What does an Advocate do?
An advocate is a voice for the voiceless. It is their responsibility to speak on behalf of an individual or a particular cause. Most of the duties will vary depending on the line of organization or duty involved; however, an advocate must have extensive knowledge or background on the subject matter. Furthermore, an advocate must be present at gatherings regarding the cause, assist in the negotiation and mediation processes involving contracts and legal documentation, provide or convey accurate information, and defend what they represent.
Advocate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real advocate resumes:
- Develop and maintain communication and contact with community services organizations and other agencies concern with veterans and public service programs.
- Perform CPR and a as needed.
- Administer first aid and CPR in emergency situations.
- Record daily efforts make into an ETO software system.
- Perform basic counseling, basic interviewing, conflict mediation, and advocacy for batter women.
- Identify and provide emergency crisis service as needed, often through mediation or phone calls.
- Complete monthly reports and necessary forms for each client for the program as well as DCF.
- Confirm compliance to all service plans establish by DCF pertaining to the children and their biological/custodial parents.
- Create, modify, and implement training programs for the prevention and/or identification of domestic violence IAW DOD regulation and policy.
- Engage and educate Cigna members for medical and behavioral programs and services as well as provided information regarding benefits and incentives.
- Inform the victim of DoD policy concerning confidentiality.
- Maintain HIPPA and OSHA guidelines relating administering medications to patients.
- Assist patients with all aspects of insurance billing resolutions or payments and documenting any information regarding patients account.
- Assist patients in securing medical coverage by screening refer patients and coordinating the application process through successful approval.
- Complete documentation on goal progress and consumer interactions which are compliant with Medicaid guidelines.
Advocate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Advocates are proficient in CPR, Customer Service, and Developmental Disabilities. They’re also known for soft skills such as Compassion, Time-management skills, and Communication skills.
We break down the percentage of Advocates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- CPR, 12%
Core Qualifications Microsoft word Excel Power Point CPR certified HIV certified Group Therapy Treatment Planning Documentation
- Customer Service, 11%
Provided superior customer service, demonstrated and applied sales knowledge to identify sales opportunities to both retain existing and future customers.
- Developmental Disabilities, 11%
Provided job placement and coaching at a community based day service for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
- Cleanliness, 10%
Assist with personal care and activities of daily living, maintain appearance and cleanliness of home.
- Patients, 8%
Assisted patients with all aspects of insurance billing resolutions or payments and documenting any information regarding patients account.
- Crisis Intervention, 6%
Provided crisis intervention, hospital advocacy, support and assistance to domestic violence/sexual assault victims, both residential and non-residential.
Common skills that an advocate uses to do their job include "cpr," "customer service," and "developmental disabilities." You can find details on the most important advocate responsibilities below.
Compassion. One of the key soft skills for an advocate to have is compassion. You can see how this relates to what advocates do because "social and human service assistants often work with people who are in stressful and difficult situations." Additionally, an advocate resume shows how advocates use compassion: "handled the crisis hotline, providing compassion and support during crisis interventions. "
Time-management skills. Many advocate duties rely on time-management skills. "social and human service assistants often work with many clients," so an advocate will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways advocate responsibilities rely on time-management skills: "work under very stringent deadlines due to government regulations.customer advocate i answering inbound calls in call center. "
Communication skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of advocates is communication skills. This skill is critical to many everyday advocate duties, as "social and human service assistants talk with clients about the challenges in their lives and assist them in getting help." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "answered crisis line calls to provide a safe medium of communication to women in abusive and domestic violence situations. "
Organizational skills. For certain advocate responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "organizational skills." The day-to-day duties of an advocate rely on this skill, as "social and human service assistants must often complete lots of paperwork and work with many different clients." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what advocates do: "provided organizational support to vso staff, including client intake and data entry for veterans in need of services. "
Interpersonal skills. Another common skill required for advocate responsibilities is "interpersonal skills." This skill comes up in the duties of advocates all the time, as "social and human service assistants must make their clients feel comfortable discussing sensitive issues." An excerpt from a real advocate resume shows how this skill is central to what an advocate does: "provided counseling on a 24 hours crisis line to victims seeking services for interpersonal partner violence. "
Problem-solving skills. Another skill commonly found on advocate job descriptions is "problem-solving skills." It can come up quite often in advocate duties, since "social and human service assistants help clients find solutions to their problems." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day advocate responsibilities: "referred clients to agencies in the community to meet specific needs that contributed to the resolution of crisis situations. "
The three companies that hire the most advocates are:
- TTarget3,750 advocates jobs
- CChange Healthcare147 advocates jobs
- IIntermountain Healthcare48 advocates jobs
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Compare different advocates
Advocate vs. Family counselor
A Family Counselor treats married couples or family members in order to help them overcome mental or emotional problems. They provide effective treatment measures to help the family members resolve their issues.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of an advocate are more likely to require skills like "cpr," "customer service," "developmental disabilities," and "cleanliness." On the other hand, a job as a family counselor requires skills like "social work," "poc," "family support," and "family therapy." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Family counselors tend to make the most money working in the professional industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,967. In contrast, advocates make the biggest average salary, $40,536, in the government industry.The education levels that family counselors earn slightly differ from advocates. In particular, family counselors are 21.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an advocate. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Advocate vs. Outreach worker
An outreach worker is responsible for supporting community events and relief efforts to assist citizens with their needs, providing them resources, and facilitating lifestyle programs. Outreach workers coordinate with participants, suppliers, and sponsors for funding and promotions. They also manage the budgeting and allocation of resources for the programs, ensuring that the activities adhere to the state regulations and community benefits. An outreach worker must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing progress reports and transactions.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that advocate responsibilities requires skills like "cpr," "customer service," "developmental disabilities," and "cleanliness." But an outreach worker might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "social work," "autism," "outreach services," and "child care."
Outreach workers may earn a lower salary than advocates, but outreach workers earn the most pay in the finance industry with an average salary of $53,625. On the other hand, advocates receive higher pay in the government industry, where they earn an average salary of $40,536.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Outreach workers tend to reach similar levels of education than advocates. In fact, they're 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for Advocates in the next 3-5 years?
Debra Minsky-Kelly
Director of Field Education / Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work, Carthage College
Advocate vs. Rehabilitation counselor
Rehabilitation counselors are professional counselors who are responsible for helping individuals cope with their disabilities to live independently. These counselors are required to consult other professionals, family members, and individuals when developing a treatment plan based on the goals, strengths, limitations, and personal values of their clients. They must make connections with community support so that individuals with disabilities can avail of the types of services that are available. Rehabilitation counselors must also find employers and educate them in understanding the needs and abilities of disabled people.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, an advocate is likely to be skilled in "customer service," "cleanliness," "safety planning," and "medicaid," while a typical rehabilitation counselor is skilled in "rehabilitation," "social work," "management system," and "vocational rehabilitation."
Rehabilitation counselors earn the best pay in the government industry, where they command an average salary of $43,146. Advocates earn the highest pay from the government industry, with an average salary of $40,536.Most rehabilitation counselors achieve a higher degree level compared to advocates. For example, they're 14.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Advocate vs. Family worker
A family worker's role is to provide an intervention with parents, children, and young persons to help improve outcomes for families and children. The job they do includes working with parents to help strengthen family relationships and their ability to provide support and be community involved closely. They implement a program that helps parents recognize a child's needs, encouraging child self-esteem development, and positive behavior. Moreover, other duties include giving referrals to other community services as required and to assess family progress.
Types of advocate
Updated January 8, 2025
