Hospital Social Worker Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Hospital Social Worker resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Hospital social workers help patients and families navigate the healthcare system, connecting them with resources and services they need. They also work with hospital staff to coordinate patient care, advocate for patient rights, and provide emotional support to patients and their families.
Because hospital social workers handle such a wide range of responsibilities, it’s important to have a resume that reflects your experience working across departments, collaborating with colleagues, and managing challenging situations. Here are some tips and an example to help you write yours.
How to Write a Hospital Social Worker Resume
Here’s how to write a hospital social worker resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
Rather than simply listing your responsibilities, take some time to describe the impact of your work. For example, rather than saying you “provided emotional support to patients and families,” you could say you “provided emotional support to patients and families coping with serious illnesses, resulting in a 90% decrease in patient anxiety levels.”
This level of detail will help hiring managers understand not only what you did but also how well you did it. And that can make all the difference when it comes time for them to decide who to interview.
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a hospital social worker position, your resume will likely be scanned by an applicant tracking system (ATS) for certain keywords. ATS programs rank resumes based on the number of relevant keywords that are found on the resume. If your resume doesn’t have enough of the right keywords, your application might not make it past the initial screening process.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, use the following list of common hospital social worker keywords and phrases as a guide to help you identify which words are most relevant to your job search:
- Social Work
- Psychotherapy
- Mental Health
- Crisis Intervention
- Case Management
- Mental Health Counseling
- Group Therapy
- Working with Adolescents
- Psychotherapy Integrative
- Nonprofit Organizations
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Child Development
- Community Outreach
- Motivational Interviewing
- Staff Development
- Psychology
- Organizational Development
- Patient Safety
- Healthcare
- Working with Veterans
- Hospitals
- Medication Management
- Hospice Care
- Family Therapy
- Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
- Behavioral Medicine
- Social Services
- Trauma Therapy
- Counselling
- Interventions
Showcase Your Technical Skills
In order to be successful in this role, it is essential that social workers are proficient in a variety of technical systems and procedures. Recruiters are looking for social workers who are skilled in programs like Microsoft Office Suite, electronic health records (EHR) systems, and social media platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter. Additionally, social workers should be familiar with government regulations related to their industry, as they will often be responsible for ensuring that the organization is in compliance with these regulations.