between expectation and reality was the agency’s productivity and billing standards. Several graduates commented on how they felt pressured much more than they expected. Helene, a 27-year-old, liked doing clinical work, but found that the agency focus on productivity was overwhelming and ultimately caused her to take a break from clinical work. Paula, age 41, works in child welfare and probably gives one of the more vivid examples of the reality shock.

Yeah [school prepared me], but on the other hand, no. I mean, nothing that you could have provided me or anybody else could have provided me in school will prepare you for the moment when a five year old looks at you and goes, ‘yeah, I had sex with my uncle last night.’ You tell me where that’s in the textbook because … that gap between knowledge and experience is huge. Huge. (Paula)

Sinking or swimming

After the new graduates get through agency orientation and begin to get the lay of the land, they move into the Sink or Swim stage where they struggle to survive in the job and deal with all of the new experiences they are encountering. The important issues that emerged in this stage are: (1) How these new graduates negotiated not knowing, (2) getting (or not getting) quality supervision, (3) dealing with intense emotions, (4) experiencing dangerous situations, and (5) leaving, or contemplating leaving, a job.

Not knowing

How the participants negotiate this territory of not knowing is very important as it could set the stage for their future confidence and competence on the job. Many participants found that they were largely on their own to figure out how to do essential job tasks, or were surprised at how much they did not know. Wendy, age 29, admits openly that “I had no idea what the heck I was doing. …. I don’t like feeling like I have no clue what to do, I don’t like that feeling.” She is a very typical case as many others, such as Felicia, Wendall, Cara, Olivia, and Glenna, also put in extra time and effort to prepare themselves for the job. This was above and beyond any official agency training that they received, and they often Googled for information. Almost every participant expressed discomfort about not knowing, but they used different strategies to gain a sense of competence.

Because it [not knowing] really broke me down to my core, … it was really humbling…I think that I got over my fear of coming off as really young, naïve and inexperienced because I was young, naïve and inexperienced, so I gave myself permission to ask other questions I needed to ask and get the support I really needed…. (Greta)

Supervision

Supervision was an extremely variable experience for the new graduates. For some of the graduates, it was hit or miss, but for others, supervision was extremely helpful. And in some cases, it was completely lacking or even completely unhelpful. Kellie, age 46, works in a school where she was the only social worker and has had to train herself by networking. Carla, age 29, had a supervisor with a different degree and who was not at all strengths based. Sarah, age 30, was unsupervised as a result of her supervisor’s absence due to a family emergency. She did not have any supervision in her absence and made a decision on her own which cost her the job.

Perhaps, the worst example of supervision was from Gina, age 26, who began to have difficulty on the job with hearing the upsetting abuse stories of clients. She began to develop symptoms of secondary traumatic stress, which is characterized by intrusive thoughts, anger, sadness, and anxiety (Bercier and Maynard, 2015).

My supervisor – I kept telling him I was having these symptoms – I was like I can’t sleep, I was having panic attacks before work, I was just not well at all and he just kept telling me I was just overreacting and it wasn’t a big deal and I just needed to get over it, basically. (Gina)

Dealing with intense emotions

The vast majority of the participants specifically mentioned having to deal with intense or overwhelming emotions. The experience of being a new employee in a first post-MSW position can provoke some significant anxiety, but coupled with the variety of intense client situations and pressured environments they were experiencing, these emotions were often amplified. Several participants mentioned that they had higher levels of anxiety than they have ever had in their lives and struggled to cope. This anxiety seemed to stem from worrying about not doing a good enough job, proving themselves, worrying about the clients, and perhaps absorbing some of the clients’ own feelings. The vast majority of them were on their own to identify and then deal with the intense feelings that their jobs brought up for them. Lucy’s supervisor advised her to adjust her expectations accordingly as evidenced by the following:

It was very overwhelming – actually funny story – my supervisor put me on a behavior plan because I was crying so much at work. She was teasing, but serious – and said, ‘you’re gonna feel like you’re drowning for the first three months.’ She goes, ‘six months – at the six month point, you’re actually gonna feel like you know how to dog paddle and then by a year you actually feel like you know how to do the strokes.’ … I think I was just so scared about screwing up…. (Lucy)

