What does an activity assistant do?
Activity assistants are the ones who organize and execute activities in different settings, including recreation centers, camps, cruise ships, and retirement or nursing homes. They design programs to encourage physical activity, increase socialization, deliver continuing education, and provide entertainment. They are also the ones who handle logistics, select and demonstrate activities, maintain proper equipment, and ensure the safety of participants. They can work full-time, part-time, or seasonally in different settings depending on the kind of clients that they cater to.
Activity assistant responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real activity assistant resumes:
- Prevent or manage aggressive behavior among individuals and administer CPR in emergency intervention.
- Coordinate and manage group sessions, including recreational activities for senior citizens and occupational therapy with stroke patients.
- Assist children with homework assignments, peer mediation, social skills and daily program activities.
- Plan and execute a variety of enjoyable activities for residents and rehabilitation patients in a safe environment.
- Post daily to Facebook page and also all waitress duties.
- Conduct dog walks and in home pet sits with precision.
- Provide specialized training and use of adaptive equipment (i.e.
- Attend weekly treatment team meetings and discuss progression and regression with milieu.
- Help maintain positive relationships with speakers and program coordinators throughout the academic year.
- Hire, train and supervise all servers and dishwashers in the dietary department.
- Communicate with parents via text, Facebook page, emails, and phone calls.
- Implement IP outcomes, teach skills, providing supports, building on people's strengths/capabilities.
- Used prior knowledge of Microsoft word, Microsoft excel, PowerPoint, printers, and computer/Internet.
- Have a clean driving record and be able to obtain CDL to drive community passenger van.
- Prepare and submit reports and charts to treatment team to reflect client reactions and evidence of progress or regression.
Activity assistant skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Activity Assistants are proficient in Patients, Home Health, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Organizational skills, and Time-management skills.
We break down the percentage of Activity Assistants that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Patients, 16%
Completed appropriate records indicating the patients' attendance and participation in individual and group activities in an accurate and timely manner.
- Home Health, 9%
Home health aid for several clients; starting 2009-2012.
- Rehabilitation, 8%
Collaborated with Rehabilitation Specialist, Psychiatrists, Social Workers and Nursing staff on the counseling of inpatients with acute psychiatric disabilities.
- Senior Care, 8%
Plan and implement daily afternoon activities that are held within the Learning Center of D Youville Senior Care Center.
- Customer Service, 7%
Provide excellent customer service to residents and created an environment of open communication and group participation in planning events and activities.
- Good Judgment, 7%
Demonstrate good judgment, decision making, and communication skills.
Common skills that an activity assistant uses to do their job include "patients," "home health," and "rehabilitation." You can find details on the most important activity assistant responsibilities below.
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for an activity assistant to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." Activity assistants often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "demonstrated outstanding customer service abilities, excellent listening abilities, diplomatic communication and interpersonal skills in a fast-paced environment. "
Organizational skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling activity assistant duties is organizational skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." According to an activity assistant resume, here's how activity assistants can utilize organizational skills in their job responsibilities: "applied organizational and leadership skills in planning, coordinating and supervising trips and activities for over twenty manor residents"
Time-management skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of activity assistants is time-management skills. This skill is critical to many everyday activity assistant duties, as "social and human service assistants often work with many clients." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "prepared mds 2.0 assessments on time for state regulated documentation. "
Communication skills. activity assistant responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." This resume example shows what activity assistants do with communication skills on a typical day: "demonstrated excellent interpersonal communication skills by engaging 20-30 residents in daily activities such as bingo, dancing, and craft. "
Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for activity assistant responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of activity assistants all the time, as "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." An excerpt from a real activity assistant resume shows how this skill is central to what an activity assistant does: "resolved incoming customer service calls. "
Compassion. While "compassion" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to activity assistant responsibilities. Much of what an activity assistant does relies on this skill, seeing as "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of activity assistants: "provide caring and compassionate surrounding for our alzheimer patients. "
The three companies that hire the most activity assistants are:
- Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc257 activity assistants jobs
- American Senior Benefits95 activity assistants jobs
- Trilogy Health Services94 activity assistants jobs
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Compare different activity assistants
Activity assistant vs. Assistant program coordinator
An assistant program coordinator performs administrative support tasks and assists in organizing programs and activities under a program coordinator's supervision. Their responsibilities typically include monitoring the expenditures and schedules, preparing and processing documents, handling calls and correspondence, creating requests and proposals, communicating with vendors and suppliers, and updating records. They must also assist staff in various tasks and resolve issues promptly and efficiently. When it comes to employment opportunities, an assistant program coordinator may work at learning institutions, government agencies, and private companies.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, activity assistant responsibilities require skills like "patients," "home health," "rehabilitation," and "senior care." Meanwhile a typical assistant program coordinator has skills in areas such as "developmental disabilities," "mental health," "professional development," and "crisis intervention." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, assistant program coordinators reach higher levels of education than activity assistants. Assistant program coordinators are 10.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Activity assistant vs. Child and youth program assistant
Child And Youth Program Assistants help create recreational activities for children and youth ranging from 6 weeks to 18 years old. They provide parents with daily verbal or written feedback about their child, youth, or program activities.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real activity assistant resumes. While activity assistant responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "home health," "rehabilitation," and "senior care," child and youth program assistants use skills like "program environment," "child care," "program options," and "child guidance."
In general, child and youth program assistants achieve similar levels of education than activity assistants. They're 2.6% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 1.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Activity assistant vs. Human services assistant
Human service assistants function in a wide array of capacities. Basically, though, they provide services to clients in fields like rehabilitation, social work, or psychology. They provide support in the aforementioned fields for families and other workers. They are tasked with helping clients discover community services or benefits. Working with other professionals, they develop treatment plans, carry out research services to aid clients, and help clients with necessary paperwork.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an activity assistant is likely to be skilled in "home health," "rehabilitation," "senior care," and "customer service," while a typical human services assistant is skilled in "developmental disabilities," "social work," "direct supervision," and "direct care."
Most human services assistants achieve a similar degree level compared to activity assistants. For example, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Activity assistant vs. Program assistant
Program assistants are usually entry-level or junior employees assigned to a department that handles a specific program in the organization. They assist the team they are assigned to in the implementation of the programs. They usually take care of administrative or clerical activities while also getting exposure to actual program management. Program assistants get trained to handle agendas from inception, to sourcing, to implementation, to evaluation. They may also handle documentary support for business cases or other presentation materials that the team may need for a specific part of the program management cycle.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between activity assistants and program assistants, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an activity assistant might have more use for skills like "home health," "rehabilitation," "good judgment," and "compassion." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of program assistants require skills like "data entry," "hr," "excellent interpersonal," and "data collection. "
In general, program assistants hold higher degree levels compared to activity assistants. Program assistants are 5.1% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of activity assistant
Updated January 8, 2025
