Show Notes

Kayla: Welcome back to The Designer Practice Podcast, and I’m your host, Kayla Das.

If you are applying to MSW programs, you’ve probably wondered how much is too much to divulge about your own challenging or traumatic experiences.

In this episode, Michelle Bruxer, or social worker and owner of MSW Helper is back to answer this very question.

Hi, Michelle. Welcome back to the show. I’m so glad to have you here again.

Michelle: Hi Kayla. Thanks for having me. I’m so excited to be here and I think we’re going to have a really interesting discussion today.

Kayla: I agree, and it’s always so nice to have you on the show to share your unique perspective. This is actually your third time on the podcast just this year to discuss topics that are so near and dear to aspiring MSW Applicants.

So, I am so grateful for you to be here today, but before we dive in for anyone who hasn’t listened to your previous episodes, can you please introduce yourself, where you’re from, and tell us a little bit about MSW Helper?

Michelle: Sure thing. So, my name is Michelle and I’m a registered social worker based in Ontario. I’m also the founder of MSW Helper, which is basically a platform designed to help master of social work applicants craft their applications. We support students by helping them edit their personal statement, providing application support services, and then we also have a free community, and we offer a ton of free resources to help anybody who is applying to Master of social work programs.

Kayla: Amazing. And I know I probably asked you this in one of our previous episodes, but I think it really is important to hone in on it. Before we, you know, dive into the meat of today’s episode, what is a personal statement, and why is it important for the MSW application process?

Michelle: For sure. It’s important to know what the personal statement is for anybody who is just tuning in for the first time.

So, the personal statement is basically a written work or an essay that all applicants who are applying to Master of Social Work programs need to write. It usually will outline your motivation for becoming a social worker. And your experiences that drive that motivation. So, schools often will ask about your personal and professional experiences, your goals, and why you are choosing Master of Social Work programs.

The reason that the personal statement is so important is that it provides context to the admissions committee about your experiences and your motivation. They can only get so much information from your resume and your transcripts and your references and all those other pieces. But in the personal statement, that’s where you really get to show them who you are as a potential applicant.

It allows them to see your insights and your critical thinking skills, and really dive deeper into your motivation and your goals as a social worker.

Kayla: Yeah, no, that’s a really great synopsis. And really the reason that we’re recording this episode today is that I know we’ve both recently have seen posts from aspiring and newly admitted social worker students questioning the necessity of personal statements, with aspiring social workers feeling that they quote unquote, need to sell their trauma to be considered for social work programs. I’m curious on your take on this and if you have any insights around this with respect to the application process.

Michelle: Yeah, for sure. So, I know this is something that came up in our Facebook group and somebody posted about feeling like they were kind of selling their trauma or exploiting their trauma in the personal statement. And I think that’s a really valid and interesting perspective.

I can definitely see how if somebody is applying to multiple MSW programs or maybe applying to scholarships, they’re rehashing the same experiences over and over. And the truth is a lot of us go into social work because of the personal hardships that we have been through. So, what happens is schools of social work, ask students, what are your motivations for pursuing social work? And tell us about your experiences. And for a lot of people, those experiences may come from personal experiences.

For others, it may come from professional as well, or volunteer experiences. But for those people who it does come from their personal experiences, I can see why they maybe feel like they’re exploiting the things that they’ve been through and trying themselves in the personal statement.

The one thing I always say though is that when you’re writing a personal statement, you are looking at lots of different experiences and deciding on basically a story that you want to share with the admissions committee. So, you don’t necessarily need to talk about personal experiences if it’s not related to your goals as a social worker.

I think sometimes we feel because we’ve been through something or we have that experience and the school is asking that it’s something that we need to talk about, but that’s not always the case. There are definitely different ways that you could approach answering those questions.

Kayla: I love that. And I also think being a business coach myself, I work with a lot of therapists and counselors, and I would say 95% of the people that I work with, their niche ends up being something that they’re passionate about personally, right? Something that they’ve been through, or they had a loved one who has been through it.

