How to get a job in social care: top tips from our experts

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR ADVICE FOR ANYONE WANTING TO GET INTO SOCIAL CARE? PAUL RAINBOW, senior learning development officer at Hertfordshire county council: "Contact a local social care

provider and offer to do some voluntary work to test out if it's a role for you." KATIE PURSER, recruitment director for Frontline: "Do your research to explore whether this

is the right career for you." BEN ROSAMOND, person-centred planning facilitator at Sunderland city council: "Get as much experience working with people as you can. There are lots

of opportunities to do this in a variety of ways. I started by supporting children at local playschemes in school holidays, then coaching football voluntarily at a local special school,

which led to a sessional job supporting adults who had learning disabilities to access activities in their community while I was studying for a health and social care NVQ at college."

SHARON ALLEN, qualified social worker and housing professional and chief executive of Skills for Care: "Look for a local provider (or local branch of a national provider), find out what

they're looking for and use your skills and experience and talk with them about how you can transfer this into working with them." HOW CAN I CHANGE CAREERS INTO SOCIAL CARE? BEN

ROSAMOND: "There are many roles within social care so once you have an idea about what sort of role you're interested in, start to identify opportunities that will give you the

kind of experience that would be helpful. I would advise looking into what options there are in your local community – community centres, carers centre or organisations such as age concern,

churches or local providers can provide opportunities to gain experience working with people in a variety of ways." VICTORIA MATTHEWS, careers adviser with the National Careers Service:

"One step to look at would be starting to build up some practical experience within that sector, and if possible with the client group you want to support. Voluntary work can be a

great way to taste test different roles, environments and client groups, while making a positive contribution and building up skills, experience and contacts. You may already have some

useful knowledge and experience from your existing career and personal life, so it's worth thinking about what you already have to bring to the table that's relevant and

transferable." WILL A STRONG EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND GET IN THE WAY OR BE THREATENING TO EMPLOYERS? SHARON ALLEN: "I would be very surprised (and disappointed) if your education was

off-putting to employers. We need a wide range of skills and knowledge in social care, and this should be embraced. The most important thing I think is to approach the organisations you are

interested in working for directly." WHAT TRAINING DO I NEED? KATIE PURSER: "Open University could be a good idea if you want to stay in your current location. If you are looking

for an option where you can be paid while training, there is Step Up, which is funded by the DfE and places people in local authorities possibly close to where you are." SHARON ALLEN:

"If you want to become a social worker, you will need to undertake the qualifying course and need to look at the entry requirements for the university you wish to apply for. You can

check out the College of Social Work website and the Health and Care Professions Council for more information or look on Skills for Care website on our social work tab. You can also look on

the website at our career pathways etool, under the care careers tab." VICTORIA MATTHEWS: "You could explore what funding may be available through the NHS Business Services

Authority, if you haven't already done so, or you could look at a scheme such as the professional career development loan as a way of funding a postgrad course. Alternatively, would you

consider a role like social work assistant? There are no guarantees, but if you were working in that role, there may be some scope for your employer to sponsor you to fully qualify as a

social worker at some point." WILL MY UNRELATED DEGREE BE HELPFUL? PAUL RAINBOW: "The unrelated degree is no barrier. I have career-advised a worker whose first degree was in

French fine art, to take the masters route into social work, and now they are now qualified, they are a super social worker and a credit to the department." BEN ROSAMOND: "The

career pathways etool on the Skills for Care website is a useful tool to help identify roles matched to social care interests, skills and qualifications and how a career in social care can

develop. Depending on the degree subject, it could also be knowledge that could be transferred to a social care role." HOW DO I WRITE MY CV IF I WANT TO CHANGE CAREERS? VICTORIA

MATTHEWS: "Have you got any voluntary or personal experiences that may be relevant to a career in social care? If so, highlight these on your CV. If you don't yet have any relevant

experience, I would highly recommend volunteering as a way of building skills and experience. I think it's also really key to get across a genuine enthusiasm and desire to support

people. That sounds blindingly obvious, but you'd be amazed how many CVs don't demonstrate any real sense that the individual really feels a passion for work in the sector."

BEN ROSAMOND: "It would be useful to include any caring roles you have had such as caring for children or parents. Also think about your life experiences that may have involved a caring

role. I am sure there are aspects of your current role that can be transferred to a role in social care such as working in a team, communicating effectively, outcome-focused planning and

reviews." WHAT DO THE PANEL THINK IS THE BEST ROUTE FOR PEOPLE WANTING TO BECOME PERSONAL ASSISTANTS TO SUPPORT THOSE WITH PERSONAL BUDGETS? SHARON ALLEN: "I would suggest

contacting the user-led organisation or brokerage organisation in the local area, or contact the local authority, but also look out for individuals who use a range of media to advertise that

they are looking for personal assistants." BEN ROSAMOND: "You could register your interest in becoming a personal assistant with an appropriate organisation. Some local

authorities keep a register of interested people as well as other organisations such as age concern, some carers centres etc. You could apply for a role with an independent agency or work

freelance." MY CV HAS A FEW GAPS AND I THINK I NEED MORE EXPERIENCE. WHAT WOULD YOU SUGGEST? PAUL RAINBOW: "To gain more work experience, I know this is not the ideal route, but

would you consider applying for a role in a social work team that was not in a qualified role, for example, as a personal assistant or a community care officer, just to get your foot in the

door? This would put you in a prime location to apply for a role in your area when one became vacant. It would give you a chance to demonstrate your skills." SHARON ALLEN: "Ask for

feedback from the applications you are making, this should be the best indicator of what any gaps may be. I would encourage you to focus on your continuing personal and professional

development. Do you read Community Care and keep up to date with current issues? Have you thought about registering with The College of Social Work and joining in with some of their

faculties perhaps? Don't forget that it's not just local authorities that employ social workers - some of the larger independent sector organisations also need qualified social

workers." THIS CONTENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY GUARDIAN PROFESSIONAL. TO GET MORE CONTENT AND ADVICE LIKE THIS DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX, SIGN UP FOR OUR WEEKLY UPDATE AND CAREERS EBOOK.