Are you in the midst of applying for support worker roles? Not sure which skills to highlight on your CV? Don’t worry, our team is here to help! Carry on reading to find out what it takes to be a successful support worker – and more importantly, how to make your CV stand out!
What do support workers do?
Support workers play a vital role in looking after some of the most vulnerable people in our society. From helping with grocery shopping, to building up people’s confidence; support workers provide both emotional and practical support needed to help people excel in their day-to-day lives.
How can I make my CV stand out as a support worker?
When applying for any role, you need to ensure your CV is well organised, easy to read and accurate. Put your work experience in reverse chronological order, so your potential employer can see your most relevant role first and keep the whole document to two pages max.
What skills should I highlight?
When deciding which soft skills to highlight on your CV, you should always refer back to the job description. Ask yourself what the employer is looking for and copy the language used in the job post. This will help your CV stand out – especially if the company uses an automated CV screening software, as it will likely be programmed to filter CVs by keyword relevance.
It is also important to detail how your soft skills make you suitable for the position – especially because support work is so concerned with helping others.
Here’s a few ideas of skills that are relevant to support work:
-
- Empathy – in this role, you’re going to be working closely with a variety of different people, including individuals with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and emotional trauma. Therefore, it is essential that you have the capacity to put yourself in other people’s shoes and demonstrate patience.
- Leadership skills – are you a natural born leader? Great! Let the hiring manager know when you’ve demonstrated this skill when caring for someone and how it helped improve their day-to-day.
- Decision making – helping service users make well-informed decisions is a large part of being a support worker. Whether you’re managing their finances, or planning activities for the day, it is important you are highly organised and can make choices that are most beneficial to the individual in question.
- Flexibility – no matter how much prior planning/effort you’ve put in, sometimes things just don’t go to plan. Being able to adapt to last minute change or reschedule the day so it suits the needs of your client is paramount to being a successful support worker.
- Excellent communication – when working one-to-one with people, excellent communication skills are a must. Some of your clients may be non-verbal or find it challenging to communicate their needs. so being able to share your thoughts in a clear and coherent manner is essential. Don’t forget that being an active listener is also key to good communication.
Now your CV is looking 10/10, it’s time to apply for roles! Get in touch with our dedicated team today on 0203 8929 340 and we’ll help you land your perfect job.
In the meantime, why not check out our full list of vacancies?
carlette Isaac
Are you in the midst of applying for support worker roles? Not sure which skills to highlight on your CV? Don’t worry, our team is here to help! Carry on reading to find out what it takes to be a successful support worker – and more importantly, how to make your CV stand out!
What do support workers do?
Support workers play a vital role in looking after some of the most vulnerable people in our society. From helping with grocery shopping, to building up people’s confidence; support workers provide both emotional and practical support needed to help people excel in their day-to-day lives.
How can I make my CV stand out as a support worker?
When applying for any role, you need to ensure your CV is well organised, easy to read and accurate. Put your work experience in reverse chronological order, so your potential employer can see your most relevant role first and keep the whole document to two pages max.
What skills should I highlight?
When deciding which soft skills to highlight on your CV, you should always refer back to the job description. Ask yourself what the employer is looking for and copy the language used in the job post. This will help your CV stand out – especially if the company uses an automated CV screening software, as it will likely be programmed to filter CVs by keyword relevance.
It is also important to detail how your soft skills make you suitable for the position – especially because support work is so concerned with helping others.
Here’s a few ideas of skills that are relevant to support work:
-
- Empathy – in this role, you’re going to be working closely with a variety of different people, including individuals with learning difficulties, physical disabilities and emotional trauma. Therefore, it is essential that you have the capacity to put yourself in other people’s shoes and demonstrate patience.
- Leadership skills – are you a natural born leader? Great! Let the hiring manager know when you’ve demonstrated this skill when caring for someone and how it helped improve their day-to-day.
- Decision making – helping service users make well-informed decisions is a large part of being a support worker. Whether you’re managing their finances, or planning activities for the day, it is important you are highly organised and can make choices that are most beneficial to the individual in question.
- Flexibility – no matter how much prior planning/effort you’ve put in, sometimes things just don’t go to plan. Being able to adapt to last minute change or reschedule the day so it suits the needs of your client is paramount to being a successful support worker.
- Excellent communication – when working one-to-one with people, excellent communication skills are a must. Some of your clients may be non-verbal or find it challenging to communicate their needs. so being able to share your thoughts in a clear and coherent manner is essential. Don’t forget that being an active listener is also key to good communication.
Now your CV is looking 10/10, it’s time to apply for roles! Get in touch with our dedicated team today on 0203 8929 340 and we’ll help you land your perfect job.
In the meantime, why not check out our full list of vacancies?