Dangerous situations

Another issue multiple participants presented was having to work in dangerous situations, or with potentially dangerous clients, and feeling personally vulnerable. This is definitely a struggle for the new graduates as they have to decide if the position is worth the risk or not. This brought up intense feelings of fear, anxiety, and empathy for the clients that have to live and survive in these dangerous neighborhoods. Saundra, age 35:

I actually have a client that lives [where there was] a shoot-out and so I meet with him, I have to go with the case manager, we have to go together ….so we have to really, really watch ourselves going out to see him.

Changing jobs

A majority of the new professionals in this study (17 of 27) changed jobs during their first 18 months of employment, and even more were thinking about changing jobs at the time of the interview. Four of the graduates have had three or more jobs during this time frame. This is a significant finding as it speaks to the potential job mobility of this group of new professionals, and this has been corroborated by other studies (Choi et al., 2015; Guerin et al., 2010). Some of the reasons for leaving a job were an unsupportive or unhelpful supervisor (most common reason), lack of challenge, a better opportunity, less caseload or chaos, and wanting to find a better fit for their training and interests.

Treading water

The fourth conceptual stage new MSW professionals navigate is Treading Water. In this case, it reflects the new professionals’ fragile stability, and the effort they must exert to stay afloat and not become overwhelmed by the job. In this phase, several issues become salient: (1) dealing with compassion fatigue/burnout, (2) practicing active self-care, and (3) feeling good about making a difference in the lives of clients (compassion satisfaction). It is the simultaneous mix of all three of these that interact upon the new professionals in various ways. New social workers expressed being simultaneously burnt out about the logistical aspects of their job while still experiencing positive feelings about helping clients.

The experience of burnout or compassion fatigue is an unexpected one for most of the graduates. Many were surprised how soon they felt such symptoms as a lack of empathy, irritability, frustration, and disillusionment. Wendall says, “And so I didn’t honestly expect, I knew I tend to take work home but I didn’t expect it to be that powerful.” Carla was also surprised by how fast her feelings progressed:

So I definitely got burned out, and I remember in school it being talked about, in every class, and I am thinking this is not going to happen, I love social work, I want to be here, but it does. And it happened quickly, like very quickly.

The most mentioned area regarding burnout was caseload size. Cara says, “There is too high of a workload and I do not have good boundaries or self-care.” Brenda described having 50 clients in hospice and working 12 hour days to keep up until she got to a breaking point. “But it wasn’t until I just broke down crying one day that I was like I couldn’t see everybody every two weeks, it’s too many.” Gloria: “But I think the only thing that I kind of dislike right now from the position is the caseload is just crazy, I mean it’s just there’s so much to do, it’s impossible. It’s just very stressful.” Felicia says that despite her active efforts at self-care, she experienced considerable mental fatigue and dread about going to work.

This phenomenon of compassion fatigue/burnout was extremely common. Many of the participants talked about working with clients who were experiencing trauma, or were victims of abuse, clients who had intense resource needs, such as homeless veterans, and clients who were experiencing difficult personal mental health and health situations. Some of the signs that the participants experienced included not wanting to go to work in the morning, feeling that they were not communicating with their partner very well, irritability, feeling bored or lacking empathy, isolating, not having any hobbies anymore, watching too much TV, shutting down, not sleeping, feeling overwhelmed, being physically exhausted, and suddenly manifesting high blood pressure.

The participants identified multiple causes of burnout that were organizational in nature. These factors included: high caseload and pressure from bosses to make money, extreme downsizing and agency chaos, lots of driving, being overworked, being on-call too much, lots of crisis work, and having a difficult supervisor or administrator.

One of the most difficult tasks for new professionals is trying to find the balance between doing excellent work and setting limits for their own self-care. Paula articulates the dilemma well.

