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Human service specialist skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

6 min read

Quoted experts

Adam Greer,

Michelle Kelley Shuler Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical human service specialist skills. We ranked the top skills for human service specialists based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 13.1% of human service specialist resumes contained mental health as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a human service specialist needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 human service specialist skills for your resume and career

1. Mental Health

Mental health is the state of wellbeing in which an individual can cope with the regular stresses and tensions of life, and can work productively without having any emotional or psychological breakdown. Mental health is essential for a person of any age and helps them make the right decisions in their life.

Here's how human service specialists use mental health:

Coordinated with other mental health and social services agencies to develop individualized plans.
Participated in orientation activities for new Mental Health Specialists.

3. Program Eligibility

Here's how human service specialists use program eligibility:

Interview clients, verify data and determine program eligibility.perform the work involved in arranging for voluntary consent support agreements.
Applied state and federal program regulations and specific county practices in order to determine ongoing program eligibility.

4. Medicaid

Here's how human service specialists use medicaid:

Processed Medicaid applications and determined eligibility.
Interpret and apply policies, procedures, and guidelines to determine eligibility for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Medicaid programs.

6. Community Resources

Community resources are a set of resources that are used in the day to day life of people which improves their lifestyle in some way. People, sites or houses, and population assistance can come under the services offered by community resources.

Here's how human service specialists use community resources:

Use community networking and existing community resources, prevention, counseling skills and leadership development as necessary to facilitate treatment.
Determined applicant needs, provided instructions and referrals to appropriate disaster programs, community resources and other federal agencies.

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7. Human Services

The field of human services is centered around meeting human needs through applied interdisciplinary knowledge. The study focuses on prevention, solving problems, and improving and maintaining the quality of life of service populations.

Here's how human service specialists use human services:

Interpreted program information; determining eligibility for human service programs; conducted in-office and on-site interviews; and assessments.
Developed human service funding model for the City to include application development agency training, contract development and monitoring.

8. Patients

Here's how human service specialists use patients:

Assessed patients' suicidal or homicidal risk and facilitated admissions into Crisis Stabilization Units.
Established effective liaisons with community agencies to ensure coordination of services to patients.

9. Rehabilitation

Here's how human service specialists use rehabilitation:

Case load included early intervention, behavioral health, vocational rehabilitation and other Support Coordination services.
Worked with employees of local drug and alcohol rehabilitation centers to determine eligibility for inpatients.

10. Developmental Disabilities

Here's how human service specialists use developmental disabilities:

Support Coordinator for individuals with developmental disabilities providing case management and advocacy within the home, school/work, and community.
Provided various case management tasks through direct and indirect assistance to families and their children with developmental disabilities.

11. Child Support

Here's how human service specialists use child support:

Identified resources and provided information to families and individuals to achieve self sufficiency through employment opportunities and/or child support services.
Researched and located non-custodial parents accessing state-level government agency databases to enforce child support orders.

12. Foster Care

Here's how human service specialists use foster care:

Completed a required Child Protective Services Foster Care Certification Class.
Assigned foster care case management responsibility.

13. Technical Assistance

Technical assistance is the non-financial assistance provided by local or international specialists. The purpose of technical assistance is to maximize the project's implementation and quality of the final product. Technical assistance consists of sharing information, the transmission of working knowledge, and other transfer of technical data which would aid the administration, management team and help build the project. The technical assistance focuses on particular needs identified by the beneficiary country and is delivered in the form of missions.

Here's how human service specialists use technical assistance:

Provide guidance and technical assistance to providers with program and fiscal planning, interpreting departmental objectives and coordinating human service delivery.
Provided technical assistance to other agents on Team 6 at request of Supervisor and routinely assisted supervisor with administrative tasks.

14. Support Services

Support services are services that support the organization internally and are usually non-revenue generating. Examples include, IT, admin, HR, etc.

Here's how human service specialists use support services:

Evaluated and authorized transportation assistance and job support services for clients who participate in self-sufficiency directed programs.
Implemented clinical support services to facility residents with severe and persistent mental illnesses.

15. Protective Services

Protective services are services offered to vulnerable individuals or legal representatives to protect them against potential abuse, violence, or negligence. Protective services are offered to ensure that an individual's safety stays intact and they don't fall victim to crime or exploitation. Such services include, social casework, stated appointed witness protection, home care, legal assistance, day-care etc.

