INDUSTRY STATS
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Therapist positions are at a 21% growth rate, which is much faster than average. With that said, there are currently 239,200 jobs in the market right now. The total number of jobs is expected to increase by 49,100 to 288,300 in the period of 2020-30.
What’s more, the median annual wage for the Therapist jobs was $91,010 in May 2020. The lowest 10% earned less than $63,530, and the highest 10% more than $126,780.
Our conclusion? The Therapist job market is wide open for candidates.
Top therapist sections that make the best resume
- Header
- Professional summary
- Experience (with numbers and results)
- Relevant skills
- Education
- Certifications
What to write in your therapist experience section
Perfecting your therapist resume experience section:
- Focus on results, not responsibilities;
- Use 4-6 bullet points per position;
- List only positions that are relevant to what you’re applying for;
- Include at least some form of quantitative data – it can be linked to the number of people you’ve managed or the - percentage decrease in costs that’s followed from your work - you decide;
- Choose action verbs over buzzwords.
We’ve collected some of the top resume experience sections from real Enhancv users. Check them out when drafting your own Therapist resume!
- Diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions, illnesses, or injuries that limits their abilities to move and perform functional activities as well as they would like in their daily lives;
- Examine each individual and develop a plan using treatment techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability;
- In addition,work with individuals to prevent the loss of mobility before it occurs by developing fitness and wellness-oriented programs for healthier and more active lifestyles;
- Provide care to people of all ages who have functional problems resulting from, for example, back and neck injuries, sprains/strains and fractures, arthritis, burns, amputations, stroke, multiple sclerosis, conditions such as cerebral palsy and spina bifida, and injuries related to work and sports;
- Evaluate and diagnose movement dysfunction and use interventions to treat patients. Interventions may include therapeutic exercise, functional training, manual therapy techniques, assistive and adaptive devices and equipment, and electrotherapeutic modalities;
- Developed 100s of patients’ cognitive and social skills by playing familiar songs in solo and group settings to encourage their memory and word recognition.
- Worked to heal, inspire and uplift the spirits of people living in a nursing home through music.
- Worked with Alzheimer’s and dementia patients using drum circles and guitar/singing to open their minds for socialization and cognitive therapy.
- Providing home health care services for homebound patients.
- Evaluate patients on aspects of balance, strength, range of motion(ROM), safe transfer techniques and functional activities.
- Formulate individualized plan of care (POC) , creating measurable goals that help the patient to carry out ADLs without difficulty.
- Provide therapy to meet goals and update and revise exercise as progression.
- Successfully improved QOL of patients . helping them lead a better and safe life.
- Evaluate clients' soft tissue condition, joint function, muscle strength and range of movement
- Review client’s medical histories and pain / presentation to determine appropriate treatment plan
- Conduct postural assessments with history to determine if corrective action is required
- Perform sports, deep tissue &Swedish massages; providing massage therapy to soothe muscles, relieve tension and eliminate stress
- Post-treatment: provide clients with guidance regarding techniques for postural improvement and stretching, strengthening and rehabilitative exercises
- Consult with clients to determine massage needs and requests
- Ability to quickly establish rapport with potentially single-visit clients
- Consistently maintain high-level of client satisfaction through skillful service and friendly manner
- Evaluate clients’ soft tissue condition, joint function, muscle strength and range of movement
- Review client’s medical histories and pain / presentation to determine appropriate treatment plan
- Conduct postural assessments with history to determine if corrective action is required
- Perform sports & deep tissue massages; providing massage therapy to soothe muscles and relieve tension
- Consult with clients to determine massage needs and requests
- Ability to quickly establish rapport with potentially single-visit clients
- Consistently maintain high-level of client satisfaction through skilful service and friendly manner
- Dealing with 5-10 customers on a daily basis, using professional high end beauty products ( Yonka, Image, Elemis, Dermalogica)
- Defining business strategies and goals considering the market segment.
- Business planning, cashflow and stock management to ensure the revenue generated is maintained to satisfactory levels.
- Launching advertising campaigns to stimulate interest levels and establish client base.
- Ongoing maintenance of client relationships with regular follow ups along with upkeep of social media sites
- Inbound and outbound invoice tracking and business administration
- Greeting clients in a professional manner and developing excellent working relationships
- Providing presentations and training to junior beauty therapists to learn specialised treatments.
- Sole responsibility for the successful co-ordination and management of VIP events.
- Ensuring the quantitative and qualitative due diligence is applied in the processes associated with client service and stock management.
