Social Worker Resume Examples And Tips
The average resume reviewer spends between 5 to 7 seconds looking at a single resume, which leaves the average job applicant with roughly six seconds to make a killer first impression. Thanks to this, a single typo or error on your resume can disqualify you right out of the gate.
At Zippia, we went through over 56,137 Social Worker resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
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Five Key Resume Tips For Landing a Social Worker Job:
1.
Relevant Experience
Make sure that the jobs, experience, and accolades that you do include are relevant to the position you’re applying for.
2.
The Right Skills
This is a great time to run wild with those keywords found in the job description. If they’re looking for someone with Treatment Plans, be sure to list it as a skill.
3.
Quantifiable Achievements
Achievements and awards relevant to the position speak louder than a high GPA, especially if you can quantify your achievement with a number.
4.
Your Unique Qualities
Recruiters and hiring managers are looking at hundreds of resumes. Let yours stand out, and try not to sound too boring.
5.
Strong Content
If you’ve had a lot of jobs, this shouldn’t necessarily be a list of all of them. This is a document designed to market you to a potential employer, so choose the strongest content.
How To Write a Social Worker Resume
1
Contact Information
Do you wont to know more?
How To Write The Perfect Resume HeaderName
First things first — employers only spend about six seconds looking at resumes before they decide to keep them or throw them away, so you should definitely let them know whose it is.
Address
Commute and relocation are things that employers take into consideration when sifting through candidates, so provide your current address in your resume header so that employers have an idea of where you are in relation to their office.
LinkedIn Profile
If you feel that a link to your social media profile could further your standing as a candidate, go ahead and include it. This doesn’t mean you should throw in a link to your hilarious Twitter profile, but instead provide your LinkedIn profile.
2
Professional Summary (Objective)
Are you a recent grad?
Read our guide on how to write a resume summary statementCareer objective statements are one of the most overlooked pieces of otherwise stellar resumes. It’s not that every Social Worker CV out there needs one — it’s just that the ones that really do need them typically never think to include them.
The goal of this section is simple: to summarize the resume in a few short sentences. Through your resume summary you enable employers to quickly learn whether you are a good match for the job. Here are a few things to keep in mind when writing a professional summary:
Keep it short: it should be 4 sentences max
Highlight your most impressive skills or achievements
3
Skills
Not sure which skills are really important?
3 Big Tips For Listing Skills On Your ResumeMake sure to only include your hard skills on your resume. In addition,
include the most in-demand social worker skills. Below we have listed the top skills for a social worker :
The more keywords your resume can “match,” the more likely it is that your resume will be selected for review by human eyes.
Top Skills for a Social Worker
Source: Zippia.com
Treatment Plans, 12%
Intake Assessments, 10%
Child Abuse, 9%
Other Skills, 48%
See All Social Worker Skills
Here are a few key points of to keep in mind while writing your skills section:
Include between 6 to 12 skills
Make sure to only include hard skills
Highlight your most impressive skills or achievements
4
Experience
Don't have any experience?
How To Show Your Experience On a Resume... Even When You Don't Have AnyWe compared 56,137 resume examples and job offers and found that the average
experience required for a social worker job required by employers is 2.0 years.
How much work experience do employers want to see?
The average social worker job listing asks for 2.0 years of work experience.
How much work experience does the average social worker candidate have?
The average social worker resume contains 5.0 years of work experience.
Write your work experience section in a way that embraces your social worker skills.
Sounds easier said than done? Take a look at how other people have done it. Below are real
examples from social worker resumes that people have included in their work experience
section to demonstrate their knowledge of key skills:
Candidate Info
20
Years In Workforce7
Years As a Social Worker
- Assisted families in developing IEPs or 504 plans.
- Conduct individual counseling and support group for children and teens on Domestic Violence.
- Prepare and develop materials, PowerPoint presentations, and pre- and post-tests for analysis of curricula.
- Complete documentation on goal progress and consumer interactions which was compliant with Medicaid guidelines.
- Covered Crisis Hotline in English and Spanish.
Candidate Info
14
Years In Workforce11
Years As a Social Worker- Conducted field advocacy and coordination between housing providers.
- Supervised/facilitated/coordinated daily operations for adolescents aged 9-19 years old.
- Assist DOD staff and military personnel with stress, conflict resolution, and personal issues with the utmostconfidentiality.
- Maintain accurate documentation on contacts with bereaved family members according to Liberty Hospice policies.
- Utilized the Mississippi Automated Child Welfare Information System (MACWIS).
Candidate Info
8
Years In Workforce5
Years As a Social Worker- Assisted patients with obtaining financial assistance and completing Medicaid applications.
- Educated and assisted new staff members about Hospice philosophy to include interventions, documentations and regulations.
- Repaired Apple products and returned them to guests in a timely manner.
- Provided crisis stabilization and emergency referrals for a local depression and suicide helpline.
- Conduct wraparound case consultations with administrative staff to provide support for wraparound teams struggling with the wraparound process.
Candidate Info
11
Years In Workforce9
Years As a Social Worker- Provide individual psychotherapy for parents and children on a range of disorders (Autism, Schizo-affective, Post traumatic Stress Disorder)
- Coordinated the referrals received from DCF between the various outpatient treatment offices.
- Work with CPS to accurately determine the need for immediate and/or on-going protective services.
- Participate in cross-training to other core retail roles such as Redzone Specialist and Genius Admen.
- Coordinated intake and services for clients Interviewed, processed, and maintained applications for SNAP, Medicaid, AABD and TANF cash
5
Education
Since social worker roles are fairly specialized, a strong educational background is important.
Our data showed that most social worker resumes list a master's degree as the highest level of education.
Overwhelmingly, those applying to social worker positions majored in Social Work. Some of the other common majors that
appear on social worker resumes include Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, and Sociology.
Majors
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As shown above, the Education section can be very brief. However make sure to include the following:
The name of the school you attended
The year you attended
Your major
Your GPA
The level of education you attained
Social Worker Salary
Did your resume land you an interview? Be prepared to talk salary.
How To Answer "What Are Your Salary Requirements"When you are ready to send your resume to employers, it's important to be aware of the current market conditions for Social Workers. Salary can vary based on factors such as location, company, and industry. Check out our detailed salary information for Social Workers to learn more.
Average Employee Salary
$54,000
$39,000
Min 10%
$54,000
Median 50%
$75,000
Max 90%