Real Life of an MSW

Student’s description of site-specific activities this quarter: This quarter my practicum instructor, and I spent time exploring the hiring practices of _______. I was allowed to review interview questions and provide my feedback as a student and a woman of color to “sensitive” questions that dealt with racism and oppression, since it is clear that individuals who project this behavior do not deserve to work with a vulnerable population of homeless youth. Practicum instructor narrative evaluation: _____ was able to participate in the development of some much needed and effective interview questions regarding an employment candidate take on racism and its impact on the lives of the home’s youth and young adults we serve. _______ and I discussed the intention of the questions and _______ feedback assisted not only in editing of the questions but also validating some of the concerns I had about the candidate responded during the first interview. Our team was able to hire the candidate that was best suited for the work at hand and for the work we inspire to do.

As a woman of color, I am very aware of racism and oppresion. Therefore, I continue to have open dialogue with adolescents and young adults regarding the areas of social identityI am glad I have found this tomb of practicum evaluations, it has truly taken me down a beautiful rabbit hole of rediscover. The rest is never “just history.” ,I am currently a supervisor to a team of mostly great individuals and have been a supervisor to those in other organizations. Therefore, I find it beneficial that I had this experience to see how large organizations come up with interview questions, and I am glad I had found my voice to speak up and challenge the interview questions. I went back through my  career journals to seek out the questions- they were

• Have you ever stolen a pen from work?
• A penguin walks through that door right now wearing a sombrero. What does he say and why is he here?”
• How would you rate your memory?
• Are you treated respectfully by your coworkers?
• How well does your compensation stack up competitively in the local market?
• What does your husband/wife do?
• Where do you worship?
• What are your views on the homeless/drug crisis?
• Did you come from a one or two parent home?

This leaves me to ask what the most shocking or interesting interview is question you have been asked?