What does a high school counselor do?
High school counselors are professional counselors who assist high school students in developing their academic and social skills as well as serve their social and emotional needs. These counselors are required to have one-on-one sessions with students who are experiencing personal problems. They are required to guide students with their college application process and other avenues such as apprenticeships or training programs. High school counselors must also educate students about issues such as drug abuse, bullying, or other significant problems the students are facing.
High school counselor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real high school counselor resumes:
- Lead small student groups addressing student concerns about divorce, loneliness, social skills, study skills and recovery.
- Assist students with FAFSA guidelines and scholarship searches.
- Help students complete FAFSA, and other time-sensitive documents.
- Coordinate test administration; conduct score interpretation and informal workshops about the PSAT program.
- Administer standardized tests (Stanford 10 and PSAT) and review the results with students, parents and teaching staff.
- Facilitate activities ranging from yoga to leadership training.
- Mentore and counsele students toward academic and vocational achievement and youth leadership.
- Remain non-denominational, open, flexible and ecumenical in service to patients while also providing additional resources from local spiritual communities.
- Include were SST, academic, and attendance parent/student conferences.
- Utilize age-appropriate and culturally sensitive approaches to conduct HIV education and outreach in the community.
High school counselor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 7% of High School Counselors are proficient in Mental Health, Financial Aid, and Community Resources. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Compassion, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of High School Counselors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Mental Health, 7%
Facilitate weekly lifestyle group sessions focusing on mental health challenges and insight and direction for developmentally appropriate issues.
- Financial Aid, 7%
Provided workshops for parents and students regarding financial aid, scholarship information, and credit recovery information.
- Community Resources, 7%
Communicate with families and assist in locating community resources in order to enhance student s educational, social/emotional and physical well-being.
- Social Work, 6%
Coordinated, developed, and maintained psychological treatment plan by communicating with primary therapist, social worker/probation officer and school administration.
- Crisis Intervention, 6%
Conducted crisis intervention and conflict resolution sessions with students and/or their families.
- at-Risk, 5%
Developed after-school tutoring for At-Risk students/community-at-large in basic skills and ESL.
Most high school counselors use their skills in "mental health," "financial aid," and "community resources" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential high school counselor responsibilities here:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a high school counselor to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what high school counselors do because "school and career counselors and advisors interpret student records, schoolwide data, and assessments to match interests and abilities with potential careers. ." Additionally, a high school counselor resume shows how high school counselors use analytical skills: "interpreted standardized testing data, and presenting the findings for entire sarcoxie faculty. "
Compassion. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling high school counselor duties is compassion. The role rewards competence in this skill because "school and career counselors and advisors often work with people who are dealing with stressful and difficult situations, so they must be able to empathize with their clients and students." According to a high school counselor resume, here's how high school counselors can utilize compassion in their job responsibilities: "provide at-risk youth with therapeutic and compassionate services. "
Interpersonal skills. high school counselors are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to high school counselor responsibilities, because "school and career counselors and advisors must be able to work with people of all backgrounds and personalities." A high school counselor resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "assist students in developing self-understanding, self-acceptance, effective interpersonal skills, career exploration, and educational planning. "
Listening skills. high school counselor responsibilities often require "listening skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "school and career counselors and advisors need to give full attention to students and clients in order to understand their problems." This resume example shows what high school counselors do with listening skills on a typical day: "communicated with parents, teachers, students and administrators to resolve students behavior and academic issues. "
Speaking skills. A commonly-found skill in high school counselor job descriptions, "speaking skills" is essential to what high school counselors do. High school counselor responsibilities rely on this skill because "school and career counselors and advisors must communicate effectively with clients and students." You can also see how high school counselor duties rely on speaking skills in this resume example: "use spanish speaking skills and ell teaching background to do scheduling and career planning with students. "
The three companies that hire the most high school counselors are:
- SUCCESS Academy7 high school counselors jobs
- K124 high school counselors jobs
- Good Shepherd Services4 high school counselors jobs
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Compare different high school counselors
High school counselor vs. Admissions representative
As the name entails, admissions representatives assist prospective and new students attending a university. They give these students the information they need to make a well-informed decision regarding enrollment, make admissions decisions, and review documents. It is also their job to decide which students need to be followed up, ask students their choices, and hold new and prospective students to deadlines. They may be assigned to several areas depending on the department's needs, including prospect management, graduate admissions, and undergraduate admissions.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a high school counselor are more likely to require skills like "mental health," "community resources," "social work," and "crisis intervention." On the other hand, a job as an admissions representative requires skills like "customer service," "patients," "phone calls," and "admissions process." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Admissions representatives really shine in the health care industry with an average salary of $50,011. Comparatively, high school counselors tend to make the most money in the professional industry with an average salary of $64,330.The education levels that admissions representatives earn slightly differ from high school counselors. In particular, admissions representatives are 25.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a high school counselor. Additionally, they're 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.High school counselor vs. Job coach
A job coach is responsible for evaluating people's skills and qualifications, advising them with career paths, helping with their aspirations, and promote employment opportunities. Job coaches help the clients build self-confidence and explore their maximum potentials to develop their professional growth. They provide counseling, understanding the clients' strengths and weaknesses, analyzing clients' personal goals, and guiding clients through job interviews and assessments. A job coach must have excellent communication, listening, and analytical skills to handle their clients' challenges and match their interests for the best career suited for them.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real high school counselor resumes. While high school counselor responsibilities can utilize skills like "financial aid," "social work," "at-risk," and "standardized testing," job coaches use skills like "developmental disabilities," "cpr," "rehabilitation," and "customer service."
On average, job coaches earn a lower salary than high school counselors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, job coaches earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $38,362. Whereas high school counselors have higher pay in the professional industry, with an average salary of $64,330.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Job coaches tend to reach lower levels of education than high school counselors. In fact, they're 26.8% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.6% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for high school counselors in the next 3-5 years?
Lesley Casarez Ph.D.
Director, Quality Enhancement Plan Program Coordinator, M.S. Professional School Counseling Associate Professor, Curriculum and Instruction, Angelo State University
High school counselor vs. Counselor internship
When it comes to Counselor Internship, among the primary responsibilities is to assist in dealing with various activities such as preparing and verifying necessary documentation, observing consultations and outreach programs, guide clients and help develop multiple helpful strategies, and provide assessments. Furthermore, one can conduct counseling and consultation only under supervision. It is also essential to track the information gathered and coordinate with assigned personnel to adhere to the company's regulations and policies.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a high school counselor is likely to be skilled in "mental health," "financial aid," "social work," and "at-risk," while a typical counselor internship is skilled in "intake assessments," "substance abuse issues," "mental health issues," and "group therapy sessions."
Counselor interns earn the best pay in the finance industry, where they command an average salary of $51,629. High school counselors earn the highest pay from the professional industry, with an average salary of $64,330.counselor interns typically earn lower educational levels compared to high school counselors. Specifically, they're 15.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.High school counselor vs. Employment counselor
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.
Types of high school counselor
Updated January 8, 2025
