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Career counselor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

5 min read

Quoted experts

Hassan Akmal,

Kacie Blalock Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical career counselor skills. We ranked the top skills for career counselors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 11.5% of career counselor resumes contained career development as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a career counselor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 career counselor skills for your resume and career

1. Career Development

Career development is a term referring to the process and idea of furthering one's career or otherwise altering its path by a number of processes and methods. A career development plan can be unique to the individual and might simply be to continue working the job one does in a singular company and moving up, in terms of positions and salary. Or it might be an entirely different plan, such as moving on from the position, the company, and perhaps even the industry as a whole, and doing other work somewhere else.

Here's how career counselors use career development:

Provided educational, vocational, personal, social and career development counseling to students within the Business Administration program.
Established career milestones and achievements, negotiated permanent change of station orders, and coordinated professional career development boards.

2. Career Services

Career services may refer to a center dedicated to helping individuals (often college students) prepare for the job market. This may include assisting with a resume, suggesting potential companies to interview with, or conducting surveys to find out an ideal career for the individual.

Here's how career counselors use career services:

Conducted classroom presentations designed to increase student understanding of career services and motivation to access them.
Designed and facilitated Career Services workshop presentations, including meeting outreach request needs.

3. Professional Development

Professional development means to have the essential training certification or education with the purpose of earning and having a successful career. Every job requires a different set of skills. However, new skills may be needed in the future. Professional development, in this regard, helps people to develop and polish the skills and become efficient workers.

Here's how career counselors use professional development:

Conducted professional development programs; maintained publications; compiled data; prepared reports; planned reenlistment ceremonies; performed follow-ups.
Provide social media assistance by creating customized Facebook cover pages and posting related job, career opportunities and professional development.

4. Career Planning

Here's how career counselors use career planning:

Advised Junior and Senior undergraduate students regarding career planning and future academic endeavors.
Developed and delivered seminars highlighting the advantages of career planning.

5. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how career counselors use mental health:

Suggest innovated ways to interact with specific mental health populations by way of assessment and individual therapy techniques.
Provided high ranking officials and medical officials with statistical knowledge pertaining to mental health referrals through presentations.

6. Career Exploration

Career Exploration refers to the process of learning about and investigating various jobs and long-term careers. This exploration is typically seen in younger individuals about to enter the job market or in people attempting to change their career paths. Career exploration may include taking personality tests to see what job may be best suited to one person, or even simply discussing various opportunities with a career specialist or guidance counselors.

Here's how career counselors use career exploration:

Teach curriculum fostering post secondary and career exploration, financial literacy, leadership and community volunteerism.
Counseled undergraduate students and alumni using self-assessment, career exploration, internship/job search and decision-making activities.

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7. Financial Aid

Financial aid refers to cash released to an educational institution to help a student pay the school fee. The issuance of financial aid, whether scholarships, grants, or loans, aims to make access to education affordable to all students irrespective of their backgrounds.

Here's how career counselors use financial aid:

Created and facilitated workshops on college-related topics including admissions requirements, financial aid, and options after high school.
Assist students with advanced training/college admissions and financial aid application process.

8. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how career counselors use community resources:

Established excellent working relationships with instructors, administration, parents, license professionals and community resources.
Make referrals to potential employers; identify community resources and educational opportunities for clients.

9. Support Services

Support services are services that support the organization internally and are usually non-revenue generating. Examples include, IT, admin, HR, etc.

Here's how career counselors use support services:

Provide direct counseling support services and face-to-face classroom instruction to transitioning military personnel, Army civilians, and their family members.
Pointed students to relevant information about academic and personal support services available at the colleges and universities.

10. Mock Interviews

The mock interview is a practice interview with a coach or teacher to prepare for an actual interview, which is due soon. Interviews are the scariest part of any job, and many people find them very challenging. Mock interviews can help you prepare better for the upcoming task by putting you in a similar situation.