- Utilising my specialist expertise in certain areas and treatments while advising with clientele.
- learned to be fully responsible for the administrative proceedings in a private practice
- trained new collegues
- helped to design and develop a dynamic splint
- successfully treated people with complex hand injuries, scoring 8 or higher on satisfaction of the treatment
- conservative and post-surgery specialized hand rehabilitation
- monitored the results and effectiveness of treatment
- attended during surgeries
- Successfully achieved Entry-Level/Beyond Entry-Level status in specialized setting under mentorship/evaluation of two senior level PT's (20+ years experience ea.)
- Management of full-time caseload (6 pt/day)
- Experience working with Multiple Sclerosis, Stroke, Cerebral Palsy, Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, Cancer, Parkinson's, TBI, Congenital Malformation, Amputee, Spinal cord Injury
- Instruction of community PEP's classes such as Outpatient Neuro strength/conditioning, beginner/advanced Parkinson's, Balance, Aquatic beginner/intermediate strength and conditioning, Aquatic Mother and Baby, Aquatic Parkinson's
- Instruction of Balance, Pilates, and Stroke Group Therapy (2-4 pt)
- Managment of full-time caseload (8pt/day)
- Manual Therapy, Ultrasound, E-Stim, Paraffin, Alter-G
- Efficiency in Exam/Eval/Screen/Treat of all common ortho diagnoses; Rotator Cuff, Post-Surgical Total-Joint, Pelvic Floor, Cervical/Thoracic/Lumbar pathologies
- Execution of thermo, cryo, electrical modalities
- Assisted PT's in managing patients with all ther-ex
- Maintanence/up-keep of all clinic operations such as laundry, filing, cleaning, equiptment set-up/care
- Completes bio-psychosocial self assessments and treatment plans.
- Facilitates support groups for men and women.
- Completes weekly and monthly progress notes.
- Discharge client's while assisting with referrals.
- Currently working with the HSE providing short-term counselling to clients
- 11 years of facilitating change and improved mental health for clients using a variety of evidence based therapies
- Experienced in dealing with a wide variety of presenting issues
- Provided individual psychotherapy for young adult males ages 18-25 in early recovery.
- Assisted in treatment planning with case consultation to assess each client's individual needs.
- Conducted group therapy process groups related to shame, vulnerability, and the individuation process.
- Obtained a caseload of 10-15 clients and provided individual psychotherapy and assessment.
- Conducted several group therapy session per week on early recovery skills and relapse prevention.
- Responsible for individual treatment planning and diagnosis as well as continued oversight of utilization review paperwork.
- Managed an off-site intensive outpatient facility for adult males.
- Provided psychotherapy and case management for each individual in the program.
- Consulted with sober living professionals to enhance the care of each client based on their needs.
- Trained and provided supervision to the lead case manager on site.
- Selected group facilitators to cover a broad range of recovery related topics.
- Coordinated the program's curriculum and maintained the weekly schedule of services.
- Provided individual psychotherapy and case management to a case load of 15-20 clients per week.
- Facilitated five process groups per week on various addiction related topics.
- Oversaw extended care facility and provided tailored intensive treatment plans.
- Conducted family consultation and integrated family therapy into client's individual treatment.
- Provided feedback and recommendations for continued and transitional support.
PRO TIP
Check the Therapist job description for inspiration. Look for similarities between your employer’s values and your experience.
Action verbs for your therapist resume
Recommended reads:
Therapist Resume Skills Section to Impress Recruiters
Checklist for a perfect therapist resume skills section:
- Make sure to include most if not all essential skills for the job;
- Check the job description and add some keywords to pass ATS;
- List both hard and technical skills;
- When it comes to soft skills – elaborate on them in other sections of your resume (e.g. the experience section).
Top skills for your therapist resume
Solidity
Eris
Blockstack
R3
Corda
HyperLedger
Customer Service
Gatineau
Theravine
Communication
Compassion
Patience
Flexibility, adaptability, and emotional stability
Proactive, ethical, and responsible nature
Honesty
Team-player
Strong work ethic
Time management
PRO TIP
When picking skills to feature in your resume, make sure they'll be relevant to the position you’re applying to. The point of listing skills is for you to stand out from the competition. Stay away from repetitive, meaningless skills that everyone uses in their resumes. Or else, they’ll backfire and make you look like an average candidate.
Therapist resume header: Tips, red flags, and best practices
Checklist for your therapist 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
Include a link to your portfolio in your Therapist resume header. Most companies will require that you include one in your resume, and even if they don’t, it’s an excellent opportunity to directly show them your proudest projects.
