How To Become An Employment Counselor: What It Is and Career Path

What is an employment counselor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Bill Buker

Employment counselors assist people in making career decisions. They help groups or individuals assess their education, work experience, affinities, skills, and personal interests to guide their clients towards the right professional path.

Working as an employment counselor, you will conduct tests and surveys with your clients to explore personality traits, hidden talents, and skills. Through these assessments, you will help your clients better understand their needs and options and take steps towards finding job placements.

You might also be expected to help out with practical aspects of the job search, connecting your clients to agencies or helping them sort out job offers. A degree in psychology is often expected of candidates for this position, as you will have to deal with nuances of various personalities. Experience on the job is also valued, although usually on-the-job training is provided upon hire.

What general advice would you give to an employment counselor?

Dr. Bill Buker

Associate Dean and Professor of Professional Counseling, Oral Roberts University

In response to your first question, my general advice to graduates beginning their career in theological and ministerial studies, is to be aware of the manifold and diverse opportunities for meaningful ministry in today's world due, in no small part, to Covid-19. While traditional forms of ministry may be limited, new and creative ways of connecting are emerging. In the context of this current pandemic, the inherent human quest for meaning has people asking the big questions. In their attempts to make sense of what is happening in the world, people are open to discussions and reflections on which theology has much to contribute. Engaging in such conversations, by becoming caring and competent listeners, not only opens doors for ministry, it constitutes ministry. However, I would add this reminder that listening well to the struggles of others goes far beyond what theological and ministerial graduates have learned in the classroom. It has everything to do with who they are as persons, which means that their spiritual formation will be the critical variable as they seek to incarnate Jesus in their contexts of ministry.

ScoreEmployment CounselorUS Average

Salary

3.4

Avg. Salary $43,848

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

9.0

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.62%

Asian 3.74%

Black or African American 10.64%

Hispanic or Latino 14.20%

Unknown 3.76%

White 67.03%

Gender

female 62.85%

male 37.15%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

9.0

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

9.7

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.7

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an employment counselor

Explore employment counselor education requirements

Most common employment counselor degrees

Bachelor's

66.7 %

Master's

12.9 %

Associate

10.0 %

Start to develop specific employment counselor skills

Skills	Percentages
Litigation	16.31%
Employment Law	14.23%
HR	9.66%
Employment Litigation	6.33%
FLSA	4.58%

Complete relevant employment counselor training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New employment counselors learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an employment counselor based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real employment counselor resumes.

Research employment counselor duties and responsibilities

Complete reports, manage client files and process WIA billing invoices for tuition and supplies.
Manage a caseload of Calworks participants in working towards the goal of self-sufficiency and employment.
Monitor caseworkers to ensure rehabilitation services are properly coordinate to aid clients in achieving self-sufficiency.
Source, develop, and implement HRIS systems.

Prepare your employment counselor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your employment counselor resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an employment counselor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable employment counselor resume templates

Build a professional employment counselor resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your employment counselor resume.

Apply for employment counselor jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an employment counselor job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do employment counselors rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Employment counselor reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Sep 2019

Pros

Helping people find their own paths, incorporating values and interests. I love it when people identify what they really want and get excited about working towards it.

Cons

I'm in private practice so there's always some task that needs doing: bookkeeping, marketing, etc. It's a lot but it's not unbearable.

A zippia user wrote a review on Apr 2019