I said I cannot do my job well and have this kind of a case load and she said, ‘Well, then, you need to do your job less well. You’re giving them too much, you’re doing too many things, you’re spending too much time with them, you’re providing too good of a service,’ basically, which was a long time for me to balance that because it’s completely opposite of what my own value system is. When you know how to do something, you should do it very well, and you cannot. Otherwise, you will fail at the job. So you can be a great case manager and a crappy case manager at the same time. (Paula)

Job satisfaction

One of the biggest satisfiers for the new graduates was job flexibility in terms of work hours and scheduling. This flexibility seems to help balance out a number of difficult job concerns. Many of the new graduates in their positions at the time of the interview were able to make their own schedule, work from home, and balance work and home life by flexing their hours. Others highlighted that they like having creative license in their job to be able to develop new programs, finding alternate ways of doing things, or revising policies to be more client-friendly. Interestingly enough, very few participants mentioned benefits as a satisfier, although vacation time was mentioned as a way to deal with stress. Supportive co-workers were also a substantial source of satisfaction.

Compassion satisfaction

Compassion satisfaction can be defined as the personal growth and satisfaction that results from working clinically with clients, and can have a positive impact on social worker’s health, ability to provide services, and longevity in a job. It can also protect against the impact of compassion fatigue (de Figueiredo et al., 2014). The vast majority of new graduates in this study mentioned how much they enjoyed working with clients and found their jobs rewarding. Helene said about her work in helping clients recovering from domestic violence, “There’s not a day I don’t come to work that I’m not satisfied at this point.” Saundra says, “I love working with the kids, I love seeing the smiles on the kids’ faces…” Felicia also agrees, “I love the early intervention piece that I’m working with kids hopefully making an impact …for later on in their future.” Heidi talked about feeling that she is making a difference.

The reason you go into social work is just seeing clients do well. Like some specific examples, it can even be little things like today, I had a client tell me she stopped smoking in July and that was huge (Heidi).

Riding the Waves

Riding the Waves is the fifth conceptual stage that new graduates experience in their journey from student to professional. They felt more stable at this point and were able to balance the stress of the job with the rewards of the job. When asked how they were different at this stage than in the beginning, they were often able to talk about confidence and competence. Many felt that they found their voice and their career path. Several of them discussed wanting new challenges, such as getting promoted or going back to school for more education. Some related that their beginning selves were almost unrecognizable in relationship to whom they are now. Many of them have changed jobs and are in a second or third job that is a better fit for them, and so they are often more content. There are two primary concepts that are salient in this stage: (1) gaining confidence, which involves finding their voice and (2) wanting new challenges. Hannah found her voice after being at her agency for almost a year and seeing very dysfunctional communication patterns. She talks about how she became very assertive and spoke out at work. She said, “… once it happened I can’t go back into my shell now! I’m out, I’m gonna tell you how it is!” She began to ask people, “Why are we doing that?” to see if things could be changed. Gina also had to stand up to difficult parents of clients and find her own voice. She says, “I have learned that you cannot be a pushover because there are clients out there that will take advantage of you and will treat you as their punching bag if you don’t stand up for yourself.”

Discussion

This model conceptualized stages of transition, and within the model, critical points of engagement were identified where new graduates could be additionally encouraged or supported. The critical points of engagement identified were student preparation about what to expect about the transition process while in the university, an extended orientation process in the workplace with a recognition of being a new social worker, supervisors and mentors who are dedicated to helping the new social worker, and even more focus on self-care and the potential for compassion fatigue/burnout in the workplace.

Student preparation

Are new MSW graduates prepared by their university for the realities of practice? In many ways, no new graduates are ever truly prepared for all of the knowledge and skills they need for their first position, as clients and communities are complex and dynamic. Classroom knowledge, practicum experience, and prior work or volunteer experiences are meant to prepare students for what the real world is like, so that they can transition seamlessly into work. When expectations and reality clash, it can be disconcerting. In nursing, this clash has been called “reality shock” (Duchscher, 2008; Kramer, 1974). In social work, there is some very limited documentation of a reality shock phenomenon in terms of students experiencing a disconnect between their expectations and reality (Bates et al., 2010; Jack and Donnellan, 2010). While most students were satisfied with the degree of academic preparation for practice in this study and others (Choi et al., 2015; Guerin et al., 2010), students did not receive preparation for the transition journey specifically and its associated stages and emotions. Being prepared for aspects of the transition journey may help to ease their anxieties about the job search, the experience of not knowing, getting good supervision, and the high potential for compassion fatigue and burnout. Deck et al. (2017) proposed using field seminar to prepare students for the skills necessary to obtain a job that is a good fit, and this is a good start toward helping students prepare for the transition to work.

