Social Work Resume: Examples for a Social Worker (20+ Tips)

You’re seconds from the best social work resume example on the planet. But—

You help people. Should you really have to prove it on a resume? After all, there’s a social worker shortage. Jobs will grow 16% in the next 10 years. You should be able to write your social work resume on a SNAP scrip and get the job.

Well think about this:

Not all social worker jobs are created equal. You want a good one in a great setting with solid pay and benefits. So—your social worker resume must stand out like Preston Dyer or Sandra Bernabei.

It’s not inaccessible. You just need to show your skills and achievements the right way.

This guide will show you:

• A social work resume example better than 9 out of 10 others.
• How to write a social worker resume that gets more interviews.
• Tips and examples of how to put skills and achievements on a social work resume.
• How to describe your experience on a resume for a social worker to get any job you want.

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Looking for a different kind of resume writing advice? Switch to one of our other guides:

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• Case Manager Resume
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• Nonprofit Resume
• Volunteer Coordinator Resume
• All Resume Examples

Now, here's how to write a social work resume:

1

Use the Best Format for a Social Work Resume

Imagine you’re the hiring manager. If you see a sloppy social work resume with poor formatting, what do you do? Probably ditch it like an unhealthy belief.

Don’t let that happen to you. Start with the reverse-chronological resume format. It puts a halo effect around your recent accomplishments.

Add white space, the best resume fonts, and clear headings to make it easy for employers.

Last, save human services resumes as PDFs. Modern PDFs are machine-readable. They’re also stable no matter what computer they wind up on. Just make sure the job ad doesn’t nix them.

Pro Tip: Moving to social work jobs from another career? Use the combination resume format. It integrates transferable experience into your social worker resume.

If you don’t want to bias yourself toward the reverse-chronological social work resume format, see our guide: 3 Resume Formats: How to Choose the Best One [Examples]

Meet Kierra, the clinic director. She’s hiring for a social worker job with high pay, flexible hours, and profit sharing.

You really want to work for Kierra. But she’s seen enough social work resumes to cause PTSD. Her guilty secret? She doesn’t read them all. She skims, then reads the ones she likes.

How do you get in her “good candidates” pile? With a social worker resume objective statement or resume summary. Use a resume objective if your experience is still taking baby steps. It’ll show your passion. Use a resume summary if you’ve got experience like Tiziana Dearing and you want to show it off.

Load either one with measurable achievements. These two senior social worker resumes examples show the right and wrong approach. Where’s the abnormality in the first of our senior social workers resume samples?

That's not incompetent, but it won’t release a flood of interviews. Instead, emulate our next human services resumes example:

Social Worker Resume Summary

Breakthrough. That’s in the Tom Walsh zone. The measurable achievements make it work.

Is your experience less powerful than that? Try a social worker resume objective. Back in the days of metrazol therapy, that meant showing you really wanted the job. That’s what the next of our social worker resume objectives does:

Passion counts for a lot. But what if the other applicants have it—plus experience?

Catastrophe.

Don’t worry. A few measurable accomplishments can work like the Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in. Examine the next of our entry-level social workers resume examples:

Social Worker Resume Objective

That'll make the hiring manager drop her copy of Saving Normal.

But what if you have no experience to put on a case worker resume? I’ll show that next.

Writing is key. 75% of the job is documenting your work—otherwise it never happened.

Christopher Filteau

Social Worker LSW-X

Pro Tip: It’s challenging to write a resume introduction. So—write it last, then cherry-pick material from your resume.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better. 

3

Describe Your Social Worker Experience

Remember Kierra, the clinic director? She’s got a debilitating headache. Why? Most of the case worker resumes on her desk don’t have enough experience. The rest are so busy she can’t read them.

Then she comes to yours.

She smiles. What did you do right? You knew how to list experience on a resume for social workers. She thinks you’re the best thing since the NAACP.

Start with your most recent job. Add 3-5 resume bullets.

Imitate the first of our professional social work resume examples below.

Social Worker Job Description for a Resume 

Jane Addams would be proud. Your professional resume for social work jobs convinced the manager you’ll get the job done.

But make deep cuts to those achievements, and:

I have a duty to warn you—that social work resume example will fail.

And if you have no experience at social work jobs? See these entry-level social worker resume examples. You have more experience for a social services resume than you think.

Have you ever:

• Done an internship?
• Volunteered?
• Done fill-in fee-for-service work at clinics?
• Assisted other social workers?

Adding those things will make your resume for entry-level social work jobs stand out like Maurice Daniels wrote it.

The next two entry-level social worker resume samples show how. The first of these entry-level social workers resume examples borders on negligence.

Eek. The clinic manager thinks you like eugenics.

So—add details to get this social work resume example:

Resume for a Social Worker with No Experience

That’s no trick of the light. That human services resume proves you’re Cathryn Potter in the rough.

Know the local resources—either volunteer or look them up. It’s easier to be helpful if you know the help available and it sucks to think you’re able to help when you can’t.

Christopher Filteau

Social Worker LSW-X

Pro Tip: People believe you can do what you’ve already done. The goal of your social work resume experience section? To show you’ve already done the duties in the job you’re targeting.

Writing a resume for entry-level social work jobs? See our volunteer resume sample: How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume

Don’t make the clinic manager zone out. Engage her with action words. See our guide: 240 Resume Action Words & Power Words to Make Your Resume Shine

Education matters on a resume for social work. Don’t do it like everybody else. If you do, the hiring manager’s defense mechanisms will shut you out. How can you get her attention instead?

