Human services professionals work in a wide range of roles that are primarily centered around providing services and care to the people who need it the most. There are several different roles to consider within human services work that you might be drawn to if you want a career that allows you to be there and make a difference to the lives of others. Since human services work will often involve working with people who are the most vulnerable in society or people who are going through incredibly tough times, somebody who wishes to work successfully in one of these roles will need to possess a certain range of skills that they will use on the job.
Human service professionals work in a range of roles including social care, healthcare, community support and more. They often work in a collaborative manner to assist other social and human served providers to provide client services in a wide range of different fields such as rehabilitation, social work, psychology and providing support. In addition, they will often work to assist clients in obtaining and identifying the benefits and support that are available to them. Many work closely alongside other professionals in the development, organization and leadership of human services programs to help clients resolve a range of problems such as relationship issues, dependent care, substance abuse, rehabilitation and more. Some of the most in-demand skills for professionals working in human services include:
Communication Skills
Communication is a crucial skill that is needed to work in a human services career. In these roles, you will often be spending time speaking to your clients and communicating with them regarding plans and programs that are put in place to help them with their situations. In addition, human services professionals often need to communicate clearly within teams and with other professionals in order to ensure that clients’ needs are met. Communication in this role may be used in a wide variety of different ways including written and verbal, along with the ability to communicate to wider audiences such as entire communities to provide them with further information regarding where support can be found.
Active Listening
Active listening skills are an important communication skill that every human services professional needs to possess. Active listening refers to being able to take notice of what is being said to you and taking an interest in the information, allowing you to further analyze it and understand what is being said. Since human service professionals will often work very closely with their clients to facilitate plans of action for improving their lives and making sure that their needs are met, this will often start with active listening on the part of the practitioner who will put these skills into place to ensure that they have a solid understanding of what the client is currently experiencing and the type of help that they are in need of the most.
Critical Thinking
In a human services role, it’s often important to think critically. This will usually be essential if you are working in a position where you are dealing with a crisis situation or emergency and need to remain calm under pressure, think critically and make the best snap decisions on your feet, keeping your clients’ best interests at mind. Critically thinking throughout communication is also important as human services workers will often need to be able to read between the lines and figure out if there is anything that their client might not be telling them that might be important to the help, support and care that they are able to provide.
Decision Making
Many human services professionals will need to have keen decision-making skills. They will often be tasked with assessing situations on a one-to-one basis and coming up with personalized care and support plans to help individual clients get the best help with their situations and ensure that their quality of life is improved. Because of this, many human services professionals need to be people who are skilled in making the right decisions while taking all of the facts into consideration. The wrong decision could have a huge impact on a client, so it’s important for human services professionals to understand the impact that their decisions have and the amount of weight that they carry.
Empathy
Empathy, which is the ability to put yourself in the shoes of another person and see things from their perspective, is a hugely important skill for those working in the role of a human services professional to possess. In these roles, it’s often important for human services professionals to be able to imagine how their client might be feeling at the time and what their biggest worries and concerns might be, even if this is not something that the human services professional has experienced on a personal level themselves. The ability to empathize with others will not only enable human services professionals to make better decisions when it comes to client care and support, but also help them when it comes to communication and encouraging their clients to trust and confide in them.
Team Work
Human services professionals will often be spending their time working alongside other professionals in this field in order to provide a complete program of healthcare, support, social care and other services to the clients that they work with. For example, substance abuse counselors might work alongside doctors, nurses, behavioral therapists and mental health therapists to ensure that their clients have the support that they need in various different aspects of their life that are contributing to the situation that they are currently in. To be effective in the work that they do, the majority of human services professionals need to be excellent team players dedicated to getting the best results alongside the other people that they work with.
Non-Judgmental Attitude
Human services workers are not very often the type of people who will judge others. Whether they are working with somebody who is struggling with substance abuse issues, mental health disorders, poverty, homelessness or other social issues, a human services professional will have too much empathy and compassion for their fellow human beings to judge them for their situations. They know that all too often, whether or not somebody finds themselves in these situations can be a matter of luck and are more interested in finding out more about the events that have led to these circumstances in order to ensure that their client is provided with the help and support necessary to overcome them.
Desire to Help Others
One quality that all good human services professionals share is a main desire to help others and make a difference to the world, which is the driving force behind the work that they do. Many human services professionals are selfless and caring individuals who do not get into this career for the money or for the opportunities for themselves; these are simply additional touches on top of the fact that they are working in a career path where they can be there for and make a difference to the lives of others. You might be an ideal fit for a career in a human services role if you are the type of person who enjoys helping others and never passes up a chance to be there and support somebody else when they need it the most.
Creative Thinking
For many human service professionals, thinking outside of the box is just a normal part of their career. While you don’t have to be hugely artistic or crafty to succeed as a human services professional, many of these careers will require you to think creatively and come up with new ideas and different solutions in order to help your clients get the best results for the care and support that they are receiving. In many human services career options, you have a lot of freedom when it comes to the care and support that you provide for your clients, giving you the chance to think creatively and come up with a plan of action that is tailored to fit the needs of the individual.
Integrity and Ethics
Finally, human services professionals need to be people who always do the right thing, even when nobody is watching. Since many human services career paths involve working with some of society’s most vulnerable individuals and communities, it’s important for all human services professionals to adhere to a strict set of ethics at all times and conduct themselves with integrity wherever they are working and whoever they are working with. Most human services professionals are people who have a strong sense of what is right and what is wrong, and are the type of person to always strive to do the right thing both in their personal and professional life. You wouldn’t catch them not handing in lost property or keeping cash if they’re given the wrong change – it’s just not in their nature.
Human services cover a wide range of professional career options that are dedicated to helping others. In human services roles, it’s important to possess a wide skillset for success.
