This scientific paper examines five newly qualified social workers (NQSW) in Sweden who are in an intermediate position after graduation between education and working life in social work. The study aimed to investigate how the graduates felt prepared after training to execute professional conversations and meetings in social work with clients. Qualitative interviews were conducted for this paper, where the results show that the NQSW felt partially prepared for this. Some challenges were seen in the result related to conversations and meetings, amongst these, were their role in the exercise of authority, that showed that they had met deeper dimensions of authority than what their education had prepared them for. Through theories related to different roles based on Erving Goffman (2011), analysis has been made to different roles that NQSW needs to take on, and its impact on them. Results show, among other things, that NQSW perceive it as a difficult balance between being personal and professional in meetings with clients. The result also highlights personal and professional development for self-awareness from the education as helpful, but there was a wish for more of this during the social work program.With theories of knowledge according to Gustavsson (2000; 2002), the results were also analyzed and presented about how NQSW obtained knowledge and how education made it possible to gather knowledge for conversations and meetings in the social work. It was found in the results, as in previous research, that theoretical knowledge from education that was linked to actual situations or practice, has been beneficial to NQSW in their professional practice. However, NQSW felt that the education could continue to be more related to practice and wished for more reality-based education. Based on this essay, one can also point out the importance of the transition between education and practical work. NQSW could be seen as they carried a certain vulnerability in the form of knowledge gaps, uncertainty of their role, and how practical social work is executed when the NQSW goes from education. They felt that introduction to the field was important given from the new workplaces. In this essay, they meant that they were given some opportunity and support in continuing developing their knowledge, related to meetings and conversations through further education and collegial support at their workplaces.

Ce mémoire traite des expériences d’adaptation des travailleuses sociales nouvellement diplômées. Nous nous sommes intéressées à la manière dont les finissantes québécoises du baccalauréat en travail social ont vécu leur première année en emploi en tant que travailleuses sociales œuvrant pour le Réseau de la santé et des services sociaux du Québec et s’y sont adaptées. Nous abordons les défis qu’elles ont rencontrés, les éléments ayant facilité leur adaptation ainsi que les nombreuses stratégies d’adaptation qu’elles ont développées en début de carrière. Pour ce faire, ce mémoire a été réalisé dans une démarche qualitative et nous avons rencontré sept travailleuses sociales nouvellement diplômées dans le cadre d’entrevues semi-dirigées. La conceptualisation de l’adaptation professionnelle proposée par Pullen Sansfaçon, Brown et Graham (2012) nous a permis d’analyser le processus d’adaptation de ces nouvelles professionnelles et de mieux comprendre leurs expériences en début de carrière en ayant recours à l’interaction symbolique ainsi qu’aux concepts d’adaptation, d’acculturation et d’identité professionnelle. Par conséquent, l’adaptation de ces professionnelles est un processus qui repose sur les interactions entre leurs expériences antérieures; le choc en début de carrière; le contexte organisationnel dans lequel ce processus d’adaptation a lieu; la manière dont elles sont accueillies et le soutien qu’elles reçoivent; la manière dont elles s’approprient leur rôle, acquièrent de nouvelles connaissances, développent leurs compétences et leur identité professionnelle; ainsi que leur identité, leurs caractéristiques personnelles et la manière dont elles prennent soin d’elles-mêmes durant leur processus d’adaptation. / This thesis explores how Quebec Bachelor of Social Work graduates experienced and adapted to their first year on the job as newly qualified social workers working for the Quebec health and social services network. We discuss the challenges they faced, the factors that facilitated their adaptation, and the many coping strategies they developed at the start of their careers. Through a qualitative perspective, we conducted semi-structured interviews with seven newly qualified social workers. The conceptualization of professional adaptation proposed by Pullen Sansfaçon, Brown and Graham (2012) enabled us to analyze the adaptation process of these new professionals and to better understand their experiences at the beginning of their careers by using symbolic interactionism as well as the concepts of adaptation, acculturation and professional identity. Consequently, the adaptation of these newly qualified social workers is a process based on interactions between their previous experiences; the shock at the start of their career; the organizational context in which this adaptation process takes place; the way they are welcomed and the support they receive; the way they appropriate their role, acquire new knowledge, develop their skills and their professional identity; as well as their identity, their personal characteristics and the way they take care of themselves during their adaptation process.