INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Psychologist positions are at a 8% growth rate, which is as fast as average. With that said, there are currently 178,900 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 13,500 to 192,400 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Psychologist jobs was $82,180 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $46,270, and the highest 10% more than $137,590.
Our conclusion? The Psychologist job market is wide open for candidates.
Top Psychologist sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
How to write a Psychologist resume experience section
Psychologist Resume’s Job Experience Checklist:
- Use 4-6 bullet points per job title;
- Don’t go further than a decade behind when describing your job history, unless you’re applying for an executive position;
- Combine job responsibilities as well as achievements with numbers in results when you describe your past work;
- Start each sentence with a power verb and avoid overused buzzwords;
- Use either C-A-R or S-T-A-R methodology, when describing your experience.
The work experience samples below come from real Psychologist resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own resume:
- As an organisational psychologist I participated in every organisational process to understand, analyze and develop organisational culture;
- Made an organisational map and found all maladaptive points of functioning;
- Researched the market place of auto cosmetics on the local market;
- Developed digital and traditional marketing strategies for situating basic services and products to the attention of appropriate customers;
- Participated in HR sessions for hiring high qualified specialists;
- Managed all inner and outgoing processes of a newly started business branch, linked with developing cafes and restaurants near each car wash.
- Conducted Individual sessions as well as Parents session with children, and parents of students having academic, behavioural and emotional difficulties of the Secondary Section i.e. Std 5-10th in Municipal schools at GTB and Wadala.
- Conducted Workshops with children, parents and teachers of the Secondary Section i.e. Std 5-10th on various topics like Motivation, Goal-Setting, Responsibility, Child Sexual Abuse, Relaxation etc.
- Worked on a School Development Project on providing Career Guidance to 10th Std students which involved the administration, scoring and interpretation of Differential Aptitude Tests (DAT) and Interest Inventory.
- Training for understanding the Trauma and Impact of Child Sexual Abuse provided by a non-profit organization; Arpan.
- Conducted team coaching sessions for the leadership team
- 2017: Facilitated CEO-replacement and coached the new exec team
- Conducted group activities and team building
- Executed individual and team assessments using different psychometric tools (MBTI, Strengths inventory, Crystal reports and others)
- Provided psychological support to the team members to help them adapt to change, and resolve work and interpersonal issues
- Introduced team and organisational interventions to improve the overall health of the company and the emotional climate of the team
- Organisational consulting and coaching of new leaders and teams
- Individual consulting for employees to improve their performance, wellbeing and effectiveness at work (and beyond)
- Have hundreds of success stories helping individual clients to re-invent themselves: learn new skills, take a new career, or make a personal change.
- Designed a team coaching programme for student start-ups; this is now part of the entrepreneurship curricula at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
- Training & experience in Neuropsychological Rehabilitation (both cognitive and functional).
- Observed Neuropsychological Assessments conducted on patients with various brain injuries.
- Worked on a school project called ‘Developmental Enhancement’ for mainstream children of Cathedral and John Cannon School, (aged 6 years) to help them enhance their cognitive, emotional and interpersonal skills.
- Conducted psychological tests such as MMPI -2, Rorschach Inkblot test, TAT, HAM –A, HAM –D, BDI on patients with psychiatric ailments and wrote reports for the same.
- Lead for resilience assessment and development programme of work
- Development of psychometric assessments (SJTs, inventories)
- Design and delivery of resilience and high performance culture change programmes
- Mid-senior level coaching (strengths, cognitive behavioural, solution focused)
- Private sector clients: Cisco, UBS, Hilton Hotels, Meggitt, Manning Gottlieb, Work Psychology Group, Affinity Health at Work
- Public sector clients: United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, Ministry of Justice, Medical Emergency Relief International, Commonwealth Secretariat
- Psychometric assessment development/validation (SJTs, inventories)
- Design & delivery of resilience & culture change programmes
- Appraisal development and training
- Mid-senior level coaching (strength, cog-behavioural, solution focused, ACT)
- Private sector experience: Media, Finance, Technology, Tourism and Hospitality, Engineering
- Public sector experience: Healthcare, Education, Criminal Justice
- International sector experience: United Nations, Medical Emergency Relief International, Commonwealth Secretariat
- Lead a team of mental health professionals (psychologists, psychotherapists, and program coordinator), and manage an Employee Asistance Program (EAP) comprising a network of over 500 mental health professionals and a baseline budget of $500,000.
- Conduct annually over 50 psychological fitness to work assessments of employee in high risk jobs/roles, including those deploying to dangerous operating environments, carrying defensive equipment (e.g., firearms), working undercover, and/or exposed to potentially disturbing material.
- Provide referrals and/or brief therapy sessions via the EAP to managers, employees and their family members (e.g., From FY 2018 to FY 2021, provided annually 350 to 400 referrals to external EAP resources and maintained a clinical caseload of 3 to 5 clients per week).
