Employers always look for evidence that a candidate loves their work and has an aptitude for learning. Although the demand is high for Social Workers in Australia – and is expected to grow 23% by 2026 – a polished CV will always help you stand out. To boost your chances of making a good impression and getting a job interview, read our tips on writing a high-quality Social Worker CV and ensure you make a great impression.
Start with a Strong Summary
Including a well-written summary at the start of your CV is the fastest way to demonstrate your skills and experience to Recruiters and Hiring Managers. A summary highlights your strengths and demonstrates what you can bring to the position. Begin by explaining who you are and what you can offer before sharing what your goals are. Try to keep this summary to just four or five lines so the employer can quickly get a sense of why you’re a great fit for the role. Remember to highlight your passion for Social Work and your desire to make a meaningful difference in people's lives.
List Your Qualifications and Work Experience
CVs typically have separate sections for education, work experience, and professional certifications, with entries in each section listed from most recent to last. When listing your education, ensure to include your degree, university, and graduation date. To add your work history, create a new header for each position and include bullet points underneath to outline your experience. Bullet points are the best way to keep your sentences short and straight to the point! If you don’t have any work experience to list, then highlight relevant internships, placements, and volunteer positions. List each internship and volunteer position as a separate work experience.
Use Action Verbs
The language style you choose for your bullet points is crucial. Using assertive language demonstrates to employers what you have accomplished in your work and training. The easiest way to do this is by using action verbs in your bullet points. Examples of action verbs include: assessed, coached, contacted, communicated, consulted, counseled, delivered, demonstrated, developed, facilitated, encouraged, empowered, measured, helped, improved, familiarised, learned, motivated, served, supported, recorded, volunteered and researched.
Highlight Your Transferable Skills
If you are particularly new to the world of social work, employers understand you'll have limited work experience. The key is to highlight any of your transferable skills from other types of work and your experiences. Think about the abilities, knowledge, and experiences you’ve gained that can be applied directly to the Social Worker jobs you’re applying for. This could include communication skills, empathy, adaptability, and the ability to work with diverse populations. You might have gained relevant experience from volunteering, involvement in community programs, working with non-profit organisations, or participating in advocacy groups. Whatever experience you have, reflect on what made you effective in each role and emphasise this on your Social Worker CV. If you’ve received an award or recognition, don’t forget to include it!
Include Relevant Keywords
A professional Social Worker's CV should include keywords relevant to the industry and position. Make sure you use these naturally in your summary, work experience, and qualification sections, as this can help your CV get shortlisted. Examples of keywords for Social Work CVs include advocacy, clinical, case management, multi-disciplinary, welfare, disability, community, crisis intervention, housing, mental health, not-for-profit organisation (NFPO), assessment, family violence, drugs and alcohol.
Proofread Your CV
You’re almost ready to go. Now give your CV a thorough proofread using this checklist:
Have you included your full name, phone number, and email address at the top of your CV?
Have you run a full spelling and grammar check on the document?
Have you confirmed the dates of any previous jobs and periods of study are listed correctly?
Have you included the full name and contact number for two professional references? It never hurts to have a friend read over your CV and look for any errors, so always ask someone to check it before you hit send!
Final Words of Advice
Before you use your freshly polished CV to apply for Social Worker jobs, keep these conventions in mind:
Keep it to two pages maximum: If you can include all the relevant information on one page, even better. But you should never exceed two pages.
Tailor your CV for each position you apply for. Use text only and keep the layout simple: Avoid including images, uncommon or ‘artistic’ fonts, clip art, tables, or borders.
Don’t overshare: There's no need to include your date of birth, gender, race, marital status, or disability in your CV. In Australia, workers are entitled by law to withhold this information.
Employers will check your social media: Don’t post anything on social media that you wouldn’t want an employer to see!
Your focus should be on highlighting your skills, experiences, and passion for Social Work. Employers are looking for evidence of your commitment to supporting vulnerable or marginalised people. Top it all off with a thorough proofread to ensure it looks professional. If you need help finding Social Worker jobs, our team of Recruitment Specialists can connect you with highly rewarding opportunities. Contact ustoday to get started.
