Social Worker resume keywords
Most social worker applications are screened by software before a person reads them: the ATS ranks resumes by how many of the posting's words they contain. The lists below are the terms that show up most in social worker job ads. Use the ones that are true for you, with the same spelling the ad uses.
Hard skills and ATS keywords
- Case management
- Crisis intervention
- Child welfare
- Trauma-informed care
- Needs assessment
- Community resources
- Court reports
- Motivational interviewing
- Case management
- Psychosocial assessment
- Crisis intervention
- Care coordination
- Community resources
- Treatment planning
- Documentation
- Child welfare
- LMSW / LCSW
- Motivational interviewing
Soft skills recruiters look for
- Empathy
- Resilience
- Advocacy
- Boundaries
- Cultural competence
Soft skills only count when a bullet proves them. "Team player" is ignored; "Manage a caseload of 28 families, completing all assessments within legal timelines." shows it.
Action verbs to start your bullets
- Managed
- Connected
- Assessed
- Advocated
- Coordinated
- Reduced
- Supported
- Placed
How to use these keywords
- Mirror the job ad: if it says "Case management", do not write a synonym.
- Put the top 6–8 in a skills section and repeat the key ones inside experience bullets with a number.
- Never list a skill you cannot talk about in an interview.
- Keep the file text-based (no skills inside images or tables), or the ATS cannot read it.
Which ones is your resume missing?
Every posting is different. Paste your resume and the job ad — free ATS Match Score Score your resume free (0-100)
No signup. It lists the keywords from the ad that your resume does not contain.
Need the resume itself? See the social worker resume example and generate one free from rough notes.