I am really pleased to be announcing that the AASW Victorian branch’s annual session for new social work graduates Finding your first job and thriving in it is available online for new graduates who can’t come to our live session in the Melbourne CBD.

It is available through the AASW website http://www.aasw.asn.au/whoweare/victorian/new-graduates

Rural and remote access to training is an on-going struggle. I regularly receive queries from people who can’t make it to the new graduate training sessions that the AASW Victorian branch runs in Melbourne but who are keen to receive the information we are providing. Increasing access to support and training for newer workers in rural and remote areas is important. Technology is helping to make this easier, whether it is supervision and support sessions via Skype or on-line presentations, such as this one.

The Finding your first job segment that has just been made available, offers insights about job seeking from two experienced social workers - Maria Groner and Glenda Kerridge. I have really appreciated their expertise and support in this project! Glenda and Maria speak about the whole process of seeking, preparing for and obtaining your first social work job, based on their experiences as employers and as employees.

The Thriving in it segment, which I present, looks at afterwards - what happens when you get your first job and begin to settle in. This is an area I am really passionate about and I believe that your experience in your first job and your first year has a strong impact on how you develop as a social worker. From my own and my supervisees experiences, I am aware that many things can be overwhelming in your first job. I am really keen for new workers to go away from watching this segment with some ideas of how to maintain their well-being in the workplace. This section names and normalises some common experiences for new graduates in their first year of work. It flags some safety issues, looks at self care, developing a work/home balance and discusses the importance of monitoring your own well-being and seeking support where needed.

I hope that new social work graduates who can’t make the next live Finding your first job and thriving in it session in November will be able to benefit from these online presentations.