Service counselor resume examples from 2026
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How to write a service counselor resume
Craft a resume summary statement
Put a resume summary on the top of your resume to highlight your accomplishments. A resume summary sums up your experience and skills, making it easy for hiring managers to understand your qualifications at a glance. Here are some tips to write a strong, impressive resume summary:
Step 1: Mention your current job title or the role you're pursuing.
Step 2: Include your years of experience in service counselor-related roles. Consider adding relevant company and industry experience as relevant to the job listing.
Step 3: Highlight your greatest accomplishments. Here is your chance to make sure your biggest wins aren't buried in your resume.
Step 4: Again, keep it short. Your goal is to summarize your experience and highlight your accomplishments, not write a paragraph.
Hiring managers spend under a minute reviewing resumes on average. This means your summary needs to demonstrate your value quickly and show why you are the perfect fit for the service counselor position.Please upload your resume so Zippia’s job hunt AI can draft a summary statement for you.
List the right project manager skills
Your Skills section is an easy way to let recruiters know you have the skills to do the job. Just as importantly, it can help your resume not get filtered out by hiring software. Here is how to make the most of your skills section and make sure you have the right keywords:
- Look at the job listing and skills listed. You need to include the exact keywords from the job description to get your resume in front of an actual human. Do you have those skills? Fantastic! Be sure to list them.
- Include as many relevant hard or technical service counselor skills as possible for each job you apply to.
- Be specific with the skills you have and be sure you are using the most up to date and accurate terms.
Here are example skills to include in your “Area of Expertise” on a service counselor resume:
- Social Work
- Crisis Intervention
- Patients
- Support Services
- Social Services
- Rehabilitation
- Substance Abuse
- Community Resources
- Customer Service
- AAA
- Mental Health
- Emergency Situations
- Financial Assistance
- Developmental Disabilities
- Mental Illness
- Community Services
- Discharge Planning
- Family Therapy
- Community Agencies
- Inbound Calls
- Parent Support
- Auto Loans
- Law Enforcement
- Outbound Calls
- Road Calls
- Group Sessions
- Group Therapy
- Delinquent Accounts
- Payment Arrangements
- Referral Services
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How to structure your work experience
Next you should include your work experience. Structure your work experience section by listing your most recent experience first, followed by earlier roles in reverse chronological order.
Start with your job title, company name, city, and state on the left. Align dates in month and year format on the right-hand side.
Include only recent, relevant jobs. Avoid including work experience over 20 years to avoid ageism.
Beneath each job, you should have bullet points to emphasize why you're the perfect fit for the service counselor.
How to write service counselor experience bullet points
Your resume is your chance to show your biggest accomplishments. Don't just list your job responsibilities, instead take the opportunity to show why you're really good at what you do. Here is how you do that:
- Start with strong action verbs like managed, spearheaded, created, etc. Your goal is to show what you did and verbs will help demonstrate your contributions.
- Use numbers to quantify your achievements. Did you save time with a new report? Increase revenue? How large was the team you managed?
- Keep it concise. You're highlighting your achievements. Consider if all details you are sharing are relevant, or can be written more efficiently.
Here are effective examples from service counselor resumes:
Work history example #1
Community Advocate
Lutheran Homes of Michigan
- Provided on call crisis counseling to rape survivors via hotline.
- Organized and provided individual and group sessions implementing Cognitive and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (CBT and DBT).
- Trained in CPR, use of physical restraints and the use of mechanical restraints such as handcuffs and leg shackles.
- Coordinated activities within the individuals established Person-Centered Plan (PCP).
- Managed social media accounts including: Facebook, Pinterest, and blog entries.
Work history example #2
Rehabilitation Specialist
Boysville of Michigan
- Maintained steady communication with client and families.
- Counseled and mentored behaviorally challenged and abused/ neglected teenagers by providing opportunity for youth to receive more individualized attention.
- Established client communication through co-facilitating group and independent therapy sessions.
- Trained in CPR, First Aid, AED, Van training, and SCIP-R through the company.
- Completed Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training programs.
Work history example #3
Service Assistant
ACE Cash Express
- Compiled and maintained monetary reports and records; successfully handled weekly cash deliveries and redeposit.
- Provided professional and courteous customer service to customers in addition to excellence in communication.
- Collected customers' information and relevant data through internet or interviews.
- Interpreted administrative policies, procedures, and requirements to management on the impacts and operational training requirements.
- Addressed escalated email inquiries within service-level agreements.
Work history example #4
Day Camp Counselor
Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- Provided assistance with applying for coverage and disputing discrepancies in coverage.
- Assisted with the development of IHPs and behavior plans as well as supervision of staff.
- Identified family dynamics and communication patterns.
- Supervised and provided milieu support to adolescents in residential treatment
- Created and supervised educational activities for adolescents with special needs using behavior modification methods.
Zippia’s AI can customize your resume for you.
Add an education section to your resume
The education section should display your highest degree first.
Place your education section appropriately on your resume. If you graduated over 5 years ago, this section should be at the bottom of your resume. If you just graduated and lack relevant work experience, the education section should go to the top.
If you have a bachelor's or master's degree, do not list your high school education. If your graduation year is more than 15-20 years ago, it's better not to include dates in this section.
Here are some examples of good education entries from service counselor resumes:
Master's Degree in psychology
New York University, New York, NY
2015 - 2016
Highlight your service counselor certifications on your resume
Certifications are a great way to showcase special expertise or niche skills. Some jobs even require certifications to be hired.
Include the full name of the certification, along with the name of the issuing organization and date of obtainment.
If you have any of these certifications, be sure to include them on your service counselor resume:
- Pastoral Counseling Certification
- Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA)
- Medical Assistant
- Certified Professional Counselor
- Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP)
- Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor
- National Certified Counselor (NCC)