Looking to provide students the emotional and academic support they need in a school environment? We've got the perfect school counselor resume guide to help you succeed, too.
Since 2019, the Occupational Outlook Handle has seen a 8% growth rate of school and career counselor positions, which is much faster than average. Currently, there are over 333,500 social worker jobs out there, which means, if this is your calling, it's time to answer it.
To become a school counselor, you are required to have the following:
Tip: Some states and schools require you to also have licensure to qualify for the job.
With these requirements met, before you can answer the call, you need to convince recruiters that you're the right person for the job and more than capable of improving the lives of students. How do you do that? Well, with a well-written, detailed, and clean social worker resume, and this article will help you create just that.
In this article, we will cover the following 7 steps to get your resume job-ready to help others:
A hiring manager is not going to hire you if your resume is sloppy and poorly formatted. Being a school counselor is a serious job. Therefore, it is essential for your resume to be taken seriously, too.
When it comes to formatting your resume, there are three ways you can do so:
As a school counselor, the best format for your resume would be the hybrid-style format as it is of great importance for hiring managers to know what your past experience is and that you have the key skills to be a school counselor.
Tip: If you're just beginning your career as a school counselor, consider using the functional format to highlight your key skills since you don't have much work experience.
Take a look at our guide on how to format your resume if you want to learn more.
In an industry that is at an 8% growth rate, your experience and abilities are what just may set you apart from other counselors. Hiring managers want to find the perfect candidate, and sometimes they need to do so quickly. Writing a resume summary can help you become that candidate.
A resume summary is a 1-2 sentence blurb that summarizes everything in your resume. It makes hiring managers know you mean business and respect their time, which can help you get hired faster.
Now, there are some elements that should be made available in a resume summary:
Tip: If you're still in the beginning steps of your career, write a resume objective instead of a resume summary. This will show hiring managers your goals in the industry as well as your passion.
Here's what a good resume summary can look like for a school counselor:
Compassionate and amicable school counselor with 4+ years of professional experience providing students with positive direction for their emotional and academic well-being. Experienced in advocating and organizing anti-bullying workshops and teen safety seminars.
This example shows hiring managers that you are experienced, have had success in your work, and are disciplined, which helps them determine if you're the right fit for the job much easier.
As a note, always remember to run your resume, especially your resume summary, through a spell check. You wouldn't want to miss your opportunity of getting hired because you misspelled something, especially when going into an academic setting.
Want to write the perfect resume summary? Our guide on writing resume summaries has tons of examples.
Depending on your situation, you may just be overqualified for the school counselor position you are applying for, or maybe, you don't have the experience just yet. Regardless, it's important to describe what you've done in the work experience section of your resume.
If you've got the experience, be sure to use bullet points and descriptions when listing, and be sure to list them in reverse-chronological format.
Your work experience should include the following:
Don't necessarily know what kind of experience to list? Here are some descriptions you can include in your resume:
Want more tips and tricks on how to write your work experience description? Check out our guide on describing your work experience.
Including your key skills in your resume can separate you from other applicants and heighten your chances of getting hired.
Tip: When listing your key skills, make sure that they are relevant to not just school counseling, but counseling in general. You can even categorize your skills into hard skills and soft skills and show off both your counseling skills as well as your interpersonal skills.
Here are some skill examples you can list in your resume:
Tip: Adding key skills is sure to make your resume shine and stand out to hiring managers.
If you're having trouble identifying key skills, we have a guide with 100+ key skills that can help you out, too.
To become a school counselor, you need a minimum of a Master's Degree in student counseling or a related field.
Therefore, education matters on your resume, so be sure to include it.
Be sure to mention the following:
Here's what listing your education section can look like:
University of Colorado, Denver, CO
2013 — 2015
Master of Arts in School Counseling
University of Colorado, Denver, CO
2009 — 2013
Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, GPA: 3.8/4.0
Don't know if to put your GPA on your resume? Take a look at our guide on adding your GPA to your resume
While it is not necessary, if you have counseling affiliations, it is a great idea to include them on your resume. In fact, they can help take your resume to the next level.
Here are some examples of relevant affiliations you can include in your resume:
Tip: Be sure to include the year you joined the association and if you're still involved.
Need more help writing the perfect resume? We have a guide that can help you do just that.
If you're working at a school with a lot of student diversity, it's a good idea to include a languages section on your resume.
Tip: If you don't have the space to highlight your known languages on their own, as we mentioned earlier, be sure to add them to your key skills.
Knowing more than one language helps to improve your verbal communication and makes you more precise and logical in your problem-solving. Not to mention, it also makes you a more attractive candidate.
Here are some languages you can include on your resume if you know them:
Tip: Next to the languages you know on your resume, add if you're fluent, intermediate or a beginner in the language to show hiring managers just how well you know the specific language.
Following this guide, you're one step closer to your goal of helping improve the lives of others. That's our goal, too, which is why we created this student counseling resume guide and filled it with tips and tricks.
Here's a recap of everything we've covered:
And there you have it. Good luck, and have fun helping lives!
Don't know whether you should write a one-page or two-page resume? Find out when it is appropriate to write a two-page resume and learn how to write it correctly.
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