Here's how career counselors use mock interviews:

Provided job assistance activities such as resume critiques and mock interviews during initial counseling and follow-up counseling sessions.
Performed mock interviews to identify problem areas and recommended strategies for improvement.

11. PowerPoint

Here's how career counselors use powerpoint:

Presented statistical data to various command levels utilizing PowerPoint and Excel spreadsheets in presentation formats.
Developed innovative PowerPoint presentations used to market GCC programs to potential students.

12. Training Programs

Here's how career counselors use training programs:

Created and delivered orientation and safety training programs, problem-solved staffing and performance related issues.
Managed all procurement efforts, developed and conducted training programs for all recruiting personnel.

13. Interview Preparation

Here's how career counselors use interview preparation:

Manage and provide recommendations on resume development, job application, networking and interview preparation.
Advised and provided guidance to students regarding application material development and interview preparation.

14. Career Fairs

Here's how career counselors use career fairs:

Attended career fairs and developed network composed of veterans and employers nationally.
Conducted quarterly workshops/career fairs throughout five cities and military installations.

15. Career Assessments

Here's how career counselors use career assessments:

Recommended, administered, and interpreted standardized career assessment inventories.
Administered and interpreted career assessments for Women in Transition.

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What skills help Career Counselors find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on career counselor resumes?

Hassan Akmal

Executive Director of the UCLA Career Center, University of California, Los Angeles

Transferable skills. Soft and hard. The soft skills are now referred to as "success skills" and include skills such as creativity, emotional intelligence, critical thinking and problem solving, analytics skills, and people management.
Active learning, agility, resilience, stress tolerance and flexibility are additional skills in demand that graduates need to consider.

What hard/technical skills are most important for career counselors?

Kacie Blalock Ph.D.

Associate Professor; Director, Master of Counseling, Louisiana State University at Shreveport

It is important that counselors are able to effectively take notes and summarize progress, interpret assessments, memorize and recall information, and keep clear yet concise records.

What career counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Kai KOONG

Dean, Brimmer College of Business and Information Science, Tuskegee University

First, industry certifications and electronic badges will be useful for your longevity in the workplace.

Second, acquire additional soft skills and know when to put them to work

Third, learn new tools (SAP, and AI and ML in particular) can help you to climb the ladder and avoid being laid off too

What type of skills will young career counselors need?

Dr. Thomas Dearden Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Indeed, the way we work is changing. The skills that young graduates will need are diverse. Transferable skills and soft skills will certainly be marketable. These include traditional crafts such as communication, but I also think the world expects more empathy from its employees. Young graduates with an understanding of racism, sexism, and environmental responsibility will become increasingly important.

What soft skills should all career counselors possess?

William Hill

Director, Career Services, Monmouth University

Problem solving skills are essential in the workplace for new grads, especially now. They will find it increasingly difficult to engage more experienced co-workers for helpful problem solving advice in a virtual workspace. You can't just stroll over to someone's office for a quick chat anymore. They will be more often "on their own" when it comes to analyzing a challenge and crafting a solution. Verbal and written communication skills remain important in a workspace dominated by Zoom and email.

Do you want to know more?

List of career counselor skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a career counselor resume and required skills for a career counselor to have include:

Career Development
Career Services
Professional Development
Career Planning
Mental Health
Career Exploration
Financial Aid
Community Resources
Support Services
Mock Interviews
PowerPoint
Training Programs
Interview Preparation
Career Fairs
Career Assessments
MBTI

Retention Programs
Social Development
Career Paths
Educational Programs
Employment Services
Veterans
Crisis Intervention
Individual Career
Career Workshops
Assistance Program
Military Service
Sailors
Career Guidance
Career Options
Interview Techniques
HR

Statistical Data
Resume Development
Retention Rate
Behavioral Problems
Career Progression
US Army
Career Decisions
Personality Characteristics
Resume Preparation
IEP
WIA
NCO
Social Media Sites
Employability
Investment ACT

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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