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Service worker skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Amy Pearce Ph.D.,

Michelle Kelley Shuler Ph.D.

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical service worker skills. We ranked the top skills for service workers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 20.4% of service worker resumes contained customer service as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a service worker needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 service worker skills for your resume and career

1. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how service workers use customer service:

Demonstrated continuous effort to improve operations, and work cooperatively and jointly to provide quality seamless customer service.
Provide excellent customer service by speaking clearly and identifying and resolving problems to ensure complete satisfaction.

2. Cleanliness

Here's how service workers use cleanliness:

Provide pertinent information (i.e., nutrition, cleanliness and household safety/activities) to elderly/child disabled consumers.
Monitor and maintain cleanliness, sanitation and organization of assigned station and service areas.

3. Patients

Here's how service workers use patients:

Recognized risk factors quickly, collaborated with interdisciplinary team, nurtured positive relationships with patients through consistency and modeling healthy boundaries.
Participated in client education and discharge planning; completed required documentation for discharge/transferring patients to other facilities or home.

4. Rehabilitation

Here's how service workers use rehabilitation:

Practiced motivational interviewing techniques to assist individuals in identifying personal hurdles in order to set goals and work towards rehabilitation.
Escorted clients to rehabilitation units for application of rehabilitative therapy techniques under the direction and supervision of therapist.

5. Excellent Interpersonal

Here's how service workers use excellent interpersonal:

Position requires excellent interpersonal communication and multidisciplinary team participation.
Demonstrate excellent interpersonal and counseling skills.

6. Crisis Intervention

Here's how service workers use crisis intervention:

Provide crisis intervention counseling to children and families to assist them in understanding and assuming responsibility to increase child safety.
Conduct educational and life skills group counseling sessions-Documents all programmatic activities-Assist with crisis intervention-Perform administrative duties-Assist Juvenile Detention Counselor

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7. Food Preparation

Here's how service workers use food preparation:

Follow safety guideline and procedure guidelines related to food preparation and service, equipment maintenance and waste disposal.
Executed various tasks relating to food preparation, customer interaction and transactions, serving food, and cleaning and stocking.

8. Direct Care

Direct care is the act of identifying people with special needs and offering the necessary care for them.

Here's how service workers use direct care:

Provided direct care and support to developmentally disabled community members in their development of basic living and social skills.
Provided direct care and assistance with daily living skills to individuals with developmental disabilities.

10. Home Health

Here's how service workers use home health:

Provide empathetic home health care to the elderly and disabled (obtain vital signs, dispense medications, etc.).
Interview home health care providers to ensure they are meeting the client's needs and rendering the services reported.

11. Medication Administration

Here's how service workers use medication administration:

Administer medication per doctor's orders and per DDS medication administration guidelines.
Keep accurate record of medication administration for multiple clients.

12. Work Ethic

Here's how service workers use work ethic:

Received multiple golden stars commending exceptional work ethic.
Maintain good work ethic to up-hold the common interest of performance and completing the job to the finish.

13. CPR

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation or CPR is a medical procedure that involves chest compression to help a patient breathe. This artificial ventilation helps in keeping the brain function in place and regulates blood throughout the body. CPR is a lifesaving procedure that is used in emergencies.

Here's how service workers use cpr:

Provided health and safety interventions through the administration of medications, First Aid, CPR, Crisis and behavioral Interventions.
Provide CPR, First Aid as needed, monitor vital signs & obtain specimen.

14. Developmental Disabilities

Here's how service workers use developmental disabilities:

Provided direct behavioral therapy to individuals ages 16 to 21 with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Job responsibilities included, Providing daily living skill assistance and training to individuals with developmental disabilities.

15. Intellectual Disabilities

Here's how service workers use intellectual disabilities:

Worked in residential home to expand social and recreational activities for individuals with intellectual disabilities.
Helped provide supports to individuals with intellectual disabilities with their activities of daily living.

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What skills help Service Workers find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on service worker resumes?

Dr. Amy Pearce Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology, Arkansas State University

Typically, I recommend that all psychology majors gain research experience and communicate their findings via conference presentations, or peer-reviewed publications. Highlighting analytical and quantitative skills, plus software training is recommended. Graduates who know how to collect, enter, analyze, interpret, and report data will be desired. If a student plans to directly enter the workforce in a psychology-related field, then picking up courses to complete undergraduate certificate programs, such as neuropsychological testing or statistics, will be beneficial. As will be any internships or applicable job experiences.

What soft skills should all service workers 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 service workers?

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 service worker skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Lillian Wichinsky Ph.D.

Associate Dean, University of Nevada - Reno

The need for social workers with expertise in mental health care, school-based social work, health and substance misuse are particularly important. Sixty percent of mental health care in the US is provided by social workers and the need is growing.

What type of skills will young service workers 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 service worker stand out to employers?

Dr. T. Thao Pham Ph.D.

Associate Professor, MSW Program Director, California University of Pennsylvania

Agencies are looking for graduates with leadership skills, collaborative skills, grant-writing skills, clinical skills, and good organization skills. Graduates are expected to meet high expectations from employers early on and those who may find themselves moving quickly in the organization as administrators. We have many recent graduates who are now managers, supervisors, and coordinators within 3 years of graduating.

Do you want to know more?

List of service worker skills to add to your resume

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

Customer Service
Cleanliness
Patients
Rehabilitation
Excellent Interpersonal
Crisis Intervention
Food Preparation
Direct Care
Social Work
Home Health
Medication Administration
Work Ethic
CPR
Developmental Disabilities
Intellectual Disabilities

Ongoing Support
Mental Health
Child Abuse
Social Services
Community Resources
Patient Care
Scrubbers
Financial Assistance
Substance Abuse
Mowing
Patient Rooms
Law Enforcement
Court Reports
ISP
State Regulations

Protective Services
Commercial Cleaning
Computer System
Incident Reports
Independent Living
Resuscitation
Provide Emotional Support
Extractors
Dishwashers
Meal Preparation
Medication Reminders
Vital Signs
Care Facility
Community Agencies

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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