So, it would also make sense that going into MSW or even BSW in some cases. You would need to write personal statements or kind of position yourself with respect to something that you want to advocate for. And I think that that’s a big part of social work is that advocacy. We often are very passionate about the things that matter to us, and it doesn’t necessarily mean that we personally have had to experience a significant trauma to be passionate about a specific cause or case in this matter.

Michelle: For sure. I think it really comes down to intentionality and connecting with your goal and your motivation. When I work with applicants and we’re trying to figure out, okay, what story are you going to tell in your personal statement?

We tend to work backwards. We usually start with what is your goal? Why are you going into social work, and what are you hoping to do? And then we’re able to work backwards. Kind of figure out, okay, well where did that motivation come from? For some people that might come from a personal experience where they realize a gap that existed, and for others that might come from a professional experience, or a volunteer experience.

For some people too, it might be something that evolves over time. I often meet with people who enter their bachelor of social work four years earlier because of maybe a personal experience that motivated them to become a social worker. But over the four years, they got academic experience, they got volunteer internship, and work experience. And their goals shifted and they became really passionate about another area of social work, not connected to their kind of initial reasons for going into it. And so that becomes the focus of their personal statement and they might decide not to talk about personal experiences at all.

Kayla: You know, this actually makes me think about when I got into my BSW program and at that time it wasn’t a personal statement, it was actually an interview process. But I actually spoke about someone external to me. So, someone that I went to school with who had challenges and difficulties that they later in life continued with those hardships. So even thinking back to when I got into BSW, I don’t believe I talked about myself at all, but I talked about a specific cause, a specific issue that could have been served in a different way, should it have been caught earlier and so forth. But as a result, I didn’t necessarily focus on me or my personal life, just what I witnessed or seen occur. And here’s how I think it could have been addressed differently.

Michelle: Yes, absolutely. I love that. And I always say too, that schools are not necessarily assessing your experiences on their own, they are assessing what you make of those experiences. So sometimes people worry about like, oh, I don’t have this kind of experience, or I don’t have enough experience. But it’s really about identifying what you got out of those experiences, and the insights that you gained and why those experiences have motivated you to become a social worker.

I always say if they were assessing just the experience on its own, they would only want you to submit a resume. The personal statement is really a tool for you to dive deeper and show them like the insights that you gained and why it motivated you to become a social worker.

So, in your interview, it sounds like even though it wasn’t your experience, you still showed the gap that existed and why that experience motivated you to become a social worker.

Kayla: Exactly. I love that. How can MSW applicants balance vulnerable self-disclosure and incorporating social analysis in MSW personal statements?

Michelle: For sure. I think it really comes down to being intentional in the personal statement. Like I mentioned, you know, a lot of us go into social work because of personal experiences, and I think that that’s really valid and can actually be really valuable as a social worker down the road.

But you want to make sure that you are not just sharing it because you think that you’re going to get extra points on your application for having been through something difficult. A good example of self-disclosure that is connected to social analysis would be maybe somebody who had their own mental health journey. And through that experience, they realized how it was compounded by factors such as having parents from a different country or culture that was different than it is in Canada. And how that made it so much harder for them to get the support or the right kind of support that they needed, finding mental health resources that were culturally relevant. Through that experience, they realized that this wasn’t just an issue that existed in their family or with them, but this was a greater social issue that a lot of families and newcomers to Canada are facing. And so, by becoming a master’s level social worker, this person can provide some of those culturally relevant social work supports and mental health support. That’s a really like valid use of self-disclosure that can strengthen the personal statement and show the admissions committee how you understand the social issue. And not only that, but how you can address that issue.

An example of maybe not so well used personal hardships in the personal statement would be having a whole social issue about something that is not related to a personal experience that you discussed. You feel like you are putting it in there so that you have it covered, but it’s not actually connected to your goals.

Kayla: I appreciate that. I know that some schools ask for personal statements while others ask for a letter of intent or a statement of purpose. What is the difference between the two? Or is there a difference?