- Consult with stakeholders as a subject-matter expert when dealing with organizational/employee issues of a psychological/mental health-related nature.
- Prepare written reports and briefing notes on topics of interest including development and use of assessment tools, mental health in the workplace, organizational psychology and wellness.
- Train employees and managers on topics related to mental health, and design workshops to meet organizational requirements (e.g., contributed to the development of the Public Safety version of R2MR training and helped to update a course on the mitigation of potentially negative effects of repeated exposure to abhorrent material).
- Participate actively in the enhancement of the Wellness Program and make recommendations to applicable policies and procedures (e.g., currently developing a policy on mandatory psychological screening of employees in jobs/roles entailing a high risk of exposure to abhorrent material).
- Carried out counseling sessions with primary/secondary students.
- Conducted assessments for students with ADHD and learning difficulties.
- Worked on behavior plans for students with behavior issues.
- Worked on accommodation plans for students with Autism and ADHD.
- Provide psychodynamically oriented short and long term psychotherapy to adolescent, adults, couples, and families.
- Administer, score, and interpret psychological assessments to measure emotional, cognitive, and adaptive functioning.
- Provide clients with a written report of psychological assessments and an thorough feedback session to understand the results.
- Assist lawyers and their clients with worker's compensation cases and unlawful termination.
- Conduct substance abuse evaluations for the Department of Transportation (DOT).
- Counseling and conducting Psychotherapies with students, parents, teachers on individual & group bases- personal, psycho-social, career
- Conducting different Psychometric and Psycho-educational Assessments for Students to diagnose SLD
- Facilitator & member of Career Counseling Unit for Indian and Foreign universities
- Sports Psychology workshops and one-to-one sessions for Galatasaray Swimming Clubs' athletes, coaches, teams and parents
- Psychological interventions for children, adolescents and young adults under the supervision of a qualified psychologist
- Greatly developed my understanding and use of CBT, EMDR, Projective Tests and Objective Tests (CAS, WISC-R)
- Team consultation (Creating team values, team cohesion, enhancing team motivation, and team focus, boosting mental skills, performance profiling)
- Helped athletes reduce their anxiety levels and enhance their self-confidence levels
- Greatly developed my knowledge and understanding of psychology practices
- Learned to appreciate the importance of maintaining professional relationship with clients
- Assisted supervisor during therapy sessions
- Assessed patients needs and recommended suitable and appropriate methods of treatment
- Conducting individual sessions, workshops, and support groups for adults and adolescents.
- Carrying out parent consultations that focus on the Positive Discipline approach to Parenting.
- Providing online therapy for clients residing outside of Cairo.
- Providing workshops for corporations (Schneider Electric).
- Carried out counseling sessions with primary and secondary students.
- Conducted assessments for students with behavioral and learning difficulties.
- Worked on behavior plans for students with behavioral concerns.
- Worked on accommodation plans for students with special educational needs.
- Conduct the practical aspects of psychological testing and therapy in the various divisions of the centre.
- Appeared in major television and media publication interviews with media partners such as NTV7, Oriental Daily and Hypp TV.
- Lead efforts in setting up of company franchise system which include interviewing of prospective franchisees, liaison between franchisees and franchising agents, and site inspection.
- Founded and directed a private London-based psychology practice
- Provided a full-range of adult outpatient psychology services
- Conducted patient assessment, treatment and discharge, case management and formulation
- Provided government and commercial consultancy and coaching
- Delivered patient care and managed a demanding caseload, working closely with colleagues to provide full continuum of care
- Evaluator and implementer of computer based psychotherapies and first generation electronic health records (EHR)
- Performed extensive clinical and organizational research for major network of hospitals and clinics, including best practice, treatment effectiveness, and referral pathways
PRO TIP
Make sure to relate your experience to your job description, but never lie. That’s not tolerated and will show up in the face-to-face interview later on.
Action Verbs for your Psychologist Resume
Recommended reads:
Psychologist Resume Skills’ Tips & Tricks to Impress Recruiters
Resume Skills Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Skills for your Psychologist resume
MBTI
NEO-PI 3
OPQ
JPI-R
PRF
MMPI
SAP SuccessFactors
SAP HCM
HP ALM
Communication
Compassion
Patience
Flexibility, adaptability, and emotional stability
Proactive, ethical, and responsible nature
Honesty
Team-player
Strong work ethic
Time management
PRO TIP
Don’t feel obliged to spend a separate section for your soft skills - you can weave them throughout your job experience or career summary. But, don’t just write empty words - back them with examples.
