HIV Counselor Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this HIV Counselor resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
If you’re passionate about helping others and want a job that gives you the opportunity to make a real difference in people’s lives, a career as an HIV counselor might be right up your alley. HIV counselors provide education and support to people living with HIV and their loved ones. They help people understand their diagnosis and the treatment options available to them. They also work with clients to develop an effective plan for living with the virus—and staying healthy.
Because HIV is such a sensitive topic for many people, it can be difficult to talk about openly. But if you have the right skills and experience under your belt, landing an HIV counselor position should be easy. Just follow these tips plus an example resume template to write a compelling HIV counselor resume that hiring managers will love.
How to Write an HIV Counselor Resume
Here’s how to write an resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
When you’re writing bullet points, it can be tempting to simply list your responsibilities. But that’s not enough to make a strong impression. Instead, you should use your bullet points to demonstrate your value by describing how you contributed to the organization.
For example, rather than saying you “provided counseling services to clients with HIV/AIDS,” you could say you “provided counseling services to clients with HIV/AIDS, resulting in a 15% increase in retention rate over six months.”
The second bullet point paints a much clearer picture of what you did and how you contributed to the organization. And it provides a quantifiable result—a 15% increase in retention rate.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a job as an HIV counselor, your resume is likely to be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. This program looks for specific terms related to the position, like “HIV” or “infectious disease” in order to determine whether your skills are a match. If your resume doesn’t have enough of the right terms, the ATS might filter out your application.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, make sure to include relevant keywords throughout all sections of your resume. You can find a list of commonly used HIV counselor keywords below:
- HIV Counseling
- Mental Health Counseling
- Crisis Intervention
- Case Management
- Group Therapy
- Psychotherapy
- Mental Health
- Community Outreach
- Counseling Psychology
- Working with Adolescents
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Mental Health Service Provider
- Psychotherapy Training
- Working with Children
- Social Services
- Counseling
- Behavioral Health
- HIV/AIDS
- Group Counseling
- Interventions
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Personal Development
- Motivational Interviewing
- Communication
- Leadership
- Microsoft Access
- Social Work
- Individual Counselling
- Mediation
- Mental Health Issues
Showcase Your Technical Skills
As an HIV counselor, you need to be proficient in a variety of software programs and systems in order to effectively do your job. These might include HIV counseling and testing software, case management software, and electronic health records (EHR) systems. Additionally, you should be familiar with HIV prevention programs and have a solid understanding of HIV/AIDS.