So you’ve decided to pursue a social work career.
Unlike some of your friends that opted to work for a paycheck in one of those powerhouses, you want to do good for the community and make the world a better place.
Problem? Getting a robust social work job might be everything but easy. In fact, your resume needs to be topnotch if you want to land a job that offers a plethora of benefits and a lovely setting.
Don’t stress, though.
You’re a quick scroll-down away from learning how to write a job-winning social work resume.
Pull the Recruiter into the Meat and Potatoes of Your Resume
While it’s true that social work jobs are projected to grow 14% in the upcoming years, and there’s no shortage of talent, your resume still needs to grab the recruiter’s attention right from the get-go.
That’s because most recruiters get a massive number of applications in response to a job offer. They can’t humanly read them all, so recruiters just skim them.
Good news?
There’s a surefire way to rise above the noise and get the recruiters to stick with your application—include a well-crafted resume summary.
It’s a short paragraph you place at the top of your social work resume that acts as a snapshot of your key career accomplishments.
Want to see how it looks in real life?
Passionate social worker with 5+ years of experience. Eager to support XYZ in delivering excellence through proven treatment plan development skills. In previous roles, devised 21 treatment plans and managed a caseload of 55-140 patients daily.
Here’s how you can write your very own resume summary:
- Study the job ad closely and see if you have measurable achievements from previous roles that go in parallel with what the employer needs.
- Start with a strong trait (e.g., passionate, caring, cheerful.)
- List your job title.
- State how many years of experience you have under your belt.
- Provide your value proposition for the company.
Open your resume with a robust resume summary, and you’ll start work on Monday (guaranteed, or I’ll send you a goldfish.)
Make Your Your Social Worker Experience Stand Out
Why do most candidates applying for social work jobs fail?
Because they don’t know how to list previous experience for maximum impact. They simply throw whatever experience they have and hope things work out.
Don’t worry. In a second, you’ll learn how to make your job description section stand out.
- Write down your current or most recent job.
- List your job titles, companies you worked for, employment periods, and locations.
- Add 3-5 bullet points to showcase your primary duties. Quantify whenever possible because numbers always look impressive!
Example:
- Maintained records for 90+ cases per year.
- Achieved a 97% compliance rate with documentation of core measures in an electronic medical record.
- Designed a $10,000 grant from the NC Culture Change Coalition for an interactive computer system to use with the facility residents.
- Use resume action verbs to pull the recruiter to the rest of your social work resume.
- Make sure to tailor your job description section to the job ad. Focus on what the employer is after.
Spotlight Your Expertise
So far so good.
You’ve penned a solid social work resume summary, and your work experience would make Sandra Bernabei blush.
But—
If you want the recruiter to exclaim, We need to hire him/her ASAP, you need to put some finishing touches, e.g. list your licenses and certifications.
Here’s how to do it right:
- Create a dedicated License section at the bottom of your resume, below your education.
- List your certifications.
- Certified Advanced Social Work Case Manager (C-ASWCM)
- Diplomate in Clinical Social Work (DCSW)
It’s as simple as that.