Psychologist Resume Header: Tips, Red Flags, and Best Practices
CHECKLIST For Your Psychologist Resume Header
- Your name and surname in a legible and larger resume font
- The job title you’re applying for or your current job title as a subheading to your name
- Link to your portfolio or online profile, such as LinkedIn
- Address (City and State for the US; just your city for rest of the world)
- Email address
- Headshot (required or welcomed in the EU; not required and sometimes frowned upon in the US)
Stick to popular email providers such as Gmail or Outlook. And use these professional formats to create your username:
- first.last@gmail.com
- last.first@gmail.com
- firstlast@gmail.com
- f.last@gmail.com
- first.l@gmail.com
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
Some companies, states, and countries have non-discrimination policies about what kind of information can be included on your Psychologist resume. This might include a photo (which is often included in a resume header and might be on personal web pages you link to). You can always email the company’s HR department to ask about their policies before you apply.
Psychologist Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Psychologist resume summary:
- Years of experience;
- Highlight top 3 skills and proficiencies;
- One big professional accomplishment you’re most proud of, that you can tie with the aforementioned skills;
- Use short, direct sentences - but no more than three - to keep the HRs interested.
Resume Summary Formula:
PRO TIP
Your summary section should act as a brief but informative introduction to your experience section. In this section you should go into more depth about what you have done, and how you did it.
Recommended reads:
Listing Your Education, Certifications and Courses
Resume Education Section Checklist:
- Ensure your hard skills section (including technologies) are exactly matching the job description.
- Don’t simply list your soft skills. Apply the “show, don’t tell” principle - let your job achievements speak for themselves.
- Find a way to showcase your skills beyond the skills section.
- Your resume’s skill section is important to ATS systems - so don’t skip it.
Top Certifications for your Psychologist resume
Diploma in Modern Applied Psychology (DiMAP.)
Learn the science of human behavior and how to apply it to everyday life with this in-depth guide to applied psychology.
21 Day Crash Course in Emotional Intelligence
Increase your E.Q. and transform your relationships with psychologist and author, Dr. Patricia Thompson.
Child Psychology Certification Advanced Level Diploma Course
Child Psychology In-Depth Perspective by PhD Psychologist İlbey UCAR
Positive Psychology - Discover the Science of a Happier Life
Learn strategies to become happier and more fulfilled based on leading research from psychologists across the world.
ABA Treatment for Parents, Teachers, Psychologists, Students
Applied Behavioral Analysis for Practitioners
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you hold a certain major and a minor, your majors should be mentioned first.
Psychologist Resume: Additional Writing & Formatting Tips
There are three basic resume formats you can choose from:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional resume format;
- Hybrid (or Combination) resume format;
The most optimal format for your particular case will depend on your years of experience, as well as whether you’re switching industries or not.
Reverse chronological resumes are best suited for experienced individuals who are sticking to their industry. The experience section takes a central place, and its bullets contain your responsibilities and achievements, coupled with numbers and results.
Functional resumes are used by less experienced jobseekers or career changers. Note that it’s not a format that recruiters prefer, as most are used to the classic chronological alignment. Instead of a list of job titles, functional resumes focus on your skills, and through what experiences you gained them.
Hybrid resumes are great for both experienced and entry-level candidates, as well as career changers. They combine the best of both worlds - most often in a double column format, where one side of the content is focused on your experience, whereas the other - on your skills, strengths, and proudest moments.
Psychologist Resume Summary best practices
Here are more resume tips regarding your layout and style:
- Clear and legible 12p resume font size;
- Use 10’’ resume margins - that’s default for a great resume design;
- Use a one-page template resume length if you’ve got less than 10 years of experience; otherwise, opt for a two-page resume;
- Save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiter.
To take it a step further, check out how your resume can stand out without leaning too much on the creative side.
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
If you feel that you don’t have high chances in a particular company, due to lack of relevant experience, then you can still consider using a creative layout. That might help you get noticed and invited for an interview, as most of the other applicants will have boring resume designs.
Other sections to include in your resume
Depending on the type of company (corporation or start-up; innovative or traditional), job seniority level and your location, you may want to include more sections to your Psychologist resume:
Psychologist Resume: How to Make Yours More Creative & Stand Out
When you send your resume to a potential employer, chances are it's the fiftieth one they've seen that day. That's why you need to make your Psychologist resume stand out for the right reasons. That means showing your personality, not just your professional experience. Employers are far more likely to remember a candidate who seems like a genuine person and not a robot. Do this by including your passions (which is also a great place to demonstrate skills on a resume), share your favorite books, or even what your usual day looks like.
What Makes a Great Psychologist Resume: Key Takeaways
- Choose a resume layout that sends the right message across and fits your current career situation;
- Create a resume header that shows your desired job title, and easy to find contact numbers;
- Be specific about your experience, accomplishments and future goals in your summary;
- Feature detailed metrics and specific examples that show the impact you made in your previous roles when describing your experience;
- List soft skills backed by examples;
- Add all of your technical skills and certifications that you have and match the job description;
- Show off a dash of personality in your resume that will demonstrate your culture fit and the right mix of hard and soft skills.
