Elementary school counselor skills for your resume and career

Important soft skills include excellent communication skills, being collaborative, empathetic, and a good listener, being flexible and adaptable, respecting and appreciating cultural differences, being an advocate for students, being trustworthy, having the ability to build relationships.

These would include proficiency with technology tools that enhance communication, instruction, and assessment, critical analysis and/or problem-solving skills, and data analysis skills.

That very much depends on the student and their goals.

If you are eventually planning on graduate school, I recommend that you develop the areas that would make you most attractive to graduate programs. If you seek a graduate degree in psychology, for example, and you have never had any type of research experience, I recommend that you volunteer or seek a part-time position as a research assistant. If you are having trouble finding a position, I recommend that you email former psychology (or other social sciences) professors and make it known that you are willing to work hard for an opportunity to help with some type of research being done on the campus. Most professors who have active grants would be delighted to hire a former student part time, and most professors can direct you to the people who have grants. If a professor is doing research that is unfunded, they are often looking for volunteers.

If you are a psychology major, you have research skills that are in demand. You know how to do a literature review and understand how to write in APA format. Even if you are not a good writer, you can use excel and enter data in spreadsheets. One of the biggest benefits of conducting research with a faculty member is that almost all participants on the project become an author on the research. Even if you are listed as an author in the number ten position, you are still an author. This is experience that enhances a resume or C.V.

If you are looking to become more marketable for a job, with or without a graduate degree, I recommend that you utilize the career development resources in your own college or university. I have found that career services are often one of the most under-utilized resources on college campuses. Most university and college career development centers will help students to develop their online presence, including familiarizing students with all of the new platforms. They can help students refine their interests and goals through a variety of inventories and surveys. They can help create and refine your resume, and take your professional photos. Career development centers offer much more assistance, too. Almost all career centers are open to alumni as well as current students.

Finally, you should not forgot about volunteer opportunities. The pandemic has created an unlimited demand for volunteers at shelters, food banks, crisis centers, online tutoring programs and more. Volunteering not only builds your resume but also expands your social network. It provides a new group of people who can write letters of recommendation and speak directly about your level of empathy or work ethic. Most of the undergraduate students that I know were offered their first job as the result of volunteer or internship experience.

There is one specialized area that I recommend to almost all of my students right now. The global pandemic has exacerbated substance abuse related issues. If you are doing a gap year and have an interest in counseling or education, consider volunteer or paid work in some type of substance abuse setting. The pharmaceutical industry has recently started making amends for over-marketing opiate medications and contributing to a huge national, addiction crisis. Many companies have legally settled suits with state governments for millions of dollars, specifically allocated to substance abuse education and treatment. These dollars will quickly flow to local governments and not-for-profits. If you gain experience, reasonable competency, and ethical behavior in this industry, I predict you will easily find a good job, even with only an undergraduate degree.

School counselors will be tasked with the usual school counseling responsibilities while also encountering trauma that students experience outside of school and in school. Being well versed in trauma response is going to be a vital aspect of being a school counselor. Kids are experiencing more trauma, but we are getting better at recognizing and treating trauma as well.