Writing an effective therapist resume summary
Impressive therapist resume summary checklist:
- Point out the achievements that make you a valuable applicant;
- Mention the total years of experience you have;
- Highlight the things you believe make you the best fit for the position;
- Keep it short: aim at having no more than 3-5 sentences.
Resume summary formula:
PRO TIP
Highlight specific past projects that you’re most proud of in your summary. It sets an excellent tone for the rest of your resume. You can talk about all of your former jobs in your work experience section later on.
Recommended reads:
Drawing the attention to your therapist resume education section
Crafting a job-winning education section.
- Use the reverse-chronological format when listing your degrees;
- Tailor the classes you’ve taken to the position you’re applying for if you’re an entry-level candidate;
- Mention the awards and honors you’ve received;
- Add your certifications (but only those relevant to the position).
Top certifications for your therapist resume
Certified Alternative Healing Therapist/Practitioner
Become A Soul Care Provider, Get a Healing Certificate. Be a Spiritual Counselor, Comfort Others, Positive Psychology!
CBT: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Therapists & Coaches
Comprehensive CBT Therapy Training | Cognitive Behavior Therapy Practitioner Level | Treat Anxiety, Depression & More
Bowen Therapy NO MASSAGE Healing Certificate Course (8CEU)
An incredible NO MASSAGE remedial therapy for massage therapists or anyone else that wants to learn how to heal people.
Kinesiology Taping For Massage Therapists Certificate Course
Start using Kinesiology tape in your massage clinic TODAY and see your massage clients get so much better, faster.
How to Market Yourself as a Life Coach or Therapist
Build a business as a Life Coach or Therapist, Create a Thriving Client Base & Design Products & Services that Sell
Recommended reads:
PRO TIP
There are dozens of certifications that you can claim as a Therapist. But, some are more effective than others. That’s why you mustn’t include every certificate other applicants might have. Try instead to earn and list a few of the difficult ones.
Choosing the best format for your therapist resume
The content of your Therapist resume is what will get you hired, right?
But even when your content’s amazing and you’re a true over-achiever, recruiters might not think you’re a good fit if your resume looks messy or is not formatted the right way.
In general, there are three basic resume formats we advise you to stick with:
- Reverse-chronological resume format;
- Functional skills-based resume format;
- Combination (or Hybrid) resume format.
Deciding which one to use depends on your experience, the industry, and the company. In short — you need to know what your applicant profile is.
For instance, reverse-chronological resumes are great for people with over 10 years of experience and no employment gaps. Here, you need to list all your relevant experience in a reverse-chronological format, starting from the most recent and going back to less recent positions.
Functional skills-based resumes, on the other hand, are great for entry-level applicants, graduate students, or people who have different kinds of experience. It focuses on skills, education, and character traits, rather than experience.
If none of these work for you, and you dream of adopting a more creative approach that makes a difference, the combination (or hybrid) resume format is exactly what you’re looking for. It allows you to focus on both your experience and your skills, making it a ‘best of both worlds’ format. It’s also suitable for those who want to spice things up by adding different creative sections (e.g. ‘life philosophy’ or ‘what my day looks like’).
Here are some additional tips on perfecting your resume layout and style:
- Go for a traditional resume font sized 12p;
- Use standard 1-inch resume margins for increased readability;
- Make sure your resume fits on a one-page template. In case you’ve got 10 years of experience or more, your resume’s length can reach two pages;
- Avoid unwanted editing and plagiarism – save your resume as PDF before sending it to the recruiters.
Want to take it a step further? Learn how to make your resume stand out without relying too much on creativity.
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.
Want to include something more to your therapist resume?
So you’ve already listed details about your education, experience, and skills. You’ve also crafted an amazing summary.
But now you feel a creative urge to showcase your personality and not just your expertise.
We’ve got you! Thanks to our modern templates, you can now include a chart of what your typical day looks like or even a word or two about your life philosophy. All this without sacrificing your Therapist resume’s professional feel.
Some non-traditional sections for your resume include:
Making your therapist resume stand out
You want to make a strong first impression to all recruiters that get a hold of your resume. Sure you do! But how?
Well, the easiest way to stand out is by adding a bit of creativity to your Therapist resume. You could do this by going for a colorful layout or adding a creative section or two. It all depends on the industry and the position you’re applying for!
For instance, a position in design would allow for a more colorful resume, while a position in finance would probably not.
What makes a great therapist 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.
