Top Social Worker Resume Samples & Pro Writing Tips

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Before you go out on a job hunt for a new position in the field of social work, you must make sure your resume is up to the task. This demanding field requires candidates who are passionate about helping others and focused on getting results. The only way you can prove that you’re a solid choice for a new position is to showcase your abilities, knowledge, and experience in a well-written resume.

Instead of starting from scratch and floundering as you write a new resume, your best bet is to get some help from strong examples. There are several social worker resume samples you can look at in the sections below. These samples and the included writing guide can give you the confidence and know-how to get a new job.

CREATE YOUR RESUME

Social Worker Resume Samples


CREATE YOUR RESUME

In recent years, employers have continued to seek qualified mental health counselors. Mental health counselors work with a variety of people, including children, couples, people with mental disorders, individuals with substance abuse problems, and more. Cognitive therapy is an effective way to help those in need, and mental health counselors specialize in this type of practice.

    For:
  • Experienced counselors who focus on treating adolescents and helping them acquire helpful life skills for the future.
    • Industry Skills To Include:
  • Top interpersonal skills
  • A strong sense of compassion and patience
  • Effective listening and speaking skills
  • An ability to think critically and solve complex problems
  • Excellent social perceptiveness
  • A commitment to helping others

More Information: If you want to see more, go to this link for a mental health counselor resume sample.


CREATE YOUR RESUME

Case managers provide assistance to social workers and other professionals in the mental health field. Because mental health therapy and social services will likely expand in the future, there is a need for more skilled case managers. Employers want organized and committed individuals for this position.

    For:
  • A case manager specializing in mental health patients with extensive experience in conducting evaluations and creating treatment plans.
    • Industry Skills To Include:
  • Outstanding written and verbal communication skills
  • A high level of empathy and passion for the field
  • An ability to manage multiple tasks and stay organized
  • Effective problem-solving skills
  • Strong self-directed work style
  • Experience employing conflict resolution strategies

More Information: Take some time to review this case manager resume sample to get more information.


CREATE YOUR RESUME

Human services workers may find job prospects in a variety of places, such as government agencies, mental health clinics, hospitals, schools, and more. For jobseekers looking to join the social work field, this is a plus. Employers want highly knowledgeable individuals who can make sound decisions that could impact people’s lives. Social worker resume samples can help you fine-tune your own document.

    For:
  • An experienced human services worker focused on helping homeless populations and other at-risk individuals in the community.
    • Industry Skills To Include:
  • Extensive knowledge of community resources
  • Strong understanding of human behavior and thinking
  • Background in developing helpful interventions
  • Top written and oral communication skills
  • Exceptionally compassionate and caring
  • An ability to stay organized

More Information: See more about this position with this human service worker resume sample.


CREATE YOUR RESUME

In the next decade, organizations across several industries will need more social workers. Job possibilities for this position continue to be plentiful, but candidates also need to show strong skills and effectiveness. They need to demonstrate an ability to provide assistance for families, children, adults, and small groups. Our social worker resume samples can help applicants improve their job search.

    For:
  • A social worker with a history of past achievement looking for a position working with at-risk youth in residential facilities.
    • Industry Skills To Include:
  • Strong listening skills
  • Excellent sensitivity, self-awareness, and emotional intelligence
  • Background in case management and resource gathering
  • An ability to think creatively and critically
  • Exceptional communication skills
  • Stellar organization and time management

More Information: Get a better sense of what to include in your document with this social worker resume sample.


CREATE YOUR RESUME

New graduates with social work degrees will be entering the job market soon, but employers still seek professionals in this field with extensive experience. Senior social workers have the long background of knowledge that can help those most in need. Hiring managers need to see a candidate’s history of achievement. Some social worker resume samples show specific details for professionals at the peak of their careers.

    For:
  • A social worker with a decade or more of experience in the field of human services seeking a senior position.
    • Industry Skills To Include:
  • History of working with people and developing interventions
  • Strong bank of knowledge about community resources
  • An ability to deliver human services assessments
  • A commitment to helping others
  • Highly capable of written and oral communication
  • An ability to work well independently

More Information: See how to express your thoughts with this senior social worker resume sample.

Popular Social Worker Resume Questions

1. How do I make a social worker resume?

To write a strong social worker resume, you’ll need to provide evidence of your ability to help others. It’s important to follow the industry guidelines and standard suggestions from social worker resume samples. Start your resume off by detailing your contact information. Write a compelling summary statement with information about your best selling points. Give a list of your skills related to social work, working with people, and case management. Detail your career achievements in your experience section. List your credentials and educational experiences at the end.

