Mental Health Counselor Resume Example & Writing Guide
Use this Mental Health Counselor resume example and guide to improve your career and write a powerful resume that will separate you from the competition.
Mental health counselors help people with mental health issues like depression, anxiety, and addiction. They also work with people who have mental health issues that aren’t serious enough to require medical attention, like eating disorders or body image problems.
If you have a passion for helping others, fantastic listening skills, and the ability to offer guidance and support, then you might be ready to become a mental health counselor yourself! But before you can land your dream job, you need a resume that will impress hiring managers and get interviews rolling in.
Here are some tips and an example to help you write yours.
How to Write a Mental Health Counselor Resume
Here’s how to write a mental health counselor resume of your own.
Write Compelling Bullet Points
When you’re writing bullet points, it can be tempting to focus on the responsibilities of your job. But that’s not always the most effective way to showcase your skills and experience.
Instead, you can use your bullet points to tell a story about your work. For example, rather than saying you “provided counseling services to clients with mental health issues,” you could say you “worked with clients suffering from anxiety and depression to develop coping mechanisms and reduce symptoms.”
The second bullet point paints a much clearer picture of what your job entails. And it also provides some specific examples of the types of clients you worked with and the types of outcomes you achieved.
Related: What Is a Mental Health Counselor? How to Become One
Identify and Include Relevant Keywords
When you apply for a mental health counselor role, your resume is likely to go through an applicant tracking system (ATS). This program will scan your resume for certain keywords related to the position. If your resume doesn’t have enough of the right terms, the ATS might automatically reject your application.
To increase your chances of getting an interview, make sure to include relevant keywords throughout all parts of your resume. Here are some common mental health counselor keywords to get you started:
- Mental Health Counseling
- Mental Health
- Mental Health first aid
- Crisis Intervention
- Group Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Psychology
- Case Management
- Counseling Psychology
- Working with Adolescents
- Family Therapy
- Psychotherapy
- Social Services
- Psychodynamic Therapy
- Working with Children
- Personal Development
- Counseling
- Behavioral Health
- Career Counseling
- Event Planning
- Mental Health Clinical Practice
- Social Work
- Community Outreach
- Child Welfare
- Individual Counselling
- Counseling Psychology
- Group Counseling
- Trauma Therapy
- Emotional Intelligence
- Motivational Interviewing
Showcase Your Technical Skills
Mental health counselors use a variety of technology tools in their work, including client management software, telehealth platforms, and online databases. They also need to be proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite, as they often need to create documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. So if you have experience with any of these programs, be sure to list them in your technical skills section.
Related: How Much Does a Mental Health Counselor Make?
Remember The Basics
As you draft your resume, you’ll want to keep a few basic guidelines in mind.
Make It Easy to Scan
There are a few things you can do to make your resume more legible and easier to scan, such as left-aligning your text, using a standard font type and size, and keeping your bullets concise. You should also try to use all-caps and bold sparingly, and keep your bullets under two lines. Additionally, you can include some white space on the page to make the document easier to scan.
Be Concise
There is no set length for a resume, but a one or two page resume is generally the recommended length. A one page resume is good for recent graduates or those with less than five to eight years of experience, while a two page resume is more appropriate for those with more than 10 years of experience. When trimming down your resume, remove any irrelevant information, such as personal details or hobbies, and focus on the most relevant experience and skills.
Proofread
Proofreading your resume is important in order to make sure it looks professional and error-free. Spell checking is a must, as are punctuation and grammar checks. It is also helpful to have someone else proofread your resume for you, as they may catch mistakes that you have missed. Beware of easily confused words, and make sure that your tense is consistent throughout the resume.
Consider Including a Summary
A resume summary statement can be extremely beneficial for job seekers, as it helps to contextualize their experience and explain their goals succinctly and effectively. By highlighting your best skills and experiences, as well as stating what you’re looking for next, a summary can help potential employers to better understand how you might be a good fit for their organization. If you’re unsure of how to start writing your own, consider looking at some resume summary examples online.
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