Start with:

• School Name and Location
• Years in School
• Degree

Then add achievements that fit the job like a successful treatment plan.

The next social work resume examples do it right. They’re for a job that needs a clinical social worker with skills in child development and youth care experience.

Social Worker Education on a Resume (Example)

That’s guaranteed to change the narrative. Not so with the next of our social work resume examples:

Ouch. That applicant could believe in bloodletting for all we know.

Pro Tip: Does GPA belong on a social worker resume? Only if it’s high or recent. If not, use the space for another social work accomplishment.

Make your social work resume education section sing like a foundation grant. See our guide: How to Put Your Education on a Resume [Tips & Examples]

“She’s got the skills we need. Let’s hire her.” What if you could make the hiring manager say that? The good news? It’s not brain surgery. Just (1) pick the right social work resume skills and (2) prove them.

How?

First, read the job description closely. It’s got the perfect social work skills list. Then, put achievements in your bullet points that show you’ve got those skills. You’ll turn heads like the ACLU.

The professional social work resume examples below show how.

Pretend Kierra put these skills in the job description:

Required Social Worker Skills: (1) Counseling, (2) Crisis Intervention, (3) Assessments.

Add them to your case worker resume skills list. Include a couple extra so you’re not gaslighting.

Then do this:

Do that, and you’ll need a life coach to manage all your job interviews.

The social work skills list for resumes below will start you on the right foot.

Social Worker Skills for a Resume

• Emotional Intelligence (EQ)
• Assessment
• Active Listening
• Research
• Communication
• Evaluation
• Collaboration
• Intervention
• Critical Thinking
• Psychopathology
• Organization
• Policy Awareness
• Empathy
• Human Behavior
• Perceptiveness
• Counseling
• Persuasion
• Crisis Intervention
• Active Learning
• Developing Treatment Plans

That’s not a comprehensive social work skills list. Add to it from online social services job descriptions and licensed clinical social worker job descriptions.

Pro Tip: Is your professional social services resume not working? Maybe it’s your networking skills. I spoke with a healthcare worker who used networking to get a $100K job and it was life changing.

Really nail your social worker resume skills section. See our guide: +30 Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume (Proven Tips)

“Wow, she’s highly qualified.” You worked hard for that social worker license. Don’t repress it.

List it:

• At the top of your social work resume, near your name
• At the beginning of your resume summary
• In a special “License” section

Then it won’t matter if the manager skims your resume for social work jobs. She’ll still know you’re qualified. Put your license section right under your summary.

Got more certifications? Great! But don’t bury your valuable license under them. Put them in a “certifications” section below your education.

Pro Tip: Got your MSW but can’t find MSW jobs? Don’t be afraid to gear your social work resume toward BSW positions. Work your way up from there.

Want the certifications on your social worker resume to stand out like the Mental Health Parity Act? See our guide: How to List Certifications on a Resume: Guide

The hiring manager is impressed. Not only did you show the perfect experience and education—you also showed you’re great to work with. How can you do that on a case worker resume?

With "other" resume sections that make most applicants struggle. Watch that play out in two sample social work resume sections.

Social Worker Other Resume Sections

Those things are pretty cool. But do they show you’re a great social worker?

Nope.

So—add extra sections to your resume for social work jobs:

You’ve made serious progress. Your professional social work resume would impress Michelle Obama.

If you add hobbies or interests to your social work resume, state it as a form of self care. Self care in this field is VITAL! It shows balance in your life and may provide insight to the agency that—hey, this person is less apt to burn out.

Lisa Muzeroll

Adult Case Manager

Even a NASW membership looks great on a resume for social worker jobs.

Pro Tip: Never turn down an interview request, even if you don’t want the job. At the very least it’s good networking. They might even hire you for a better job down the road.

Not sure how to show your human capital on your social worker resume? See our guide: +20 Best Examples of Hobbies & Interests To Put on a Resume (5 Tips)

Do you need to send a cover letter for a social worker resume? Yes. Don’t let anyone convince you not to.

It’s true—60% of hiring managers won’t read social work cover letters. But the other 40% insist on them. Don’t send a “here’s my social work resume” cover letter. That’s generic.

Show:

1. You understand the needs shown in the social services job description.
2. You’ve got the qualifications to fill those needs.

Do that, and you’ll get respect like the Peace Corps. This short social worker cover letter example gets it right:

Always end a cover letter with an offer. Try, “I’d value the opportunity to share how I can help the Halloran Center’s clients reach their goals."

Pro Tip: Corporate jobs pay a lot more than non-profit positions. Don’t feel pressured to work for a corporation, but know your options.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Want to set your social services cover letter up for success? See our guide: How to Write the Perfect Cover Letter in 8 Steps and our dedicated guide: Social Work Cover Letter Examples with Guide

9

Do This Before You Add Contact Info to a Resume

Do you really know how to add contact info to a social work resume?

Start with:

• Full Name
• Updated Phone Number
• Professional Email Address

Like this:

Hana Knauer, LCSW, [email protected], 812-459-5707

For a "professional email address," use [email protected]. Don’t use [email protected].

But—check your social media accounts for trap doors that could get you fired.

Need help? See our guide on how to check your online presence before employers do. The best social worker resume in the world can’t help if you did something dumb on Facebook seven years ago.

Pro Tip: Should social workers use LinkedIn? Yes. At the very least, you can look for connections at organizations you’d like to work for.

Want your caseworker resume sparkle? See our guide: How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide (+30 Examples) 

Do you have questions on how to write a great resume for a human services worker? Not sure how to describe your skills or achievements? Give us a shout in the comments! We’d be happy to reply.