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Vocational rehabilitation counselor resume examples from 2026

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Updated March 26, 2025
6 min read
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How to write a vocational rehabilitation counselor resume

Craft a resume summary statement

A well-written resume summary is basically an elevator pitch. You are summing up your skills and experience in a few sentences to wow recruiters, hiring managers, and decision makers into giving you an interview. Here are some tips to putting your best foot first with your resume summary:

Step 1: Mention your current job title or the role you're pursuing.

Step 2: Include your years of experience in vocational rehabilitation 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.

These tips will help you demonstrate why you are the perfect fit for the vocational rehabilitation counselor position.

Please upload your resume so Zippia’s job hunt AI can draft a summary statement for you.

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List the right project manager skills

Your Skills section is a place to list all relevant skills and abilities. Here is how to make the most of your skills section and make sure you have the right keywords:

  1. Look to the job listing. You often need to include the exact keywords from the job description. Take note of the skills listed for the job.
  2. Put all relevant hard and soft skills in your skills section.
  3. Be specific. If you are too broad, you may not be giving the best picture of your skills and leave the hiring manager uncertain of your abilities.
  4. Be up to date. Software names change and companies merge. Don't look out of touch by being careless.
  5. Be accurate. Spelling and even upper or lowercase can dramatically change meanings. Make sure you are correctly listing your skills.
These five steps should give you a strong elevator pitch and land you some vocational rehabilitation counselor interviews.

Here are example skills to include in your “Area of Expertise” on a vocational rehabilitation counselor resume:

  • Rehabilitation
  • Substance Abuse
  • Transferable
  • Plan Development
  • Vocational Assessments
  • Social Work
  • Vocational Rehabilitation
  • Mental Health
  • Veterans
  • Competitive Employment
  • Labor Market Surveys
  • Independent Living
  • Rehabilitation Programs
  • Community Resources
  • Employment Services
  • Federal Regulations
  • Social Services
  • Physical Disabilities
  • IPE
  • Eligibility Determination
  • Vocational Guidance
  • Rehabilitation Plans
  • Rehabilitation Process
  • Management System
  • Assistive Devices
  • Local Employers
  • Assistive Technology
  • Diagnostic Evaluations
  • Suitable Employment
  • Vocational Evaluations

Zippia’s AI can customize your resume for you.

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How to structure your work experience

Your work experience should be structured:

  1. With your most recent roles first, followed by earlier roles in reverse chronological order.
  2. Job title, along with company name and location on the left.
  3. Put the corresponding dates of employment on the left side.
  4. Keep only relevant jobs on your work experience.

How to write vocational rehabilitation counselor experience bullet points

Remember, your resume is not a list of responsibilities or a job description. This is your chance to show why you're good at your job and what you accomplished.

Use the XYZ formula for your work experience bullet points. Here's how it works:

  • Use strong action verbs like Led, Built, or Optimized.
  • Follow up with numbers when possible to support your results. How much did performance improve? How much revenue did you drive?
  • Wrap it up by explaining the actions you took to achieve the result and how you made an impact.

This creates bullet points that read Achieved X, measured by Y, by doing Z.

Here are examples from great vocational rehabilitation counselor resumes:

Work history example #1

Rehabilitation Technician

HCR ManorCare

  • Maintained rehabilitation equipment and supplies by checking inventory, fulfilling supply orders, completing equipment requests, and performing preventive maintenance.
  • Assisted residents with ADL's including helping with meals, transferring using assistive devices, bathing, dressing and grooming.
  • Greeted patients upon arrival, assisted therapy staff during patient interaction as needed, managed disinfection and replenishment of rehab materials.
  • Maintained cleanliness and organization of the facility.
  • Certified in BCLS and CPR.

Work history example #2

Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist

ALLIANCE SERVICE

  • Provided quality PSR services to troubled youth, families, and foster families.
  • Referred claimants to vocational rehabilitation counselors to provide vocational evaluations and determine appropriate services.
  • Coordinated intakes and IPE for Deaf/Hard of hearing High School Transition students.

Work history example #3

Rehabilitation Technician

BRYN MAWR MEDICAL SPECIALISTS ASSOCIATION

  • Performed phlebotomy to obtain bloodwork.
  • Attended weekly Journal Club focused on relevant research publications.
  • Provided ideas and participated in brainstorming sessions to formalize and standardize 'on-the-job' training for Rehabilitation technicians.
  • Educated new hires on hospital procedures, responsibility of all disciplines in rehab department and departmental protocols.
  • Produced recordings of electromotive variations using the electrocardiograph in order to provide data for diagnosis of heart conditions.

Work history example #4

Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor

FEGS

  • Conducted individual and group counseling sessions to discuss issues relevant to student success and maintained documentation on all sessions.
  • Administered and graded TABE Tests, Levels E to A in English and Spanish.
  • Submitted referrals for those who are not in compliance to HRA and carried out outreach.
  • Ensured that all documentation requirements in concert with HRA are met.
  • Worked to ensure that all documentation requirements in concert with Human Resources Administration (HRA) are met.

Zippia’s AI can customize your resume for you.

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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 for resumes:

Master's Degree in psychology

University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

2010 - 2011

Master's Degree in counseling psychology

Argosy University, Orange, CA

2010 - 2011

Highlight your vocational rehabilitation 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.

Start simple. Include the full name of the certification. It's also good to mention the organization that issued the certification. Next, specify when you obtained the certification.

If you have any of these certifications, be sure to include them on your vocational rehabilitation counselor resume:

  1. Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC)
  2. Certified Retirement Counselor (CRC)
  3. Certified Professional Counselor
  4. Pastoral Counseling Certification
  5. Certified Substance Abuse Counselor (CSAC)
  6. National Certified Counselor (NCC)
  7. Certified Medical Interpreter - Spanish (CMI)
  8. Certified Chemical Dependency Counselor
  9. Certified Disability Management Specialist (CDMS)
  10. Certified Professional - Human Resource (IPMA-CP)

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