Helping professions: The ultimate resume-builder for working adults

Few people relish the idea of crafting a resume, even if it’s for a job or opportunity they’re really excited about. Sitting down and typing out all of your responsibilities, skills and accomplishments can be a meticulous process. It may even cause you to start doubting yourself and your abilities.

Don’t succumb to imposter syndrome. You’re probably more qualified than you think, especially if you’ve worked in any of the many helping professions that are out there. These careers are great resume-builders for working adults, as they provide a wealth of technical and interpersonal skills that are highly transferrable to other fields.

Keep reading to learn the definition of a helping profession and how to incorporate your work experience into a resume for opportunities in any industry.

What are helping professions?

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), helping professions are defined as:

“Occupations that provide health and education services to individuals and groups, including occupations in the fields of psychology, psychiatry, counseling, medicine, nursing, social work, physical and occupational therapy, teaching, and education.”

Some of the most common job titles for helping professionals include:

• Nurses
• Social workers
• School Counselors
• Teachers
• Therapists

5 Transferrable skills learned from helping professions

A highly motivated person can learn new things at any job if they put their mind to it. But if you want to hone your hard and soft skills, a career dedicated to helping others could be the fast track to professional development.

That’s because helping professionals, by the very nature of their occupations, work closely with people all day long. To be successful in this kind of environment, you need to master many interpersonal competencies

Below are just five examples of the many resume-building skills you could master in a helping profession.

1.     Empathy

In very simple terms, empathy is the ability to share or understand other people’s emotions and experiences. While empathy is a social–emotional skill that can be practiced and honed, some people are also naturally empathetic and can easily perceive what someone is feeling. Empathetic people often enjoy working closely with others and may even tend towards helping professions as a result.

Empathy is an important skill for your personal and work life. It is indispensable in any job that requires customer services, patient care or client management.

2.     Active listening

While “listening” often conjures up a passive idea of someone sitting quietly and absorbing sound or words, active listening is actually a communication practice. As an active listener, you are:

• Focused on the speaker
• Noting their body language
• Nodding to show your understanding
• Listening to understand instead of planning what to say next
• Asking open-ended questions without interrupting

Helping professionals, especially mental health practitioners, are experts at active listening. When people feel they are being listened to, they feel respected. If someone is scared, frustrated or in pain, talking to an active listener can help them co-regulate their emotions and communicate more clearly.

On your resume, you might add “active listening” to your list of skills. You could also work in a phrase like “Used active listening skills to [counsel patients; provide a thoughtful recommendation; make an informed diagnosis, etc.].”

3.     Technology literacy

In today’s workforce, knowing your way around computers, word processing software, email, printers and copiers is mandatory for anyone who works in an office. Many helping professionals — especially teachers and healthcare providers — also have additional technology skills that are specific to their jobs.

Teachers, for example, may use any of the following tools in their classrooms (both virtual and in-person):

• SMART boards
• Learning management systems
• Websites and social media
• Reading programs
• Webcams and audiovisual equipment
• Cloud sharing
• Zoom

Nurses, nurse practitioners and doctors must be proficient in technology like:

• Electronic IV pumps
• Smart beds
• Telehealth apps
• Electronic health records management systems
• E-prescribing programs
• Mobile patient charts
• Drug retrieval and delivery systems

Technical competencies are easy to build upon and are highly valued in all kinds of industries. Let’s say you are applying for a role that requires proficiency in a program or technology that you don’t know yet. You might add a line to your resume that mentions you’re a fast learner and highlights some of the tech skills you’ve already mastered on the job.

4.     Critical thinking

Critical thinking is the ability to think rationally, observe information and understand the logical connection between ideas. People with well-developed critical-thinking skills are often adept at decision-making and problem solving.

People who think critically can:

• Solve problems rationally rather than by instinct
• Evaluate and appraise arguments for logical flaws
• Reflect on their beliefs, assumptions and worldviews
• Appreciate how things fit into the bigger picture

Helping professionals of all kinds use critical-thinking skills to care for their clients, patients and students. Nurse practitioners, for example, must be able to assess each patient individually and without prejudice to make the most informed recommendations for their well-being.

5.     Cultural competence

Many helping professionals regularly serve and work with people from all walks of life, which requires high levels of cultural competence. Teachers, for example, need to consider their student’s backgrounds if they want to create inclusive learning environments.

According to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), cultural competence is the ability to respectfully and effectively serve individuals, families and communities of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, religions, spiritual traditions and immigration status.

Culturally competent helping professionals are able to:

• Examine their own cultural backgrounds and identities
• Pursue the necessary knowledge, skills and values that can enhance the delivery of services to diverse populations
• Approach differences from a perspective of cultural humility

These skills are highly applicable to any position that involves contact with people from diverse backgrounds. If you have a depth of experience working with specific populations or cultural groups that are relevant to the position you’re applying for, make a point to highlight it in your resume.

Highlight your helping skills

As you can see, serving in any of these helping professions can help you build valuable skills that can be applied in a multitude of ways. Whether you’re hoping to advance within the same field or transition into a new one, the experience you’ve gained can be an asset.

For more advice on how to craft a compelling resume, check out our article “Accomplishment statement examples to help make your resume stand out.”