Here's how human service specialists use protective services:

Initiated and completed Child protective services investigations in opened treatment cases where a new typology was reported.
Planned and executed casework activities related to assessment and investigation of child protective services reports.

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What skills help Human Service Specialists find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on human service specialist resumes?

Adam Greer

Career Services Specialist, Auburn University

Clearly, the distance/online working skills will stand out with our HDFS majors. Our students have a strong foundation in learning to work with people, and now they have a new way to work with people and remove barriers that might have previously prevented an in-person meeting.

What soft skills should all human service specialists possess?

Michelle Kelley Shuler Ph.D.

Department Chair: Human Services, Austin Community College

I would refer to this skill set as "essential" and consist of compassion, empathy, teamwork, the ability to listen, a sense of humor, and most importantly, the ability to practice self-care. I include self-care in this list because working in the human service field can be exhausting and emotionally overwhelming. Taking care of ourselves helps to prevent burnout and possibly leaving the profession.

What hard/technical skills are most important for human service specialists?

Michelle Kelley Shuler Ph.D.

Department Chair: Human Services, Austin Community College

a. Must have strong basic computer skills and knowledge of software such as excel spreadsheets, google docs, etc. Most, if not all, agencies use electronic health records and treatment planning, so it is necessary to be competent in this area.
b. A degree and additional certifications will assist you in seeking employment. It will also increase your level of competency and diversify the communities you serve. For example, at Austin Community College, we offer our students a chance to complete a certification in Mental Health First Aid Training. This increases their marketability and skill level.

What human service specialist skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Dr. Lynann “Annie” Butler

Chair and Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Gap years are good opportunities to get a job in the field of interest. Having some professional experience helps people decide in what field, exactly, they want to earn a master's degree, or can help students to save money and focus their energies if returning to complete their bachelor's degree.

What type of skills will young human service specialists need?

Dr. Joseph Constantine Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, California University of Pennsylvania

While adaptability has always been heralded as the key predictor of employment success in the future, rapid changes in the social and economic landscape also bring with them an increased need for more traditional skills such as building relationships, understanding specific community needs, networking with other professionals, and advocating for more intensive treatment protocols.

What technical skills for a human service specialist stand out to employers?

Dr. Abby Templer Rodrigues Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Missouri State University

Employers look for oral and written communication skills, the ability to work effectively in diverse teams, analytical and quantitative reasoning, and the ability to adapt to new technologies (Ciabattari et al. 2018). Employers specifically prefer college graduates who have experience applying these skills through internships, service learning, senior projects or collaborative research, field projects, or study abroad (Ciabattari et al. 2018).

References

Ciabattari Teresa, Lowney Kathleen S., Monson Renee A., Senter Mary Scheuer, and Chin
Jeffrey. 2018. "Linking Sociology Majors to Labor Market Success." Teaching Sociology 46 (3): 191-207.
Handwerker, Elizabeth Weber, Peter B. Meyer, and Joseph Piacentini. 2020. "Employment
Recovery in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic." Monthly Labor Review, December, 1-24.
Langin, Katie. 2020. "U.S. faculty job market tanks." Science 370(6514): 272-273.

Do you want to know more?

List of human service specialist skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a human service specialist resume and required skills for a human service specialist to have include:

Mental Health
Social Work
Program Eligibility
Medicaid
Social Services
Community Resources
Human Services
Patients
Rehabilitation
Developmental Disabilities
Child Support
Foster Care
Technical Assistance
Support Services
Protective Services
Law Enforcement
HR

Behavioral Health
Crisis Intervention
Social Security
State Agencies
DSS
Community Agencies
Substance Abuse
Treatment Services
Child Protective
Federal Laws
Community Services
Medical Assistance
DHS
Child Care
TANF
Public Assistance Programs
Computer System

CPS
Family Court
Child Welfare
Telephone Interviews
Financial Assistance
Facilitate Safety
Vulnerable Adults
Housing Assistance
Federal Regulations
State Regulations
Legal Rights
Local Agencies
Legal Proceedings
Telephone Calls
Early Intervention
Foster Children

Updated January 8, 2025

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.

Updated January 8, 2025

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