Post job

What does a community worker do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Debra Minsky-Kelly

Community workers are individuals who work with families or social communities to help promote or restore the social functioning of a community. These workers must promote social justice and maximizing human potential while advocating the rights of individuals and community groups. They must have the skills and flexibility to work with multiple client groups to assess and evaluate community projects and programs. Community workers must also work for non-profit organizations, government, and private sectors to provide human services.

On this page

Community worker responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real community worker resumes:

  • Prepare patients for abortion procedures; assist doctor and perform ultrasounds during procedures; support women physically and emotionally after abortions.
  • Examine injured persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.

Community worker skills and personality traits

We calculated that 12% of Community Workers are proficient in Social Services, Mental Health, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Instructional skills, and Writing skills.

We break down the percentage of Community Workers that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Social Services, 12%

    Facilitate referral to a number of services such as primary health care, social services, housing entitlements, and benefits.

  • Mental Health, 8%

    Position: Regional Community Worker Responsibilities: - Developed and/or facilitated educational programs/groups around various Mental Health and parenting issues.

  • Rehabilitation, 7%

    Performed a community work based assessment through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.

  • Financial Eligibility, 6%

    Obtain, verifies and calculates income and resource to determine client financial eligibility for the aged and disabled individual needs.

  • Community Resources, 6%

    Provided information and referrals to local agencies and organizations; coordinated community resources and state services.

  • Local Community, 5%

    Provide early intervention information and resources for local community members

Common skills that a community worker uses to do their job include "social services," "mental health," and "rehabilitation." You can find details on the most important community worker responsibilities below.

Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for a community worker to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "health education specialists collect and evaluate data to determine the needs of the people they serve." Additionally, a community worker resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "verified case data, explained program benefits and requirements for the program. "

Instructional skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling community worker duties is instructional skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "health education specialists and community health workers lead programs, teach classes, and facilitate discussion with clients and families." According to a community worker resume, here's how community workers can utilize instructional skills in their job responsibilities: "selected and recommended new instructional materials and programs for use in the substance abuse program. "

Interpersonal skills. community worker responsibilities often require "interpersonal skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "health education specialists and community health workers interact with many people from a variety of backgrounds." This resume example shows what community workers do with interpersonal skills on a typical day: "resolved personal, social, vocational, and interpersonal concerns through implementation of cognitive behavioral therapy. "

Problem-solving skills. Another common skill required for community worker responsibilities is "problem-solving skills." This skill comes up in the duties of community workers all the time, as "health education specialists and community health workers must think creatively about improving the health of the community." An excerpt from a real community worker resume shows how this skill is central to what a community worker does: "discovered and implemented solutions to transportation barriers to ensure medical care received. "

See the full list of community worker skills

The three companies that hire the most community workers are:

Choose from 10+ customizable community worker resume templates

Build a professional community worker resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your community worker resume.
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume
Community Worker Resume

Compare different community workers

Community worker vs. Service provider

Service providers are individuals or entities offering services to an organization and other parties. They provide storage, processing, or network services. The providers offer organizations real estate, communications, education, legal, and consulting services. It is their job to complete the requested tasks of their clients, provide solutions to network problems, and recommend options based on the needs of their clients. They also suggest changes or opportunities necessary within the organization.

The annual salary of service providers is $4,940 lower than the average salary of community workers.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between community workers and service providers are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like social services, mental health, and community resources.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, community worker responsibilities require skills like "rehabilitation," "financial eligibility," "local community," and "statistical reports." Meanwhile a typical service provider has skills in areas such as "customer service," "cleanliness," "strong customer service," and "social work." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Service providers earn the highest salaries when working in the insurance industry, with an average yearly salary of $37,005. On the other hand, community workers are paid more in the education industry with an average salary of $40,922.On average, service providers reach similar levels of education than community workers. Service providers are 2.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Community worker vs. Outreach specialist

An outreach specialist is primarily responsible for organizing and managing social service programs that promote health and wellness within a community. They typically conduct research and assessments to determine the community's needs, thoroughly plan events and programs, participate in hiring staff and volunteers, and liaise with sponsors and suppliers. Often reporting to a manager or supervisor, an outreach specialist must also perform clerical tasks such as producing progress reports, preparing necessary documentation, managing schedules, arranging appointments, and even responding to inquiries and concerns.

A career as a outreach specialist brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a community worker. In fact, outreach specialists salary is $1,834 higher than the salary of community workers per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Community workers and outreach specialists both require similar skills like "social services," "mental health," and "rehabilitation" to carry out their responsibilities.

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, community worker responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "financial eligibility," "local community," "statistical reports," and "provider agencies." Meanwhile, an outreach specialist has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "patients," "social work," and "veterans." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, outreach specialists earn a higher salary than community workers. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, outreach specialists earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $47,346. Whereas community workers have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $40,922.In general, outreach specialists achieve similar levels of education than community workers. They're 1.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for community workers in the next 3-5 years?

Debra Minsky-KellyDebra Minsky-Kelly LinkedIn profile

Director of Field Education / Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, Carthage College

We have certainly learned a lot about remote service delivery options and ways in which these tools can make services more accessible to some clients and communities. However, I also think we have learned that connecting via technology has limitations. The power of in-person human connection is reliable, and this can often not be replicated via technology. I believe that technology has an important role to play in service delivery. Still, social workers also need to recognize the importance of keeping clients connected to their natural support networks. During periods of distress, healthy and connected relationships provide an essential buffering effect on the long term effects of trauma.

Community worker vs. Support services coordinator

Support Services Coordinators are responsible for leading the administrative and deployment of a staff team. Their duties include preparing presentation documents, preparing and processing expense and budget reports, answering phone and emails, and arranging meetings. They also provide direction in the learning and development needs of staff. A Support Service Coordinator will work to ensure quality assurance is met within services and ensure the inclusion and support of employees within an organization.

On average, support services coordinators earn lower salaries than community workers, with a $589 difference per year.By looking over several community workers and support services coordinators resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "mental health," "community resources," and "community agencies." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a community worker is likely to be skilled in "social services," "rehabilitation," "financial eligibility," and "local community," while a typical support services coordinator is skilled in "customer service," "support services," "social work," and "basic math."

Support services coordinators earn the best pay in the government industry, where they command an average salary of $48,629. Community workers earn the highest pay from the education industry, with an average salary of $40,922.support services coordinators typically earn similar educational levels compared to community workers. Specifically, they're 1.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.6% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Community worker vs. Intake specialist

Intake coordinators manage the registration of clients or patients for medical services in a health care facility. They talk to patients and their families, determine their needs, and ask for patients' medical history and their mental and physical state. It is part of their job to obtain the insurance information of the patients. The necessary skills to become an intake coordinator include good writing and reading skills, good communication, and attention to detail.

Intake specialists typically earn lower pay than community workers. On average, intake specialists earn a $3,224 lower salary per year.While both community workers and intake specialists complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like mental health, community resources, and community agencies, the two careers vary in some skills.While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "social services," "rehabilitation," "financial eligibility," and "local community" are skills that commonly show up on community worker resumes. On the other hand, intake specialists use skills like patients, customer service, social work, and data entry on their resumes.intake specialists enjoy the best pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $41,839. For comparison, community workers earn the highest salary in the education industry.In general, intake specialists hold similar degree levels compared to community workers. Intake specialists are 0.7% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of community worker

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

Browse community and social services jobs