Post job
zippia ai icon

Automatically apply for jobs with Zippia

Upload your resume to get started.

Vocational rehabilitation counselor skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
3 min read
Quoted experts
Dr. Robert Cantu,
Dr. Robert Cantu
Vocational rehabilitation counselor example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical vocational rehabilitation counselor skills. We ranked the top skills for vocational rehabilitation counselors based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 19.8% of vocational rehabilitation counselor resumes contained rehabilitation as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a vocational rehabilitation counselor needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 vocational rehabilitation counselor skills for your resume and career

1. Rehabilitation

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use rehabilitation:
  • Provided independent professional vocational rehabilitation counseling to individuals with disabilities.
  • Determined eligibility for services and developed individualized rehabilitation programs.

2. Substance Abuse

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use substance abuse:
  • Provided individual and group therapy to individuals with mental and substance abuse disorders utilizing an integrated counseling model as appropriate
  • Provided vocational rehabilitation services to help people recover from a physical or mental impairment or substance abuse problem.

3. Transferable

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use transferable:
  • Analyzed and applied transferable skills.
  • Administered residual functional capacities assessments, interest tests, aptitude tests, transferable skills analysis and other vocational assessment tests.

4. Plan Development

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use plan development:
  • Facilitate comprehensive vocational rehabilitation plan development with job candidates that reflect their interests, skills, abilities, and relevant limitations.
  • Counseled handicapped individuals to provide vocational rehabilitation services (interviews, evaluations, plan development /follow up/ closure).

5. Vocational Assessments

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use vocational assessments:
  • Review medical documentation and conducted informal vocational assessments and career exploration in order to determine and coordinate vocational needs.
  • Provided career counseling, resume compilation, development of job analysis, interpreted vocational assessments for those with disabilities.

6. Social Work

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use social work:
  • Coordinate with Veteran Justice Outreach Social Workers, Sheriff Office Detention Staff, and SARRTP Intake Coordinator for a seamless transition.
  • Identified as a Social Worker 1.

Choose from 10+ customizable vocational rehabilitation counselor resume templates

Build a professional vocational rehabilitation counselor 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 vocational rehabilitation counselor resume.

7. Vocational Rehabilitation

Vocational rehabilitation stands for a set of services that aim to restore individuals with disabilities to their optimal mental, physical, vocational, economic, and social ability. Some of the programs include refresher courses, vocational assessment and evaluation, career counseling, on-the-job training, etc.

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use vocational rehabilitation:
  • Transferred with vocational rehabilitation to counselor position
  • Determined eligibility for vocational rehabilitation services.

8. 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 vocational rehabilitation counselors use mental health:
  • Screened for presence of mental health and developmental disabilities in absence of diagnosis(es) substantiated through medical/psychological/educational records.
  • Case management of 119 applicants with moderate to severe mental health and physical disabilities to determine eligibility of services.

9. Veterans

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use veterans:
  • Developed vocational and educational goals with participants with physical and mental disabilities both general and veterans pursuing employment and/or self sufficient.
  • Provided Vocational counseling and guidance to veterans with service connected disabilities, administered academic and interest inventories to veterans.

10. Competitive Employment

Competitive employment is a job that is performed on a full/ part-time basis in which entities are paid for their work, according to the job. However, the compensation must be at par or above the standard of the minimum wage. The cost of compensated benefits by the employer should be at the same level for similar work performed by abled people.

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use competitive employment:
  • Assisted individuals with disabilities by providing vocational guidance and counseling to help overcome functional limitations to gain competitive employment.
  • Advocated for individuals with disabilities in effort to obtain and/or retain competitive employment using a Supported Employment approach.

11. Labor Market Surveys

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use labor market surveys:
  • Research and conduct Labor Market Surveys to determine local vocational trends and individualized job opportunities.
  • Performed career interest and abilities assessments, labor market surveys and salary requirement assessments.

12. Independent Living

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use independent living:
  • Assessed and reviewed vocational, medical, and educational records to determine appropriate employment and/or independent living goals for clients.
  • Facilitated independent living skills through authorization and coordination of assisted living devices.

13. Rehabilitation Programs

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use rehabilitation programs:
  • Determine eligibility for rehabilitation programs.
  • Prepared and monitored the implementation of Individualized Written Rehabilitation Programs (IWRP) for each individual assigned to the caseload.

14. 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 vocational rehabilitation counselors use community resources:
  • Worked with individuals with varying disabilities in need of community resources as well as educational and employment opportunities.
  • Assessed and evaluated medical/psycho-social information to determine eligibility; conferred with families, significant others and community resources.

15. Employment Services

Here's how vocational rehabilitation counselors use employment services:
  • Provided comprehensive employment and post-employment services which include assessing employ-ability and assisting in the development of employment assistance plans.
  • Perform initial evaluations, entitlement determinations, rehabilitation planning, case documentation, employment services and interpretation of testing.
top-skills

What skills help Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors find jobs?

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

What skills stand out on vocational rehabilitation counselor resumes?

Dr. Robert Cantu

Associate Professor, Brenau University

These are not necessarily skills per se, but as a hiring manager, this is what I would look at in a resume for a new grad:

Clear objective statement in the resume that matches the needs of the clinic. This shows a focus on job seeking and career path.

