School Counselor Resume Example

Principals and district hiring committees read a school counselor resume for your state credential, the grade levels you have served and the data behind your program. Show your license, your student caseload, the tiers of your counseling program and the numbers a school reports on: attendance, graduation, course failures, college applications and discipline referrals.

The Sample resume below is for a school counselor with six years in North Carolina, first at a middle school and now at a large high school. Each bullet ties a counseling activity to a measure the school tracked, such as chronic absenteeism among students in her caseload, FAFSA completion, students on track to graduate and the number of crisis responses handled with a documented plan.

Shape the page to the level you want. Elementary postings weigh classroom lessons, social skills groups and family outreach; middle school weighs transitions, small groups and behavior; high school weighs scheduling, college and career advising and credit recovery. If you also hold a clinical license, the social worker example shows how to present that side, the counselor example covers community settings, and the Faculty template gives licensure and program data a structured layout.

Updated . The person and employers in this Sample resume are fictional.

School Counselor sample resume

Devon Ashcroft

Licensed School Counselor, M.Ed., NCC

Raleigh, NCdevon.ashcroft@example.com(919) 555-0163

Summary

Licensed school counselor with six years across middle and high school, currently serving a caseload of about 380 students in grades nine through twelve. Built a tiered program that cut chronic absenteeism in the caseload by nearly a third and raised FAFSA completion among seniors from 52 to 71 percent. Trusted by teachers, families and administrators for calm crisis response and clear follow-through.

Experience

School Counselor, Grades 9 to 12, Crabtree Ridge High School

– Present

Raleigh, NC

  • Serve about 380 students as their counselor for academic planning, personal and social support and postsecondary advising, meeting each student individually at least twice a year.
  • Started an attendance intervention that pairs weekly check-ins and family calls for students missing more than ten days; chronic absenteeism in the caseload fell from 21 to 14 percent in two years.
  • Ran senior FAFSA nights, one-on-one application sessions and a text reminder campaign, lifting FAFSA completion among seniors from 52 to 71 percent.
  • Respond to about 30 student crises a year, including suicide risk screenings, with a written safety plan and parent contact before the student leaves the building every time.
School Counselor, Grades 6 to 8, Maple Hollow Middle School

–

Cary, NC

  • Counseled a caseload of about 420 students and delivered a classroom lesson series on conflict resolution and digital citizenship to every grade each semester.
  • Led six-week small groups for students with repeated discipline referrals; group members averaged half as many referrals in the following quarter.
  • Coordinated the rising ninth-grade transition program with the high school, including course selection nights that reached about 90 percent of families.
  • Chaired the student support team, bringing teachers, the social worker and the school psychologist together weekly to plan interventions for about 40 students a year.

Education

Master of Education in School Counseling

Carolina Longleaf University, Greensboro, NC

600-hour internship split between an elementary and a high school. CACREP-accredited program.

Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

Carolina Longleaf University, Greensboro, NC

Skills

  • Comprehensive school counseling program design (ASCA model)
  • Individual and group counseling
  • Classroom guidance lessons
  • Academic planning and scheduling
  • College and career advising
  • FAFSA and financial aid support
  • Crisis response and suicide risk screening
  • Attendance and behavior interventions
  • 504 plans and IEP team participation
  • Data analysis in PowerSchool and Naviance
  • Family outreach and conferences
  • Consultation with teachers and administrators

Certifications

  • School Counselor License (K-12), North Carolina, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction,
  • National Certified Counselor (NCC), National Board for Certified Counselors,
  • Youth Mental Health First Aid, National Council for Mental Wellbeing,

Start yours from this example

Bring your own resume or start blank, then tailor it to each posting in about two minutes.

Use this example

Templates for the school counselor resume

All templates

How the resume changes with experience

The same school counselor resume, written at three levels: a summary and three bullets for each.

Entry level

Zero to two years, or a first role in the title

New school counselor with a master's degree, a 600-hour internship across elementary and middle school and three years as a classroom teacher. Licensed and ready for a first caseload.

