In a video for our Dear Future Social Worker series, director Steph Downey shares the "best piece of advice" she has received during a career lasting over 25 years.
It came from a retired social worker just after Steph - now service director in adult social care at Gateshead Council - joined the profession and was afflicted by imposter syndrome.
"I was a bundle of nerves," she says in the video. "Anxious that both the university that had qualified me and the local authority that had employed me must have got it terribly wrong and I was going to be found out for being a fraud or a failure."
Steph's video is part of Community Care’s Choose Social Work campaign, which aims to champion the brilliant work social workers do every day, inspire the next generation of practitioners and counteract the negative media coverage of the profession.
Read about why we've launched this campaign, and the five steps you can take to support it. On our campaign page, you will find more inspiring stories about the difference that good social work makes, as well as our series of Dear Future Social Worker letters, encouraging the next generation to choose social work as a fulfilling, rewarding career.
What has been the best advice you've received during your career in social work? Tell us in the comments.
