5 Common International Social Work Interview Questions
If you’ve reached the interview stage for that all important social work job in the UK, the good news is that the employer already sees you as a strong applicant for the role. They realise the value that you will bring as an international social worker, but you must still perform well in your interview to be offered the job.
To help you prepare for your interview, let’s explore five of the most common international social work interview questions and what a good answer looks like.
1. What informs your professional judgement as a social worker?
When a social work employer asks you this question, they’re looking for an answer that highlights the values that you work to and how aware you are of your statutory duties as a social worker in the UK.
You can talk about how your current social work practice and experience when giving an answer, but always make sure that how you make decisions is in line with Social Work England’s Professional Standards.
Social Work England’s Professional Standards set out what a social worker in England must know, understand and be able to do.
Discuss how you also stay up-to-date on the latest interventions, models of engagement and best practices. Ways to do this include:
Subscribing to journals
Belonging to professional groups
Attending training courses
Learning from your peers
Engaging in reflective learning
Your knowledge can also be underpinned by your own experience, for example:
Service user expertise/feedback
Practice experience
Supervision
Values & ethics
2. Tell us about a time you have identified risk to an individual/group and how you managed this.
Here is your chance to show how you are the best social worker for the job. Bring in examples of how you assess and address risk and try to cover which models of practice you used and why.
Round off your answer with the steps you took to mitigate risk. For example, this could be taking a whole-family approach, involving partner agencies or taking specific safeguarding steps. You should give a relevant example and be concise and clear in your answer, focusing on the actions you took and the resulting outcomes. A strong answer will demonstrate your understanding of child or adult safeguarding issues and your ability to take informed actions. Practise using the Star (situation, task, action, result) technique when answering questions like this.
3. Can you share a time where you have been creative in your practice?
When an employer asks you this question, they’re looking to see how innovative you are. This is often a great question for an international social worker as you’ll likely have plenty of examples of where you have needed to overcome challenges to help people.
Just remember to be concise and clear in your answer and focus on the actions you took and the outcomes that you achieved. For example, you may have played a role in helping to set up a new social care pathway, supported a family in accessing the right support, or have found a better way for partner agencies to work together. Stand-out answers tend to focus on the following:
Person-centred care (adult social work)
Child-centred approach (children’s social work)
Multiagency working (how well you work with partner agencies)
Community engagement
Building trust with clients and their families
Appropriate information sharing
Support planning & safeguarding
4. How do you use supervision and self-reflection in your practice?
Supervision and reflection are incredibly important in social work and Social Work England will expect to see evidence of this as part of your Continuing Professional Development (CPD). So, when an employer asks how do you use supervision and reflection in your practice, what they’re really asking you is how do you reflect on what you’re doing, recognise what works well and make improvements?
A good answer talks about how you prepare for and learn from supervision, whether that’s on a one-to-one basis with your manager or in a peer setting. Explain how reflecting on the actions you took and seeking the advice of your colleagues has helped you learn and grow as a social worker.
5. Moving to the UK as a social worker will involve some adjustment, how will you adapt?
This is a common international social worker interview question. The employer will expect there to be a period of adjustment as you settle into your new role, and so they’ll want to hear how quick you are at grasping new terminology, systems and ways of working.
To give a good answer, you’ll want to acknowledge the task ahead of you but explain how you have already been speaking with other international social workers working in the UK and have a good idea of what to expect. You may also want to give an example of how you have needed to quickly adapt to a new way of working in your current practice.
Here is your opportunity to also explain that although you are great at working independently, you are not afraid to ask for help if there’s something you’re unsure of.
Final Thoughts
There are lots more questions you could be asked at interview. These are just a couple that most interviewers will ask you. The important thing to remember is that the employer just wants to get to know you. It’s your chance to speak about why you love what you do and how your skills, knowledge and experience translate well into UK social work.
For help with how to prepare for your international social work interview, please get in touch with our international team who’re always happy to give advice.