  • Delivered 40 classroom lessons and ran three small groups during a middle school internship with a supervised caseload of 80 students.
  • Built a check-in system for six students with chronic tardiness, five of whom improved by the end of the semester.
  • Asked to lead a parent night on test anxiety during the internship rather than observe, and drew 60 families.

Mid level

Three to seven years, owns a process or a workload

Elementary school counselor with five years of experience serving about 500 students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with a program built around classroom lessons and family partnership.

  • Teach a monthly lesson in every one of 24 classrooms and run four social skills groups a week.
  • Discipline referrals dropped by about a quarter after a schoolwide expectations program I coordinated.
  • Referred a family to outside therapy instead of stretching school counseling beyond its scope, and followed up until they connected.

Senior

Eight years or more, leads people, budgets or programs

Director of school counseling with twelve years in the field, leading a department of seven counselors serving 2,100 students and coordinating the district's postsecondary readiness work.

  • Lead seven counselors and two college advisers, and set the school's counseling program goals each year.
  • Raised the four-year graduation rate over four years through a credit recovery and early warning system.
  • Redistributed caseloads by need rather than alphabet after data showed one counselor carrying most of the at-risk students.

Skills to put on the school counselor resume

Hard skills

State school counselor licensure
It is required for the position, and principals screen for it before reading further.
Comprehensive program design
Districts expect a tiered, data-driven program, and naming the model you follow shows you can build one.
Academic planning and scheduling
High school counselors own course selection and graduation checks, and errors there are visible to everyone.
College and career advising
Postsecondary outcomes are reported publicly, and counselors who move application and FAFSA numbers are valued.
Crisis response
Every school has student crises, and administrators want a counselor who follows protocol and documents.
Data analysis
Attendance, behavior and grade data show whether your program works, and committees ask for it.
Student information and advising software
PowerSchool, Naviance, Infinite Campus and similar systems are how the work is tracked, and knowing them saves training.

Soft skills

Trust with students
Students only come to a counselor they trust, and referrals from students are a sign the program is working.
Collaboration with teachers and administrators
Interventions need teachers, and counselors who work well with staff get their plans carried out.
Family communication
Attendance, behavior and college plans all involve parents, and the counselor is usually the bridge.
Advocacy
Counselors push for students who are overlooked in scheduling, discipline and placement decisions.

Mistakes that cost school counselor interviews

  1. License and grade band not clear

    A committee needs to know you hold the state credential and which grade levels you have served. Put both in the headline and the first line of each role.

  2. A program described without data

    Schools report on attendance, graduation, failures and referrals. Say how many students you served and what those measures did while you were there.

  3. Bullets about caring for students

    Every counselor cares. Show the activities you ran, the tiers of support you built and the results, and let the caring come through in the interview.

  4. Teaching experience left off or overplayed

    Prior classroom experience is an asset for understanding teachers. Keep it to a short entry with a bullet on classroom management or family communication.

  5. Leaving out committees and coordination

    Student support teams, 504 coordination, testing coordination and transition programs show you run parts of the school, not just a caseload.

Questions about the school counselor resume

How do I show results as a school counselor?

Use school-level data you influenced: attendance in your caseload, discipline referrals for students in your groups, FAFSA and application completion, students on track to graduate, and participation in lessons or family events. Cite the before and after figures you can defend.

Should I list my internship after I have a job?

For the first two or three years, yes, under education with the school levels, hours and a highlight. After that, one line is enough.

How do I write a school counselor resume as a career changer from teaching?

Lead with your counseling license and degree, then your internship as counseling experience, then your teaching years with bullets on advising, family conferences and student support work that transfers.

Do I include a philosophy statement?

Not on the resume. A three-sentence summary with your caseload, your strongest result and how you work with staff does more. Save the philosophy for the cover letter or interview.

How long should a school counselor resume be?

One page for new counselors, and two pages once you have led programs, chaired teams or worked across several schools.

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