Counselor Resume Examples

When you’re looking for work as a counselor, you need to know how to use your resume to showcase your qualifications and expertise.

You’ll be working to make a difference in the lives of those in vulnerable circumstances, so employers want to know you have the credentials and skills necessary for success.

Here are four tips for writing a professional counseling resume:

1. Start with a standout counseling resume objective

Your resume objective is the first thing employers look at on your resume, so it needs to grab their attention and quickly inform them of your top qualifications for the position. If you write a good resume objective, it should draw employers in to learn more about you.

Your counseling resume objective should:

• be 3–5 sentences long
• include your counseling credentials, such as university degrees, licenses, and certifications
• highlight your experience, including any areas of expertise or specialization
• showcase your most relevant skills
• mention what you hope to accomplish

Here’s an example of a counseling resume objective that highlights the candidate’s grief counseling specialization:

Certified Grief Counseling Specialist with a Master’s degree in Counseling Psychology and New York State Mental Health Counselor license. Possess 7+ years of experience in counseling individuals and families dealing with grief and loss, with specialization in sudden and traumatic loss, coping mechanisms development, and facilitating support groups. Skilled in active listening, empathy, and building therapeutic relationships with clients. Seeking to help clients at Lenox Hill Hospital navigate their grief journey and find hope and healing.

Just from reading this short paragraph, the employer knows that the candidate is well-equipped to take on grief counseling duties at the hospital, and will want to know more.

2. Demonstrate your counseling experience

Your work experience section is where you want to highlight your most relevant counseling experience. If you’re not sure what that is, revisit the job ad for the position you’re applying to and identify the keywords employers will be looking for on your resume.

These keywords will be words or phrases that describe particular skills and experiences that will help you be successful as a counselor, such as supportive listening skills or experience in crisis counseling. Targeting specific keywords in your resume increases the likelihood that you’ll get called for an interview.

Here’s an example of a work experience section that highlights a candidate’s supportive listening skills and crisis counseling experience (in yellow):

Crisis Counselor
Safe Haven Crisis Center, Denver, CO
June 2019 – Present

• Deliver immediate crisis counseling services to an average of 20 individuals and families per week for mental health crises, including suicidal ideation and domestic violence situations
• Utilize active listening skills to provide emotional support and guidance to individuals experiencing trauma, anxiety, and depression
• Conduct an average of 10 risk assessments per week, devising safety plans to prevent and respond to crisis situations
• Maintain detailed and accurate documentation of client interactions, including assessments and care plans
• Participate in regular crisis training and supervision sessions to ensure provision of high-quality crisis counseling services

In this example, the candidate effectively targets the desired keywords and gives employers a good sense of their relevant skills and experience.

Additionally, the candidate uses strong action verbs and hard numbers to quantify their professional accomplishments. Doing so ensures that you make your work experience entries as focused and detailed as possible, showing employers what you’re capable of and how you perform.

If you’re writing an entry-level counselor resume or a counseling intern resume, you won’t have as much professional experience to include. Instead, focus on showcasing other experiences, such as volunteer work, in which you were able to demonstrate relevant transferable skills.

Here’s an example of what that might look like:

Crisis Text Line Volunteer, Crisis Text Line
Chicago, IL
January 2020 – May 2020

• Responded to an average of 25 crisis text messages per week from individuals in crisis, using active listening skills to make individuals feel understood
• Utilized crisis de-escalation techniques to assist individuals in managing their emotions
  Connected individuals with additional resources as needed
• Documented all client interactions in real-time, ensuring the accuracy and completeness of notes for future reference

3. Showcase your credentials

As a counselor, your credentials are important. Employers (and clients) want to know that you have all the required qualifications, state licenses, and certifications you need to practice.

The easiest way to ensure employers see your credentials is to create a special “Licenses and Certifications” section for your resume. Make sure your credentials are up-to-date and meet state licensure requirements.

Each license or certification listing should include:

• the name of the license/certification
• the organization or body that awarded it
• year it was earned
• location (City, State) or “Online”

Here’s an example of a certifications section on an LPC resume:

Licenses and Certifications

Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC)
Michigan Board of Counseling, Lansing, Michigan
2022

Certified Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Practitioner (CCBT)
Academy of Cognitive Therapy, Online
2021

4. Highlight your counselor skills on your resume

Counselors need a solid set of hard and soft skills to provide effective help and guidance for their clients. Show employers you’re well-equipped to handle the job with this list of counseling skills for your resume: