Dedicated Drug and Alcohol Counselor with over 11 years of experience providing treatment and support for those struggling with drug and alcohol addictions. Adept at helping patients to address serious issues in their lives that have negatively impacted their personal and work relationships. Committed to creating effective patient treatment plans and working with the families of patients to ensure the best care for their loved ones.
05/2014 - 07/2022, Drug and Alcohol Counselor, The Andrews Foundation, New York
- Managed individual and group programs for 1,600+ clients, addressing adverse behavior related to drug and alcohol.
- Conducted consultations with patients and family members to understand the personal situation of each patient.
- Created personalized treatment plans for patients with concise goals, encouraging and assessing their progress at regular intervals.
- Collaborated with outpatient facilities, case managers, and probation officers regarding the progress of patients.
- Facilitated balance and restoration practices for clients, credited with improved well-being when evaluated during and after treatment.
04/2011 - 04/2014, Drug and Alcohol Counselor, Stand Up Foundation, New York
- Provided substance abuse treatment programs for 700+ clients utilizing this community center.
- Helped clients to develop positive coping skills to avoid relapses and further damage to their lives.
- Educated clients on how to achieve personal goals by providing positive encouragement and feedback during their treatment.
- Gave well-attended weekly lectures on healthy lifestyle choices and techniques to overcome negative emotional issues, which 82% of clients reported being very or extremely helpful in their recoveryProvided substance abuse treatment programs for 700+ clients utilizing this community center.
- Helped clients to develop positive coping skills to avoid relapses and further damage to their lives.
- Educated clients on how to achieve personal goals by providing positive encouragement and feedback during their treatment.
- Gave well-attended weekly lectures on healthy lifestyle choices and techniques to overcome negative emotional issues, which 82% of clients reported being very or extremely helpful in their recovery.
08/2010 - 05/2013, Master of Clinical Psychology, Columbia University, New York
08/2006 - 05/2010, Bachelor of Psychology, Hunter College, New York
- Effective Communication
- Mental Health Knowledge
- Relationship Building
- Addiction Therapy Treatment
You are in a human services profession; you provide guidance and treatment to people suffering from addictions. While the job is rooted in helping people (and nothing could be more admirable!) it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t optimize your job search for the best results. You’re ready to reach out for your next social services position and perhaps could use some guidance yourself.
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With your talents and work experience, and help from our online resume builder, professional resume templates and examples, as well as this guide, you will be well on your way to securing your next counselor job.
Use the tips and hacks in this guide to:
- Develop a professional profile recruiters and hiring managers will love
- Create the story of your career growth
- Highlight the skills you need to be a successful counselor
- Present an amazing visual impression with a great layout.
Let’s start with your profile.
Resume Profile Example
As an addiction counselor, you must be able to listen to patients and develop customized treatment plans to meet their individual needs. Your profile, also known as a professional summary or personal statement, gives you a chance to demonstrate the compassion and communication skills you use in your substance abuse treatment programs. This is the one spot open to full sentences, about 3-5 of them works best. Tell hiring managers one or two of the achievements you are proudest of and why. This is your space to pat yourself on the back.
Include a sentence about your style in therapy sessions and your philosophy for helping those struggling with their behavioral health. If you specialize in drug abuse treatment, eating disorders, or a particular aspect of drug abuse problems, make sure you note your expertise here, too.
Use strong descriptive language that tells recruiters who you are as a professional counselor. As you write this section, think about how your cover letter can complement it without repeating information.
See example content below.
Dedicated Drug and Alcohol Counselor with over seven years of experience providing treatment and support for those struggling with drug and alcohol addictions in both individual and group therapy sessions. Adept at helping patients to address serious issues in their lives that have negatively impacted their personal and work relationships. Bringing forth knowledge of coping mechanisms and relapse treatment. Committed to creating effective treatment plans for patients and working with the families of patients to create the best care program for their loved ones.
Get inspired by other helpful resumes examples from the same social work sector:
- Caregiver resume sample
- Geriatric Social Worker resume sample
- Healthcare Social Worker resume sample
- Case Manager resume sample
- Community Outreach Coordinator resume sample
- Babysitter resume sample
- Nanny resume sample
- Juvenile Counselor resume sample
- Social Worker resume sample
- Youth Service Specialist resume sample
- Medical Social Worker resume sample
Employment History Section
Throw away the idea that your Employment History is a dry listing of your job responsibilities. No! To impress hiring managers, you need to craft the story of your career growth. If you have extensive experience (more than 10 years), you can drop off those first jobs to make room for the job descriptions that show off your case management, substance abuse counseling, or treatment planning expertise.
