What does a school counselor do?
A school counselor is responsible for monitoring the students' social and personal development, advising them of their career aspirations, and assisting them with their academic achievements and goals. School counselors also ensure that the students receive the highest learning standards to pave their way towards society's advancement and global competitiveness. They evaluate students' behavior through personal counseling, understanding their challenges, and develop strategies to overcome their needs. A school counselor must have excellent communication and decision-making skills, supporting students with their goals, and honing their skills efficiently.
School counselor responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real school counselor resumes:
- Manage open houses, recruitment, and conduct interviews for GED student enrollment.
- Travel to professional conferences and to visit colleges and universities across the country for professional development.
- Attend educational meetings (IEP, IST, CCT, etc . )
- Create and implement FBA's.
- Complete CPR training and other necessary training classes.
- Communicate with DCF in regards to students as needed
- Facilitate 504 and SST meeting with teachers, families, and psychologist.
- Create lesson plans in reading, writing, and mathematics base on students' skill level.
- Serve as site supervisor for internship program and school coordinator for NCAA eligibility for student athletes.
- Work with all grade level ranging from Pre-K to 5th grade assuring a fun and safe environment.
- Supervise and participate as a role model for the assigned children enroll in grades Pre-K to 5th.
- Work with elementary kids with slight learning challenges after school helping them with homework and teaching them life-skills.
- Provide clinical and therapeutic services to school age children (k-12) with a wide range of developmental disabilities.
- Teach classroom guidance and college for kids, coordinate and over see small groups, and facilitate individual counseling.
- Present testing and observation data to parents, faculty members, and students at CSE meetings and informing conferences.
School counselor skills and personality traits
We calculated that 10% of School Counselors are proficient in Mental Health, Community Resources, and Crisis Intervention. They’re also known for soft skills such as Analytical skills, Compassion, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of School Counselors that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Mental Health, 10%
Provided school-based mental health services for mildly, moderately, and severely emotionally disturbed youth and significant problems within their families.
- Community Resources, 8%
Implemented a referral and follow-up process with community resources regarding students with identified social/emotional needs and, Juvenile Court involvement.
- Crisis Intervention, 6%
Lead social skills groups, provided crisis intervention services and developed and facilitated parent education programs related to various developmental topics.
- Professional Development, 5%
Offered professional development and ongoing support to K-6 teachers on Caring School Communities, a social-emotional classroom curriculum.
- Behavioral Issues, 4%
Identified resources for students with social-emotional and behavioral issues Fostered academic success, and Support College and career awareness and preparation.
- CPR, 4%
Maintained First Aid and CPR Certifications, as well as PA Child Abuse, Criminal History and FBI Fingerprint Clearances.
"mental health," "community resources," and "crisis intervention" are among the most common skills that school counselors use at work. You can find even more school counselor responsibilities below, including:
Analytical skills. One of the key soft skills for a school counselor to have is analytical skills. You can see how this relates to what 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 school counselor resume shows how school counselors use analytical skills: "participated on uniform committee, data team, crisis team, early intervention team, redesign committee and pbis committee. "
Compassion. Another essential skill to perform school counselor duties is compassion. School counselors responsibilities require that "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." School counselors also use compassion in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide at-risk youth with therapeutic and compassionate services. "
Interpersonal skills. This is an important skill for school counselors to perform their duties. For an example of how school counselor responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "school and career counselors and advisors must be able to work with people of all backgrounds and personalities." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a school counselor: "teached children literacy skills, assist in developing interpersonal skills or help improve their academic performances. ".
Listening skills. 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 school counselors do with listening skills on a typical day: "communicated consistently with teachers and families regarding student academic progress, classroom behavior, and iep needs. "
Speaking skills. Another common skill required for school counselor responsibilities is "speaking skills." This skill comes up in the duties of school counselors all the time, as "school and career counselors and advisors must communicate effectively with clients and students." An excerpt from a real school counselor resume shows how this skill is central to what a school counselor does: "presented at assemblies throughout the year on alcohol education, psat preparation, and elective course selection for upperclassmen. "
The three companies that hire the most school counselors are:
- Nelnet74 school counselors jobs
- Leidos35 school counselors jobs
- California Academy of Sciences19 school counselors jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable school counselor resume templates
Build a professional school counselor resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your school counselor resume.
Compare different school counselors
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 some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, school counselor responsibilities require skills like "mental health," "professional development," "cpr," and "social work." Meanwhile a typical counselor internship has skills in areas such as "intake assessments," "substance abuse issues," "mental health issues," and "group therapy sessions." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Counselor interns really shine in the finance industry with an average salary of $51,629. Comparatively, school counselors tend to make the most money in the education industry with an average salary of $52,385.On average, counselor interns reach lower levels of education than school counselors. Counselor interns are 15.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.School 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.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, school counselor responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "behavioral issues," "cpr," "child abuse," and "k-12." Meanwhile, a student services counselor has duties that require skills in areas such as "customer service," "student services," "rehabilitation," and "student accounts." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, student services counselors earn a lower salary than school counselors. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, student services counselors earn the most pay in the government industry with an average salary of $45,469. Whereas school counselors have higher pay in the education industry, with an average salary of $52,385.student services counselors earn lower levels of education than school counselors in general. They're 22.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for school counselors in the next 3-5 years?
Juleen Buser Ph.D.
Professor and Director, School Counseling and Coaching Programs, Rider University
School counselor vs. Student support counselor
A student support counselor is responsible for identifying the students' strengths and challenges through one-on-one counseling and establishing solutions to help them overcome difficulties and achieve their educational goals and aspirations. Student support counselors assist the faculty in determining appropriate programs and activities to develop the students' capabilities, especially as a way of preparing them with their career objectives. They also coordinate with the students' families for extended guidance and support for their growth and development.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a school counselor is likely to be skilled in "social work," "child abuse," "k-12," and "academic performance," while a typical student support counselor is skilled in "student support," "support services," "powerpoint," and "direct care."
Student support counselors earn the highest salary when working in the education industry, where they receive an average salary of $44,149. Comparatively, school counselors have the highest earning potential in the education industry, with an average salary of $52,385.Most student support counselors achieve a lower degree level compared to school counselors. For example, they're 21.1% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.School counselor vs. Residential counselor
A residential counselor is responsible for guiding and providing the residents with their basic needs and other resources to support them in their daily living. Residential counselors' duties include maintaining the safety of the community by enforcing safety guidelines and procedures for the residents' compliance, organizing productive and engaging community activities, updating the residents of any changes and policies in the community, and resolving conflicts by counseling and understanding each resident's differences. A residential counselor must have excellent communication and decision-making skills to ensure the development of residents in a living facility.
Types of school counselor
Updated January 8, 2025
