It’s tough to know where to begin when writing or re-writing your Social Work CV. The main thing to remember is to play to your strengths and make sure these strengths are clearly visible! The person reading your CV wants to know where your key skills lie, so try and make it as obvious as possible.

With that covered, just make sure you include the following and you will be finding your next Social Work role in no time!

1. BULLET POINTS

• Bullet points make things clearer.

• They should be used for each role you’ve held.

• You should write at least six points for your recent, relevant roles.

• These points should describe your responsibilities and achievements in previous Social Work roles.

Warning: don’t let your bullet points get too long because people will switch off 

2. ACCURATE DATES AND EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION

Best practice is to include 4 important pieces of information with every role you have held:

• Job title

• Employer 

• Location

• Dates (INCLUDING MONTHS!)

References will go back ten years in Social Work, so ensuring all the dates are accurate and clearly visible on a CV helps to make this process as smooth as possible.

3. SHORT SUMMARY

The start of your Social Work CV is your biggest opportunity to get someone’s attention. It needs to be thoroughly checked for spelling mistakes and it should clearly summarise your experience. Try to keep it to one concise paragraph and avoid using empty phrases about your personality. 
Remember, keep it brief and keep it enticing – tell us about any big achievements which make you stand out from the crowd!

4. KEYWORDS FROM THE JOB DESCRIPTION

If you are applying for a specific Social Work vacancy which you have seen advertised, use that as your guide!

The advert will list several requirements or key skills that the ideal candidate will have. Spot the keywords in the advert and make sure they are clearly written in your own CV. 

5. CONTACT DETAILS

I wish this didn’t happen, but it does…

Our Consultants receive amazing Social Work CV’s that would be perfect for their roles, but there’s no way of contacting them and telling them this!

Your CV should clearly state a phone number and an email address (ones you regularly check!). 

Warning: your email address should be professional and simple.


Before you hit send on that application, be sure to check out our other helpful guide: 7 things you should NEVER include on a Social Work CV. 

Writing a Social Work CV is tough, so if you would like any further assistance, feel free to contact our specialist consultants who can give you more hints and tips.