Use each job to highlight different skills or work experiences. If you have earned promotions, make sure that is obvious. Each bullet point item should focus on an achievement. This gives recruiters an idea of counselors what you would bring to the job.
Try using the STAR method
- Describe the Situation
- Tell the Task, or what you were trying to achieve
- Explain the Action you took
- Use details to highlight your Results
Remember that you may work in a hospital, general counseling services clinic, or a facility for substance use disorders. Tailor your job descriptions so that hiring managers know that you understand the demands of their particular setting. If you have experience in a different type of counseling, list those jobs, too. Running group therapy or support groups, managing caseloads, and keeping detailed progress notes are all transferable skills.
Consider how you can illustrate your ability to provide motivation, encouragement, and coping mechanisms and help clients establish a more positive lifestyle while working toward making healthier choices.
See example content below.
- Managed individual client programs and group programs addressing adverse behavior related to drug and alcohol.
- Conducted consultations with patients and family members to understand the personal situation of each patient.
- Created personalized treatment plans for patients with concise goals.
- Taught coping mechanisms to avoid relapses.
- Worked with outpatient facilities, case managers, and probation officers.
- Facilitated balance and restoration practices for clients.
Education Section Example
Most substance abuse counselors have a bachelor’s degree in a related area such as psychology, addiction studies, or social work. Many also have a master’s degree in counseling or clinical mental health. As part of your training and as a requirement for licensure, counselor’s also must complete supervised clinical experiences. If you are new to the field, you may list your training in your employment section. Otherwise, you may leave it off or include it in your Education section.
If you hold a degree higher than a bachelor's, you may leave out your high school. You can list licenses, certifications and any accolades or distinctions here, or create a separate section highlighting them.
See example content below.
- 2000-2004 Manhattan College, Master of Clinical Psychology NY, NY
- 1996-2000 Fox Lane High School, High School Diploma Briarcliffe, NY
Resume Skills Section and Example
You’ve told the story of your career. Now you just have to pull out your most impressive skills so that busy recruiters can easily see what you bring to the job. Make a list of all your professional skills from which to cull. As a counselor, soft, or people and organizational, skills are key but don’t neglect your hard skills—those necessary to do your specific job. Your resume should highlight soft skills such as excellent communication and listening ability, compassion, and an in-depth understanding of addiction. You also need to show the hard skills necessary to be a great counselor such as knowledge of behavioral issues that lead to substance abuse, ability to design and implement effective treatment plans, and an understanding of the health care system.
Next, sure to analyze each job listing and focus your skills section on that job’s requirements. Making sure you personalize your application for each job will help you get past the Applicant Tracking Systems that use algorithms to rank resumes. Using keywords and phrases that appear in the job listing will help raise your ranking and get you into the hands of a person. Develop a mix of both soft and hard skills that show off your highest level abilities.
See example content below.
- Strong Interpersonal Communication Skills
- Mental Health Knowledge
- Coping Mechanisms
- Addiction Therapy Treatment
- Relationship Building
- Analytical Thinking Skills
- Crisis Intervention Expertise
Layout and Formatting
Put the finishing touches on your resume with a clean, easy-to-read design. Create your resume using a dedicated builder tool such as Resume.io’s. This will prevent formatting errors that can occur when you start from scratch.
We suggest our resume examples in the Professional or Modern categories, but you may also want to look at a Simple timeless design. These can be personalized, but here are a few rules of thumb to keep in mind:
- Vary line lengths to leave plenty of white space
- Consider putting your LinkedIn profile in with your personal data
- Use a legible font
- Keep color to a minimum
- Proofread (though our amazing resume spell-checker will protect you from typos and basic grammar mistakes)!
Your goal here is to make a great first impression and allow recruiters who are quickly scanning your resume to easily find your contact information, job titles, and section headings.
You’ve already taken the first step. With Resume.io, you’ll soon be on your way to your next great job!
