College Counselor Resume Examples
College counselors help current and soon-to-be college students apply to colleges and form academic plans once admitted. Despite the importance of this guidance, the National Association for College Admission Counseling estimates that American colleges employ less than 60% of the number of counselors needed for every student to receive this help. Luckily, the employment rate for academic counseling positions is only expected to climb.
Our college counselor resume example can help you write your own job-winning resume for this role. Crafted by our resume experts, our examples deliver resume-writing guidance for any job seeker who needs to draft a strong resume.
OUR RECOMMENDED EXAMPLE
Customize This Resume Resume Success Stories
What is a College Counselor ?
A college counselor guides students in all stages of their post-secondary education planning and application. They need in-depth knowledge of colleges’ requirements, curriculum and aid structure. They might also design programs and seminars to help students get the most out of their college education and best meet their long-term career goals.
They may help high school students refine essay topics, get recommendation letters, learn about financial aid options and more to boost their chances of being accepted into their college. For current college students, they help plan their class schedules, stay on track to graduate and more.
What Makes This a Great
College Counselor Resume Example?
Our college counselor resume example was written by our resume experts to demonstrate what hiring managers look for on a college counselor’s resume. You can use any of our resume examples as a model for writing eye-catching resumes for any role.
Here are some advantages to referring to our resume examples:
- Specialized content: Our resume examples, such as the one above, use industry-relevant keywords like “student loan planning” and “referral network” to show you how to use job-related keywords to impress recruiters with your expertise. For additional content suggestions, you can also borrow or customize our Resume Builder’s pre-written text.
- Ideal format choice: Your chosen resume format should be the one that best highlights your strengths. This example uses a combination format to draw equal focus to a mid-level candidate’s skills and modest amount of experience. Once they’ve gained enough years of experience, a chronological resume may present their qualifications more impressively.
- Strategic template selection: A resume with a design that suits your future employer’s workplace culture can help suggest you’re a great fit for the role. While college counselors usually work in formal academic settings, making our Traditional resume templates a solid choice, we offer a variety of options to suit every job seeker’s situation.
3 College Counselor Professional Summary Examples
Professional summaries should pitch a candidate’s top qualifications to a recruiter, making them sound like the perfect fit for a position. Use our college counselor resume example as inspiration for this section, or use our Resume Builder’s content suggestions, which you can customize or use as-is.
Here are three examples you might refer to when writing your summary:
- Passionate college counselor with over nine years of experience guiding students from college application to graduation. Oversaw creation of state-mandated Individual Career and Academic Plans (ICAP) for over 100,000 students. Strong interpersonal and organizational skills with the ability to instantly foster confidence among students and parents.
- Experienced college counselor with over 10 years of experience aiding students with college applications, professional referrals and scholarship searches and more. Highly knowledgeable of FAFSA application procedures. Utilize a robust network of professors, advisors, alumni and financial aid institutions to assist students at any stage of their higher education.
- Dedicated college counselor and 12-year member of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling (WACAC). Have counseled over 50,000 students regarding interviewing and essay writing techniques, self-assessment tools to select majors and more. Well-versed in using Naviance, Zoom, and MS Outlook.
3 College Counselor Work Experience Examples
Employers read your work experience section to learn about your past job duties and to see how your measurable accomplishments contributed to previous employers. To help you write this section, our Resume Builder provides pre-written content that can easily be customized with your own metrics.
Here are three more work experience examples for a college counselor resume:
- Played a key role in securing more than $65 million in merit-based scholarship offers for incoming freshmen and outgoing graduate school applicants.
- Helped over 45 students toward successful college admission via optimizing extra curricular activities, essay guidance, faculty referrals and more.
- Wrote 65 recommendation letters for high school students applying for fall or spring undergraduate admission, or undergraduate seniors applying to graduate programs.
Top Skills for Your College Counselor Resume
Your resume’s skills section needs to instantly tell recruiters you have the talents needed for the job. Refer to our college counselor resume example for examples of these skills, or use our Resume Builder’s for an even more extensive list of keyword suggestions.
Here are more hard and soft skills our builder might suggest:
Hard Skills
- Graduate program research
- Career-oriented academic guidance
- Deadline management
- FAFSA, other financial aid
Soft Skills
- Reliability
- Excellent communication
- Confidentiality
- Problem solving
Building Your College Counselor Resume with Our Builder:
Select a Resume Template
Choose Pre-Written Phrases
Download, Print and Apply
College Counselor FAQs
- What is the typical work schedule of a college counselor?
- How important of a role do college counselors play in students’ lives?
- What are some traits that can improve chances of success as a college counselor?
What is the typical work schedule of a college counselor?
College counselors may spend their day in one-on-one or small group sessions with students, parents and university faculty regarding admissions procedure, academic requirements and other related matters. Other days, they may find themselves visiting local college fairs, attending professional conferences, or running workshops to provide or gain information to help students get the most out of their university experience.
How important of a role do college counselors play in students’ lives?
College counselors can play a critical role in determining your initial career success and shaping your future. They may help you select the right college, give you and your parents an accurate picture of your potential education costs, and they may guide you through selecting courses as you navigate through different departments and majors in college.
What are some traits that can improve chances of success as a college counselor?
College counselors must respect cultural, economic and other kinds of student diversity, and not implement a one-size-fits-all approach. As a counselor, they should thoroughly explain different career paths to students while always leaving the ultimate choice up to them and their parents. One major key to success in this field is to never enforce your own opinion on them.