2. What is the best design for a social worker resume?

Most experts recommend a simple or classic design for a professional resume. In the social work field, there are many job opportunities with government agencies or community offices, so a traditional or basic resume style is most appropriate. Avoid including unnecessary items, such as pictures, colorful text, graphics, or other distracting things on your resume. Follow the lead of the best social worker resume samples and convert your document to a PDF file before sending it electronically.

3. What is the best length for a social worker resume?

The length of your resume is dependent on your level of experience. For recent graduates and individuals at the beginning of their careers, a one-page resume is fine. It’s not necessary to revise your document and cut out important achievements to fit your resume on one page if you have many years of time banked in social work. It’s perfectly acceptable to have a resume that goes onto two pages if you have many years of experience.

4. What’s the best way to show I work well in a team on a social worker resume?

Social workers, counselors, and case managers all need to show top skills working on a team. In this field, there are many examples of professionals working with other individuals to help clients find success. If you want employers to feel confident that you’ll do well on a team, make sure you focus on this skill in your resume. You can list teamwork as a skill on your list of qualifications, but it may be more effective to give an example of this in your experience section. Some social worker resume samples do this by showing evidence of successful team projects with the results as a quantifiable metric.

5. What do I put on a social worker resume for my first job?

Writing a resume for an entry-level candidate may require some adjustments. Employers seeking new graduates for their next hiring surge understand that these types of candidates don’t have the long history of experience in the field. Hiring managers, however, still need to see plenty of evidence that candidates are capable of dealing with this highly stressful and demanding job. If you are in this situation, you can create a functional resume that focuses more on your top industry skills instead of your career history. Provide examples of your success with each skill using experiences from college, part-time jobs, or volunteer work. Show off skills related to communication, organization, compassion, planning, and solving tough problems.

CREATE YOUR RESUME

Your social worker resume should portray your strong interpersonal abilities, your empathy, tolerance, loyalty and professionalism. When you are writing your resume you need to present these special qualities convincingly as well as your proficiency in upholding strict confidential codes of behavior when managing your clients. A social work qualification prepares you to work in a wide range of situations and you are possibly qualified to work in different areas such as case management, counseling or a more senior director’s role. Therefore you will need to target your resume to fit the particular position that is advertised and try to blend your skills with the needs of the company.


The ideal format for your resume is shown in the example which you will simply need to adjust for your personal situation.


Contact Details


Although this section may appear to be quite evident there are some points that you need to keep in mind. Include your name just as you use it on a day to day basis and not a format that perhaps is on your birth certificate but you never use. Write your address fully and include a phone number that you are able to answer promptly, cell numbers are most commonly used for this reason. Your email is also an important inclusion and also should be one that you check regularly.


Education


The highest qualification is listed first and then you work down to the least significant one. Record the issuing institution and year achieved.


Objective Statement


This section is optional and is usually included by new graduates and people without work experience in the industry.


Profile


This is a vitally important section which can paint a very positive picture of why you should be selected for the job. This is your advertisement for yourself so use it to your greatest advantage. Summarize your experiences and strengths and what you can bring to the position. You can use this example as a model and adapt it to your own experience.


  • Organized and motivated professional, over four years experience in case work with socially excluded minority groups, exceptional communicator and mediator. Independent worker able to handle pressure and meet deadlines.

Professional Experience (Work History)


This is where you can emphasize the skills that are being sought in the job advertisement and show very clearly that you have them. Using dot points will be the optimum way to draw attention to the fact that your skills very closely match the job requirements. Start with your most recent experience and include some of the points from the following categories.


  • Your major work area eg residential, clinical, field etc
  • Contacts with professionals from other disciplines
  • Your involvement with major projects
  • Any budgeting responsibilities
  • Organization and planning activities
  • Responsibility for adopting new procedures in your organization
  • Building of relationships and assessing needs of clients
  • Any achievements that were of particular benefit to your employer or clients.

You may have had a highly successful prevention rate of drug use with your clients. You may have worked with a very high case load. These are the types of things that will get an employer’s attention.


Professional Development


This is where you can list any extra education and training that you have received since your original degree. This might include professional development sessions offered by the workplace, short courses and seminars. This is very important in social workers resumes as it shows that you are constantly keeping up to date in your profession.


Activities and Associations


Record your membership of any professional associations and institutions and any extra or voluntary activities.


Key Words


Remember to use key words that feature in the job advertisement and plenty of action verbs which are related to the specific position. This will help your resume appear in searches that potential employers are using to find their employees.


Social Worker Resume Samples