Clinical education experiences that match the needs of the clinic.

Skills gained in their clinical training that matches the clinic's needs: Examples: Strong manual therapy training in a clinic that emphasizes one-on-one care of patients. Strong exercise training in sports medicine clinics.


For those with some career experience:

Job stability--i.e., how long is the candidate at one place of employment. At least 18-24 months in a job or longer is good. This means they were perceptive and chose wisely. Six jobs in the first 5 years will raise red flags.

Current and frequent continuing education attendance in the area in which the clinic specializes. This shows a focus on growing and staying current in clinical skills.

What soft skills should all vocational rehabilitation counselors possess?

Dr. Robert Cantu

Associate Professor, Brenau University

People skills: For the workgroup: ability and willingness to work in groups and manage conflict. Flexibility: Willingness to occasionally work late or come in early to accommodate the patient load. Team player attitude. Willingness to play their assigned part on the team. Strong commitment and discipline for timely completion of tasks such as daily paperwork. This shows "discipline in the drudgery," which is critical for the smooth operation of the clinic and results in better customer service.

People skills: For patient management: Empathy, the warmth of personality, a caring demeanor, and express kindness. And absolutely, a willingness to always put the patient first. Good eye contact, firm but kind, reassuring handshake (or a kind elbow bump). The understanding is that even though they work for a company, ultimately, the clinician works for the patient.

What hard/technical skills are most important for vocational rehabilitation counselors?

Dr. Robert Cantu

Associate Professor, Brenau University

During initial employment, clinical skills can be honed informally or through a formal residency program for a new grad. Affinity for technology is important. Examples: Willingness to do telehealth, able to adapt to changes in software such as EMR systems. Skills should closely match the clinic's needs, and if not, the candidate should express an interest in what the clinic is doing and exhibit a strong commitment to learning.

Ability to adapt to changes in insurance reimbursement policies while not compromising patient care.

What vocational rehabilitation counselor skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Kristen TooleKristen Toole LinkedIn profile

Visiting Professor, Saint Xavier University

This is an exciting time to be a counselor. It is a time for integration and inclusivity. With an
increasing focus on neuroscience and the advent of telehealth, incorporating science and
technology in counseling is increasingly relevant.
The use of technology is on the rise. As more people become familiar with telehealth, counselors
must become comfortable providing virtual care. Telehealth practices are also critical to
expanding our reach and improving the accessibility of our services.
Undeniable links between science and counseling continue to emerge. Findings in neuroscience
are shaping how we understand counseling and informing best practices (Cammisuli &
Castelnuovo, 2023). Furthermore, this supports incorporating knowledge and skills from other
disciplines to broaden the counseling field's horizons.
Mastering essential attending behaviors and the basic listening sequence (Ivey et al., 2018) is not
enough if we cannot successfully and accurately position our clients against a backdrop of broad
and complex contextual factors. Embracing diverse perspectives is crucial to supporting holistic
counseling practices. Integrating new information will be the key to achieving a more complete
and inclusive understanding of our clients and our work as we move forward.

What type of skills will young vocational rehabilitation counselors need?

Dr. Andrew BuschDr. Andrew Busch LinkedIn profile

Assistant Professor of Health and Human Kinetics, Ohio Wesleyan University

Obviously any type of specific-skill training is beneficial, but what we have found is employers are looking for young graduates eager to learn, who have been taught problem solving skills/approaches. So many successful individuals within many industries did not go into that industry with exact experiences, but they were quick learners with an ability to think creatively and solve problems/questions from a holistic approach. We look to provide our students with hands-on experiential learning opportunities that give them the chance to apply the content/theories/processes they learn in a real-world setting. For example, we teach our students how to conduct a VO2max test on subjects with various exercise modalities (treadmill, stationary bike, rower). They don't need to become experts at testing VO2 on only the 'Bruce Protocol', because they may encounter a work situation where that is not necessary, or they don't have that equipment, so we are constantly asking students how they could answer the same question, given different circumstances.

What technical skills for a vocational rehabilitation counselor stand out to employers?

Christopher Kevin Wong Ph.D.Christopher Kevin Wong Ph.D. LinkedIn profile

Associate Director of Faculty Development, Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Many clinic owners and rehab department managers may not be as facile with social media, website management, and IT ideas as younger people. Nevertheless, social media and internet searches is how we generate publicity, business, and potentially profit. Skills to help as a webmaster, social media manager, or data management and analyst can be a valuable contribution. Therapy technology can be taught as needed.

List of vocational rehabilitation counselor skills to add to your resume

Vocational rehabilitation counselor skills

The most important skills for a vocational rehabilitation counselor resume and required skills for a vocational rehabilitation counselor to have include:

  • 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
  • Vocational Training
  • Intake Interviews
  • Community Agencies
  • Crisis Intervention
  • Mental Illness
  • Functional Limitations
  • Gainful Employment
  • Mental Disabilities
  • Community Organizations
  • Assess Client
  • Developmental Disabilities
  • Training Programs
  • Client Employment
  • Transportation Problems
  • IEP
  • Agency Liaison
  • Psychological Evaluations

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