Michelle: For sure. So, there are slight differences between a personal statement and a letter of intent or statement of purpose. I do find that across different schools of social work, they will often use different terms, but they’re all generally referring to a personal statement. And so, at MSW Helper, we always use the term personal statement just because it’s a clear way to keep things consistent, but when you are reading the prompts for the school that you’re applying to, it’s important to really read carefully what they’re asking for.

A personal statement generally has a greater focus on your motivation for pursuing social work. So, they’re going to ask about your experiences, and why those experiences have motivated you to pursue social work.

A letter of intent, or statement of purpose tends to have a greater focus on your goals and what you are hoping to accomplish. Again, I do see a lot of overlap between these two areas, and I find that most schools are asking about both, right? They want to know about your experiences and the things you’ve done in the past. And they want to know what are your goals and what are you hoping to accomplish?

For people who are applying to thesis based MSW programs, I do find that there is much less of a focus on your past experiences. A greater focus on a social issue or a research area that you’re interested in pursuing. Same with doctoral social work programs as well.

So yeah, I would say that there’s a lot of overlap between them and a lot of times schools just call them whatever, but as long as you are really looking at the wording of the prompts and making sure that you are sticking to that.

Kayla: I think that’s really great advice. Because yeah, you’re right, like different universities may have different terms, or they might even have the same term, but be looking for slightly different directions or information within that.

If someone were to say, work with MSW Helper, would it be a good idea for them to kind of take that downloadable from the university and share it with you so that you know exactly what the person is supposed to be writing about.

Michelle: Yes, absolutely. We definitely encourage people to send us the prompts so that we can look at the nuanced language that the school is asking for and making sure that applicants are really fitting with that.

Something I have noticed is that a lot of the prompts between schools are very similar, but just different enough that they all need to be tailored in slighty different ways. Yeah, it’s really important to pay high degree of attention to the wording and adjusting the personal statement accordingly.

Kayla: I love that. Do you have any additional advice, insights, or tips for listeners who may be struggling with balancing the amount of vulnerability to include in their MSW personal statements?

Michelle: Yeah. I think the biggest thing to remember is that schools don’t necessarily favor applicants who have a personal story. I think sometimes we get into comparison traps where we see, oh, this person has this experience and I don’t have that. Or just comparing all the different parts of the application. But truthfully, like I said, it’s not about the experience itself, it’s about showing your critical thinking skills and your potential to contribute to the field.

I’m a strong believer that you don’t actually need to have any direct social work experience to show admission committees why you’re a great fit for the program. And that rings true for personal experiences as well. While it can be valuable to include that if it’s connected to your goals, you do not need to have personal experiences to be an amazing social worker.

So yeah, I would say don’t compare yourself, and don’t have that pressure to include personal experiences if it’s not connected to your goals.

Kayla: Amazing. So, Michelle, you have a free webinar that you’d like to share with our MSW applicant listeners. Can you tell us a little bit about what it is and how it can help listener?

Michelle: Yeah, so we have a free webinar where we talk about how to write a strong personal statement for the Master of Social Work Program. And I think it’s a really fitting resource because we talk about how to craft a story even if you don’t have social work experience and figuring out how to put it together in a really cohesive way.

So yeah, I think that’s a great starting point for anybody who is thinking about applying to Master of Social Work programs.

Kayla: Amazing. So, to sign up for Michelle’s free webinar, check out kayladas.com/mswhelperwebinar.

Also, if you buy any services from MSW Helper you can also use the coupon code KAYLADAS for $10 off any of MSW Helper’s services.

Michelle, thank you so much for joining us on the podcast today to discuss vulnerability in MSW personal statements and how much is too much.

Michelle: Thank you so much, Kayla. It’s always a pleasure.

Kayla: Thank you everyone for tuning into today’s episode, and I hope you join me again soon on the Designer Practice Podcast.

Until next time, bye for now.

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