Home Careers Counsellor Resume template
Careers Counsellor resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what careers counsellors actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most careers counsellors should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Careers counsellor with experience assessing client aptitudes, researching labour market trends and building tailored education and employment pathways. Comfortable working across school, tertiary and employment services settings, balancing individual casework with group workshop facilitation.
Key skills
- Pastoral care and wellbeing
- Data analysis
- Psychometric assessment (e.g. Strong Interest Inventory)
- CareerOne database
- MyFuture.edu.au
- Case-management systems
- Client relationships and advisory
- Workshop facilitation and teaching
Experience: example bullet points
- Assessed client skills, interests and aptitudes using psychometric tools such as the Strong Interest Inventory, translating results into clear, actionable career direction.
- Tracked labour market data and VET and tertiary course requirements to keep career advice current with actual job openings and entry pathways.
- Built individual career action plans and transition strategies, helping clients move from initial assessment through to enrolled study or employment.
- Ran group workshops on resume writing, interview technique and job search strategy, lifting client confidence going into applications.
- Followed up with clients after placement to monitor employment outcomes and adjusted guidance for those who needed a different pathway.
Education
Typical pathway is a bachelor's degree in psychology, education or a related field followed by a postgraduate qualification in career development or counselling; many practitioners also hold or work toward membership with the Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA), which offers its own Certificate in Career Development Practice.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Career Development Association of Australia (CDAA)
- myfuture.edu.au
- psychometric assessment
- labour market information (LMI)
- VET pathways
- Workforce Australia
- case management
- aptitude testing
- career action plan
- job search workshops
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.