What does an employment counselor do?
The employment counselor is someone who guides and advises people on how to choose, manage and continue in a career path they've chosen. The employment counselor educates people on each career's pros and cons, giving them insights into what to expect, salary rates, and employment chances in a particular profession. The employment counselor will also show how to excel in a specific career, offer ideas on what training or seminar to attend and what skills to enhance to achieve an edge over others.
Employment counselor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real employment counselor resumes:
- 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.
- Provide case management to TANF recipients that move clients to employment.
- Document in accordance with JCAHO, Medicaid, and all quality improvement standards.
- Direct all personnel activities relative to EEO, affirmative action, FMLA and employee benefits.
- Create reports / documents all information / findings of participant progress / non-compliance to DHS site for enforcement / recording.
- Conduct HRIS user and behavioral interview training to hospital management and leadership.
- Maintain and update documentation of all services provide to individuals for Medicaid purposes.
- Supervise data team for integrity of position updates relative to compensation and payroll.
- Facilitate job readiness group to assist homeless veterans and wellness clients overcome obstacles to employment.
- Develop PowerPoint presentations and facilitate jobs skills and jobs presentations according to needs community organizations' client base.
- Foster positive relationship with the unions that result in significant decline in grievances file and matters demand to arbitration.
- Supervise payroll administration, benefits plan enrollment, compensation administration, social events planning, and employee hiring/orientation process.
Employment counselor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 16% of Employment Counselors are proficient in Litigation, Employment Law, and HR. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Listening skills, and Speaking skills.
We break down the percentage of Employment Counselors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Litigation, 16%
Engineered rescission of hundreds of employment contracts and major workforce reduction with no resulting litigation.
- Employment Law, 14%
Reviewed, interpreted and implemented labor/employment laws affecting the recruitment process.
- HR, 10%
Developed and delivered HR compliance/EEO training.
- Employment Litigation, 6%
Key Achievements: Successfully negotiated favorable settlements in several high profile employment litigations in the US and abroad.
- FLSA, 5%
Led and managed an internal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) audit and pay equity study.
- Training Programs, 4%
Served as case manager for approximately 200 veterans enrolled in federally-funded job training programs.
Most employment counselors use their skills in "litigation," "employment law," and "hr" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential employment counselor responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. The most essential soft skill for an employment counselor to carry out their responsibilities is analytical skills. This skill is important for the role because "school and career counselors and advisors interpret student records, schoolwide data, and assessments to match interests and abilities with potential careers. ." Additionally, an employment counselor resume shows how their duties depend on analytical skills: "analyzed daily statistics, served as chief liaison person between the testing center, financial assistance office, orientation staff. "
Listening skills. Another essential skill to perform employment counselor duties is listening skills. Employment counselors responsibilities require that "school and career counselors and advisors need to give full attention to students and clients in order to understand their problems." Employment counselors also use listening skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "communicated with job seeker to advice on resume, and transferable skills. "
Speaking skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of employment counselors is speaking skills. This skill is critical to many everyday employment counselor duties, as "school and career counselors and advisors must communicate effectively with clients and students." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "represented twentieth century fox film corporation and other fox related entities in litigation. "
Interpersonal skills. For certain employment counselor responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "interpersonal skills." The day-to-day duties of an employment counselor rely on this skill, as "school and career counselors and advisors must be able to work with people of all backgrounds and personalities." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what employment counselors do: "performed groups for interpersonal skills, anger management skills, and social skills. "
The three companies that hire the most employment counselors are:
- Applied Materials23 employment counselors jobs
- Thermo Fisher Scientific10 employment counselors jobs
- Stepan8 employment counselors jobs
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Compare different employment counselors
Employment counselor vs. Clinician
A clinician specializes in providing diagnosis, treatment, and direct care to patients with different illnesses. A clinician's duties mainly revolve around conducting extensive research and analysis, providing medical care through various therapies, and improving one's overall health condition. Furthermore, a clinician must obtain and analyze a patient's complete medical history, provide diagnostic tests, always monitor the effects of treatment on a patient, provide prognosis and consider the overall impact on a patient's health and well-being.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between employment counselors and clinician. For instance, employment counselor responsibilities require skills such as "litigation," "employment law," "hr," and "employment litigation." Whereas a clinician is skilled in "social work," "patients," "patient care," and "individual therapy." This is part of what separates the two careers.
The education levels that clinicians earn slightly differ from employment counselors. In particular, clinicians are 27.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an employment counselor. Additionally, they're 2.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Employment counselor vs. Licensed professional counselor
A licensed professional counselor is a healthcare professional who specializes in providing therapy and counseling to patients with emotional and mental health issues. They listen to their patients and utilize various techniques to address concerns and help through the healing procedures. Their duties entail conducting interviews and evaluations, performing research and assessments, studying the patients' medical histories, providing consultations, and developing treatment plans that suit every patients' needs. Additionally, a licensed professional counselor monitors and records their patients' progress, adjusting treatments and medications as necessary.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real employment counselor resumes. While employment counselor responsibilities can utilize skills like "litigation," "employment law," "hr," and "employment litigation," licensed professional counselors use skills like "patients," "social work," "lpc," and "real estate."
Licensed professional counselors earn a higher average salary than employment counselors. But licensed professional counselors earn the highest pay in the real estate industry, with an average salary of $99,425. Additionally, employment counselors earn the highest salaries in the professional with average pay of $47,101 annually.In general, licensed professional counselors achieve higher levels of education than employment counselors. They're 34.8% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 2.8% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for employment counselors in the next 3-5 years?
Juleen Buser Ph.D.
Professor and Director, School Counseling and Coaching Programs, Rider University
Employment counselor vs. Vocational rehabilitation counselor
The primary role of a vocational rehabilitation counselor is to help disabled people to live fully and independently. Vocational rehabilitation counselors assist people with disabilities in securing employment. They provide health care to those who are coping with mental illness, substance abuse issues, psychological disorders, or physical disabilities. Knowledge of patient care, health management, rehabilitation program, and clinical psychology is a must for this job.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an employment counselor is likely to be skilled in "litigation," "employment law," "hr," and "employment litigation," while a typical vocational rehabilitation counselor is skilled in "plan development," "vocational assessments," "social work," and "vocational rehabilitation."
Vocational rehabilitation counselors make a very good living in the non profits industry with an average annual salary of $51,785. On the other hand, employment counselors are paid the highest salary in the professional industry, with average annual pay of $47,101.vocational rehabilitation counselors typically earn higher educational levels compared to employment counselors. Specifically, they're 22.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 4.9% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Employment counselor vs. Student services counselor
Student Services is a part of the school program that focuses on helping students in their studies. A Student Services Counselor handles this task and is the contact person for all students who need help or who have problems and issues requiring solutions and answers. In a culturally diverse population in schools, it is the student service counselor's job to connect each student to relevant student service programs available in the school. Ultimately, the welfare of the students and their success in school is the goal of this position.
Even though a few skill sets overlap between employment counselors and student services counselors, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an employment counselor might have more use for skills like "litigation," "employment law," "hr," and "employment litigation." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of student services counselors require skills like "customer service," "financial aid," "student services," and "social work. "
In general, student services counselors earn the most working in the government industry, with an average salary of $45,469. The highest-paying industry for an employment counselor is the professional industry.student services counselors reach similar levels of education compared to employment counselors, in general. The difference is that they're 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 3.8% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of employment counselor
Updated January 8, 2025
