Social Work Resume Example + Social Worker Resume Tips

Write a social worker resume that shows you're caring, knowledgeable, and resilient. Our social work resume examples and professional advice will guide the way.

You put others first, while your needs get the back seat. You work harder than people who earn 10x your salary, with little thanks. But if you help one life, it’s worth it.

The trouble? Even with all that empathy, it’s still hard to get a job. What’s blocking you is an unimpressive social work resume. But together we can fix that fast.

In this guide:

• A social work resume example better than most.
• How to write a social worker resume that shows you care.
• How to create a strong career summary or resume objective for social workers.
• Which social work skills for resume matter.

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Looking for a different kind of resume? See:

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• Correctional Officer Resume
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• Project Manager Resume
• Resident Assistant Resume
• College Student Resume
• Teen Resume
• Virtual Assistant Resume
• Volunteering Resume

Haven't found what you're looking for? Check all our Resume Examples for Any Job.

Social Work Resume Example You Can Copy and Use

Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW)

Passionate LCSW with 4+ years of experience. Seeking to help clients meet goals at Sugden Well Being. At Strother Regional Life Strategies, provided therapy and counseling to a caseload of 40+ 12–18 year-olds. 70% of clients met goals within 3 months. Mandt-certified NASW member. Skilled in assessment and treatment plans.

LCSW — Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Strother Regional Life Strategies

• Provided counseling and therapy to adolescents aged 12–18 years.
• Worked with clients to develop goals. 70% met goals in 3 months.
• Collaborated with psychologist to complete evaluation reports. Commended 3x by psychologist for efficiency and documentation.
• Managed caseload of 40–120 patients.
• Worked with IT department to improve record-keeping system. Reduced time spent on documentation by 5 hours per week.

Volunteer Child Social Worker

Blakely Ridge Ranch

• Provided on-call assistance to 25+ children in rural children's home.
• Used Mandt training to intervene in conflicts involving violent children.
• Evaluated and performed treatment planning for 4 mentally ill children.
• Facilitated and led 5 weekly group therapy sessions.

Master of Social Work, Alabama State University

• GPA 3.9
• Project on treatment plans cited by professor in JAMA Psychiatry.

BS Social Work, Auburn University

• Pursued a passion for child development coursework.

• Mandt Certification, R-Level

• Member, NASW.
• Weekly Vinyasa yoga as self-care.
• At NASW Conference 2018, spoke on panel about burnout.

Hard Skills: Counseling, creating treatment plans, assessment, Mandt system

Soft Skills: Interpersonal skills, communication, active listening, empathy

Here’s how to write a great resume for social working jobs:

1. Use the Correct Social Work Resume Format

Appearances matter. Poor resume formatting is the #2 reason recruiters throw out resumes. So make sure your social work resume follows the right model.

The reverse-chronological resume format is your friend. It lines up all your best features in the right order.

Social Work Resume Format

• Put your latest or current position up top. Follow it up with the previous ones.
• Add 1-inch resume margins to a 1-page resume.
• Include white space to save hiring managers from squinting.
• Use a trusted resume font like 10–12pt Helvetica or Calibri.
• Make resume sections like Heading, Summary, Work Experience, Education, and Skills.
• Always send PDF resumes, since they look the same on every screen.

Expert Hint: There are 707,400 social workers in the US. Their ranks are swelling much faster than average. Your social work resume must be its best self to compete.

2. Write a Social Work Resume Objective or Summary

Your social work resume is drowning in a sea of other applications. You need it to stand out like Jane Waldfogel at a monster truck rally to get the job.

Do that with a gripping resume profile (in the form of a career objective, career summary, or summary of qualifications). It’s your sales pitch in a nutshell.

Add:

1. An adjective (passionate, hard-working)
2. “social worker” or “LCSW”
3. Years of experience (2+, 5+)
4. Where & what you want to do (help clients meet goals at Sugden Well Being)
5. Best social work moments (70% of clients met goals. )
6. Key job skills (assessment, treatment plans. )

Your summary goes up top, but—

Write it when the rest of is done to make it easy. See these social work resume examples:

Social Work Resume Summary—Example

Nail it all with a splash of color, choose a clean font, and highlight your skills in just a few clicks. You're the perfect candidate, and we'll prove it. Use our resume builder now.

3. Craft Your Social Work Job Description and Skills Section

What social work resume skills do you need? Here are some of the most common:

Social Work Skills for a Resume

Hard Skills

• Assessment
• Evaluation
• Intervention
• Human Behavior
• Counseling
• Creating Treatment Plans
• Research
• Crisis Management
• Policy Adherence
• Psychopathology
• Computer Skills

Soft Skills

• Interpersonal Skills
• Effective Communication
• Organization
• Active Listening
• Collaboration
• Critical Thinking
• Empathy
• Persuasion
• Stress Management
• Active Learning
• Conflict Management

A word of warning: Don’t shoe-horn them all into your resume. To get jobs, write a targeted resume instead.

To write a social work job description for resumes:

1. Cherry-pick skills to put on a resume from the online ad.
2. Save them in a list of resume keywords.
3. Build your bullets from times you used them to help clients.

See these social work resume samples:

Imagine the job ad wants these social work skills: counseling , client goal-setting , collaboration , documentation .

Social Work Job Description for a Resume [Sample]

Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.

Key Points

Here’s how to write a social work resume:

• Use the social work resume template up top. It gives opportunities to show off your beneficence.
• List social worker resume skills, but add bullet points that show you’ve used them to help clients.
• Write a social worker resume summary at the top. Equip it with your best few moments in the field, but write it last.
• Include “added” resume sections like conferences, certifications, and additional activities.
• Add a social worker cover letterexplaining why you love this job.

Got questions on how to write great resumes for social work jobs? Not sure how to put social work on a resume? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply!

About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process

At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.

Having published over 200 career-advice articles, Tom Gerencer is a career expert who covers the whole array of job-seeking topics for people at all career stages, from interns to C-suite members. His insights, commentary, and articles reach over a million readers every month. With inside knowledge of key industry players and in-depth research, Tom helps job seekers with advice across all professions and career stages.

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