Post job
zippia ai icon

Automatically apply for jobs with Zippia

Upload your resume to get started.

Social services aide skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
4 min read
Quoted experts
Youngjin Kang Ph.D.,
Sam Terrazas Ph.D.
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical social services aide skills. We ranked the top skills for social services aides based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 39.0% of social services aide resumes contained social work as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a social services aide needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 social services aide skills for your resume and career

1. Social Work

Here's how social services aides use social work:
  • Assisted Social Workers with organizing and managing documentation and other paperwork.
  • Reorganized office for incoming Social Worker.

2. 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 social services aides use community resources:
  • Assisted clients in obtaining and utilizing community resources.
  • Contacted consumers on wait list to assist with providing community resources to meet consumer needs.

3. Home Health

Here's how social services aides use home health:
  • Coordinated residents discharge with families and set up in home health services for residents.
  • Enhanced client satisfaction level through delivery of excellent home health care, vigilant monitoring and effective physician family communication.

4. Rehabilitation

Here's how social services aides use rehabilitation:
  • State of Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission Columbus, Ohio.
  • Provided group and individual Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Case Management Services to Residents.

5. 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 social services aides use child care:
  • Provided information to child care assistance applicants of their rights and responsibilities by personal interview or telephone.
  • Gathered necessary information to determine and maintain eligibility for child care assistance program.

6. 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 social services aides use mental health:
  • Provided crisis intervention, placement stabilization, documentation of concerns from mental health professionals, school personnel and foster parents.
  • Maintain confidential client records, Provide support to consumers in collaboration with other mental health professionals, Assist consumers with skills development

Choose from 10+ customizable social services aide resume templates

Build a professional social services aide 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 social services aide resume.

7. Foster Care

Here's how social services aides use foster care:
  • Coordinate annual summer reading program to promote education and sharpen learning skills for children in Foster Care.
  • Supervised visits between parents and children in the foster care program.

8. Foster Children

Here's how social services aides use foster children:
  • Worked with Juvenile placement facilities and foster parents to help find placement for foster children.
  • Attended counseling sessions with foster children, as needed.

9. 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 social services aides use support services:
  • Transported children and parents to therapists, doctors, support services, etc.
  • Maintained contacts/relationships with professional associations, other state and local agencies and others to enhance and deliver comprehensive support services.

10. Referral Services

Here's how social services aides use referral services:
  • Screened and contracted individual providers for home referral services.

11. Developmental Disabilities

Here's how social services aides use developmental disabilities:
  • Delivered support and training services to individuals who experience developmental disabilities.
  • Assisted adults with developmental disabilities at a residential facility Supervised community outings, and activities of daily living.

12. Anger Management

Anger management is a program that helps with anger prevention and control. The process involves identifying signs of anger and learning how to prevent outbursts or destructive behavior.

Here's how social services aides use anger management:
  • Worked directly with Custodial parents to teach parenting classes, life skills, anger management to promote reunification.
  • Co-facilitated groups in anger management, self-esteem, communication, and life skills.

13. Community Agencies

Community agencies stand for the organizations operated to provide human service in the community.

Here's how social services aides use community agencies:
  • Coordinate services with local community agencies to secure appropriate placements for children in custody.
  • Established relationships with community agencies and developed potential volunteer sites for Veterans in the program.

14. Computer System

Here's how social services aides use computer system:
  • Enter data into computer system using Microsoft Word.
  • Type correspondence into state and county computer systems.

15. Medical Appointments

A medical appointment is a scheduled / specific day and time for a person to be examined or treated by a physician, nurse, or other licensed healthcare professional. The aim of the medical appointment is for the physician to be able to identify health problems or illnesses at an early stage.

Here's how social services aides use medical appointments:
  • Transported clients to and from medical appointments, placements, parental visitations, court proceedings, etc.
  • Documented home visits, transportation needs, medical appointments, collateral contacts and case conferences.
top-skills

What skills help Social Services Aides find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on social services aide resumes?

Youngjin Kang Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, University of Illinois-Springfield

In general, I think there are three things that will help job seekers in the field stand out on their resume, including (1) experiences, (2) practical skills, and (3) flexibility. First, let's talk about the experience. As a helping professional, your experience in the field helps you deal with a challenging situation smoothly. There are many unexpected situations where you do not know what to do. Such situations commonly occur in the field as working with your clients (e.g., your client talks about suicidal ideation). You can't experience everything, particularly if you are a student, but both direct and indirect experiences will benefit you. Direct experiences may be gained through previous jobs and internships while pursuing a degree. Indirect experiences may be gained through learning from co-workers, interacting with classmates who are already in the field, and reading and learning while in your degree program. Second, practical skills are important in many ways. Human services professionals' tasks vary by what agency they work for and clients they work with. To be able to complete given tasks, practical skills are helpful; they are not necessarily fancy or difficult-to-achieve, but something that can be practiced and gained if willing to learn. For example, they include but are not limited to documentation, computer skills (e.g., setting up online sessions), knowledge about professional ethics, assessment and intervention, communication skills, referral skills, and knowledge about resources in the communities. Finally, flexibility may help you survive in the field. For example, Covid-19 circumstances, as you may already know, have brought many unprecedented changes and challenges in our lives and the field. Many case workers in the field have been meeting their clients online, and ways of helping their clients had to be changed due to the ongoing pandemic. These changes occurred so quickly, which requires helping professionals in the field to find ways of meeting their client's needs as quickly as possible. In such situations, if helping professionals are not flexible, they would not be able to effectively assist their clients.

What soft skills should all social services aides possess?

Sam Terrazas Ph.D.

Professor and Academic Chair Department of Social Work, The University of Texas Permian Basin

Social workers need to be skillful in documentation in writing case notes, assessments, and good managers of their time. Managing a client's case requires social workers to be diligent and ensure that all required documentation is completed on time and within professional standards. Social workers must also be effective communicators understanding their own power and the multiple professional roles they hold.

What hard/technical skills are most important for social services aides?

Sam Terrazas Ph.D.

Professor and Academic Chair Department of Social Work, The University of Texas Permian Basin

Social workers practice in various areas of practice and organizational auspices that may differ in the hard/technical skills that are most important. In general, the hard/technical skills most important can be categorized based on the level of education-BSW (Bachelors of Social Work) versus MSW (Masters of Social Work).

BSW's practice in a range of organizations providing various types of services; however, in general practice in the realm of case management that requires that ability to demonstrate cultural responsiveness, develop an alliance with clients, apply NASW and a state's ethics and professional standards of practice, conduct assessments, and to develop plans to meet a client's goals.

MSW's practice in many areas such as administration, clinical, public policy and advocacy, child welfare, public safety, and health care. Each of these practice areas requires specific technical skills; however, in general, MSW's are trained to assess individuals, families, groups, and communities. To that end, MSW's must understand the cultural context and how socio/economic local, state, federal policies impact social welfare problems such as poverty, intimate partner violence, and mental illness. MSW's must possess strong engagement skills/therapeutic alliance-building, diagnostic/evaluation skills, ethical application of interventions and therapeutic approaches, and advocacy skills.

What social services aide skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Melissa Bell

Associate Professor/Social Work Program Director, Chatham University

I advise new graduates to carefully consider their priorities when evaluating their first job opportunities. With numerous career paths and an abundance of job openings, it's essential for them to reflect on factors such as location preference, the social environment, and the support of peers in the workplace. Additionally, they should not overlook practical considerations like transportation and commuting. Articulating what matters most to them, as well as what holds less importance, can assist them in clarifying their career goals and making informed decisions. Moreover, It's crucial for new graduates to recognize the importance of being dependable, reliable, and skilled, and to thoroughly understand the job requirements of the positions they are considering. They should assess how they can achieve success in their careers by reflecting on their strengths and weaknesses. Recognizing areas for further skill development is paramount for professional growth and effectiveness in one's chosen career path. By addressing these areas, individuals can better serve the needs of their clients and communities, fostering success both personally and within their professional endeavors.

List of social services aide skills to add to your resume

Social services aide skills

The most important skills for a social services aide resume and required skills for a social services aide to have include:

  • Social Work
  • Community Resources
  • Home Health
  • Rehabilitation
  • Child Care
  • Mental Health
  • Foster Care
  • Foster Children
  • Support Services
  • Referral Services
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Anger Management
  • Community Agencies
  • Computer System
  • Medical Appointments
  • Community Services
  • Court Hearings
  • Substance Abuse
  • Law Enforcement
  • Client Service
  • Medicaid
  • Transport Clients
  • Meal Planning
  • Crisis Intervention
  • MDS
  • Accompany Clients
  • Medication Administration
  • Scheduling Appointments
  • ADL
  • Discharge Planning
  • AA
  • Social Security
  • Hippa
  • Doctor Appointments
  • Drug History
  • CPR
  • HIPAA

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
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.

Browse community and social services jobs