Orientation to the job

In this study, the norm for orientation for the majority of graduates usually did not exceed a few weeks, and then they were expected to function as a regular employee with no recognition of being a new social worker. While some reported an adequate orientation, others reported next to none. This extreme variability of orientation/induction also occurs in the U.K. (Bates et al., 2010; Grant et al., 2017; Hunt et al., 2016). How long is the ideal orientation and what does it consist of? In the U.K., some pilot programs with a structured and customized induction period have been shown to be helpful for the retention and job satisfaction of newly qualified social workers (Hay et al., 2012; Hunt et al., 2016; Hussein et al., 2014). The fields of nursing and education have structured orientation for new nurses and teachers that often extend to one year (Banks et al., 2011; Keasler, 2013; Marable and Raimondi, 2007). This concept of a specific orientation program for new social workers must be examined and there needs to be some recognition of the special needs of new MSWs, and specific policies, programs, supervisors, and protocols to enable them to be successful.

Supervision

Supervision for new graduates is of critical importance. Research has shown that effective supervision can help social workers cope with the stress of working in social service organizations (MorBarak et al., 2001), reduce turnover and compassion fatigue (Merriman, 2015), and contributes to job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Abu-Bader, 2000; Chiller and Crisp, 2012; Reamer, 2003). The quality of the supervisory relationship is a large predictor of job satisfaction (Smith and Shields, 2013). In this study, supervision was extremely variable, from those who received no supervision, to those who were satisfied. Studies have shown that often supervision is more about caseload management than about professional growth (Grant et al., 2017; Kadushin and Kulys, 1995; Kapoulitsas and Corcoran, 2015), which is often what the new social worker needs most.

Increased focus on compassion fatigue, burnout, and compassion satisfaction

Graduates in this study were surprised about the intensity and early onset of these issues, which makes sense as burnout is highly correlated with a younger age, newness to the profession, and being female (Ga-Young, 2011; Hamama, 2012). Increased attention should be given to risk and resiliency factors for each of these constructs, so that new graduates could be more aware of their own vulnerabilities and strategies for promoting resilience. Quality supervisors who are aware of these issues and have the power to influence workplace variables can help prevent burnout and compassion fatigue (Hamama, 2012; Smart et al., 2014; Smullens, 2015).

Limitations

Limitations for this study include that participants were not representative of diversity in terms of race, gender, and ethnicity as compared to the student body of the university from which the sample was recruited. Also, all of the students were from one university, but multiple campuses, so their discussion of their journey is limited to their experience in one educational system. Participants may also have been reluctant to share negative feelings about courses taken or about their educational experience as the author was known to them as an advisor or professor and this may have made them reluctant to be completely candid. As with all qualitative research, the findings cannot be generalized to any population but instead can inform our understanding of the unique needs and issues for new MSW professionals.

Conclusion and recommendations

The transition from student to employee has received much less attention in social work as compared to other professions, most notably nursing. This study has shown that the transition from student to employee is extremely variable for new MSWs in terms of finding a good job fit, receiving a sufficient orientation, getting supervision of adequate quantity and quality, and getting the support that they need for continued growth and development in terms of emotions, knowledge, and practice wisdom. By and large, in this study, students were not prepared for the transition, received little orientation, somewhat spotty supervision, and were surprised by the experience of not knowing and the difficulties of the workplace, including the onset of compassion fatigue and burnout. Job mobility was a significant factor and should be explored in future studies. Faculty and employers should both work toward preparing and supporting new social work professionals during this crucial time in their careers. Perhapsnew social workers can be seen as a vulnerable population, and social work organizations, such as the NASW, could assist by advocating for more specific standards in regards to orientation, supervision, and a protected caseload.

Footnotes

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding

The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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