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
How to write a Therapist resume experience section
Therapist 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 Therapist resumes that got people hired at top companies. You can use them as an inspiration to build your own 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’ 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 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.
Therapist Resume Summary Best Practices
Checklist: What to include in your Therapist 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
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:
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 Therapist resume
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.
Therapist 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.
Therapist 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 Therapist resume:
Therapist 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 Therapist 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 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.
