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Resource counselor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen,

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical resource counselor skills. We ranked the top skills for resource counselors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 16.4% of resource counselor resumes contained mental health as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a resource counselor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 resource counselor 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 resource counselors use mental health:

Assisted clients with a mental health diagnosis on treatment plans to facilitate rehabilitation
Created educational presentations and discussions pertinent to mental health and addiction recovery

2. Developmental Disabilities

Here's how resource counselors use developmental disabilities:

Functioned as a member of the interdisciplinary planning team by assessing needs and designing/implementing support plans for adults with developmental disabilities.
Maintained outstanding client relations providing customer service for adults with developmental disabilities in problem solving, money management and community resources.

3. Medicaid

Here's how resource counselors use medicaid:

Completed initial assessments/evaluations on elders and individuals with disabilities in the local community for Home Care Services and community Medicaid programs.
Assisted individuals with applications for benefit programs including Illinois Medicaid, Medicare open enrollment, and prescription drug programs.

4. Crisis Intervention

Here's how resource counselors use crisis intervention:

Provided direct services to crisis intervention.
Served on Portsmouth Public School's Crisis Intervention Team and Portsmouth's Family Assessment Planning Team (FAPT).

6. 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 resource counselors use support services:

Provide support services to homeless individuals in Dakota County, including case management services and housing search assistance.
Conducted 50 client assessments per week and ascertained support services needed for clients to meet their goals.

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7. 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 resource counselors use community resources:

Assisted families in identifying/reaching appropriate community resources.
Work in tandem with the individual and their system of support to identify and overcome gaps in community resources.

8. Financial Assistance

Financial assistance refers to governmental assistance one may receive for a variety of reasons. This help is typically in the form of money, whether a loan, scholarship, grant, or reduced taxes provided to an individual or organization. One of the more common forms of financial assistance is student loans, which offer many prospective students a chance for higher education.

Here's how resource counselors use financial assistance:

Identified candidates for the DEI Grant financial assistance program, coordinated various interdepartmental activities.
Help Patients complete financial assistance applications, locate resources to help patients pay their bills.

9. Mental Illness

Here's how resource counselors use mental illness:

Provided direct care services to individuals who had a primary diagnosis of Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Illness and/or Chemical Dependency.
Provided independent skills and behavior modification counseling for people with mental illness, brain injuries, and substance abuse.

10. Local Employment Laws

Here's how resource counselors use local employment laws:

Empowered offender and ex-offender population with pertinent information regarding federal, state, and local employment laws.

11. Independent Living

Here's how resource counselors use independent living:

Promoted stability, social, personal and emotional enhancement and independent living skills.
Helped developmentally disabled individuals gain independent living skills.

12. Substance Abuse

Here's how resource counselors use substance abuse:

Conduct programs to prevent substance abuse or improve community health or counseling services EXPERIENCE
date Community Integration assistance Skills development Crisis evaluation Substance abuse services Attend weekly group supervision

13. Medication Administration

Here's how resource counselors use medication administration:

Supervised medication administration and maintain appropriate documentation.
Provided supportive counseling, supervision and assistance of clients with daily living skills, crisis management and medication administration.

14. HR

HR stands for human resources and is used to describe the set of people who work for a company or an organization. HR responsibilities revolve around updating employee records and carrying out management processes like planning, recruitment, evaluation, and selection processes. HR is a key contributor to any company or organization's growth as they are in charge of hiring the right employees, processing payrolls, conducting disciplinary actions, etc.

Here's how resource counselors use hr:

Edited internal HR newsletter to managers in the southeast region to promote awareness and compliance to corporate initiatives and policies.
Provide superior customer service to expatriates in all regions as needed while demonstrating extensive knowledge of HR policy.

15. Child Care

Child care means the care, supervision, or guidance of a child by a person other than the child's parent, guardian, or custodian for periods of less than 24 hours. Childcare could be either center-based such as a daycare or a nursery or home-based care such as nannies or family daycare.

Here's how resource counselors use child care:

Educated parents regarding child care services including information about selection of appropriate care.
Educated parents about the key factors of quality child care and provided counseling, support, referrals, and resources.

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What skills help Resource Counselors find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on resource counselor resumes?

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen

Associate Professor, Augustana University

In Mental Health Counseling, the ability to work with people from various cultural backgrounds is paramount. Training in multicultural psychology, diversity, and inclusion are all essential in our pluralistic society. I would also emphasize training in empirically supported treatments and a clear theoretical orientation grounded in scientific literature. Finally, the recent pandemic has accelerated the use of teletherapy and remote counseling--effectiveness in connecting with people through technology and making the most of an adapted model for therapy will be very important.

What soft skills should all resource counselors possess?

Dr. Benjamin Jeppsen

Associate Professor, Augustana University

Cultural awareness, knowledge, and skills are important, including openness to work with people with varying religious views. The ability to easily connect with others and put people at ease in your presence is valuable in working with clients and collaborating with a treatment team. As more and more agencies interact with the medical field, spiritual leaders, and other holistic approaches to health, counselors need to see their role in an interdisciplinary approach to healing and work effectively with other departments. With teletherapy/virtual therapy, just the simple difficulty of creating eye contact when one's camera is not directly aligned with their viewscreen can complicate important connections in the therapeutic relationship. Learning to effectively connect through screens is essential.

What hard/technical skills are most important for resource counselors?

Kacie Blalock Ph.D.

Associate Professor; Director, Master of Counseling, Louisiana State University at Shreveport

It is important that counselors are able to effectively take notes and summarize progress, interpret assessments, memorize and recall information, and keep clear yet concise records.

What resource counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Melissa Boas

Director of Professional School Counseling, Assistant Professor, Lancaster Bible College

I believe the most important skill to enhance if taking a gap year is self-awareness. Understanding oneself and why and how self-awareness directly relates to future career decision making is instrumental in ensuring the right decisions are made. Self-awareness is extremely beneficial in all areas of life not just in choosing a career pathway.

What type of skills will young resource counselors need?

Chris Hennington Ph.D.

School Counseling Program Coordinator, Lubbock Christian University

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.

Do you want to know more?

List of resource counselor skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a resource counselor resume and required skills for a resource counselor to have include:

Mental Health
Developmental Disabilities
Medicaid
Crisis Intervention
Social Security
Support Services
Community Resources
Financial Assistance
Mental Illness
Local Employment Laws
Independent Living
Substance Abuse
Medication Administration

HR
Child Care
CPR
Patient Care
Crisis Situations
Community Agencies
Vulnerable Adults
Scheduling Appointments
Crisis Management
ADL
Meal Planning
Behavior Management
Meal Preparation

Community Integration
Physical Disabilities
Local Community
Group Homes
Community Events
Medical Appointments
Emergency Situations
Technical Assistance
Emotional Support
Domestic Violence
Vocational Training
Direct Care
Referral Services

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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