How to Write a Resume for Physical Therapy

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Physical Therapy Resume Sample

Physical therapy (PT) can be an important part of keeping people safe and healthy. It’s a medical process that can help many patients that have lost movement range or ability, especially after a medical procedure or an acquired disability. If you provide physical therapy for people, you’re providing an important service, often outpatient, for people who need your skills to recover. Here’s how you could use a physical therapist resume sample to get your dream physical therapy job.

Jobs That Can Use Physical Therapy Resumes

Physical therapy is a fairly wide umbrella, so you should know that many different job titles could fall under this umbrella. If you’re applying to these jobs, you can likely use this resume structure:

Pediatric physical therapist
Geriatric physical therapist
Physical therapist assistant
Orthopedic therapist

Generally, if you’re performing therapeutic exercises to help patients in their recovery, you’re probably offering physical therapy treatment, and therefore you can benefit from this resume structure.

Physical Therapy Resume Example

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Important Elements To Consider For Physical Therapy Resumes

Your resume format will have a massive impact on how you build your PT resume. Most of the time, a chronological resume format will work best, especially if you’re an experienced physical therapist. This format will emphasize your work experience section. However, entry-level physical therapists will want a resume that focuses on skills. You could choose the functional or combination formats. The type of format may impact how much information you include, but all formats will include the following headings on the resume.

One of the best ways to create your resume is to draw from a physical therapist resume example. If you want an easier way to create your physical therapist resume, check out the resume examples at ResumeNerd. You can then create your resume with the resume builder.

Contact information

In this section, feature your full name, address, phone number, email address and any link to career networking profiles like LinkedIn.

Summary or objective

At the top of your resume is where you’ll put your resume summary or resume objective. This is a short 2-3 sentence paragraph that generally goes over the most impactful information in your resume. This helps a hiring manager get an understanding of your resume without having to read through it. A resume objective is similar to a resume summary but includes your overall career goals.

Skills

Physical therapy skills are often built through years of experience. In your professional resume skills section, you must list your best skills. Consider these bullet points:

Knowledge of treatment plans
General patient care
Knowledge of exercise programs for different needs
Interpersonal skills
Knowledge of disease modalities
Ability to measure patient progress
Knowledge of sports injuries

These are both soft skills and hard skills. Your hard skills are important because they’re what you learned in school and on the job training. Your hard skills are what makes you qualified to treat people. However, your soft skills are your character traits, that are important because so much of your job will be relating well to other people.

Work experience

Your job search will to a large extent rely on your work experience. Having many years of experience allows you to draw on that experience for your work. If the job description requires a certain amount of experience, it can make you eligible for that job. If you don’t have a lot of experience, you can rely on your education and skills instead. Remember to list your work experience in reverse-chronological order.

Education

Education typically gives you your credentials, and you must list them on your resume. The minimum qualification for a physical therapist job is a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), although job seekers looking to stand out may also get continuing education credits to showcase even more skills.

Certifications and Awards

To become a licensed physical therapist, you typically have to pass certain exams and register with your state’s licensure board. It’s a good idea to put that information on your resume. Additionally, you can include associations that you’re part of, like the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

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Do's and Don'ts

Do proofread your resume before you send it in. By proofreading your resume, you can avoid getting your resume rejected because of typos.
Do include any legal licenses that you hold in your resume. You may include these licenses in your education section or your certifications section.

Don’t include your GPA on your resume. You can include graduating honors, like cum laude or the Dean’s List, but a GPA typically isn’t relevant.
Don't use passive language when describing your experiences and accomplishments. It's much better to say you "managed" an activity then saying you were "responsible for" one.

FAQ: Physical Therapy Resume Example

Do I need to submit a cover letter with physical therapy resumes?

It’s always a good idea to submit a cover letter with every resume and job application. A cover letter gives you a chance to talk directly to the hiring manager, explain pieces of your resume and ask directly for the job interview, which isn’t possible with just a resume. If you need a start to your cover letter, use the ResumeNerd cover letter builder.

Can I get a physical therapy job with no experience?

You need experience to get a physical therapy job, but that experience is often gained through your academic experience and any internships you might take. List these elements of experience on your resume so that you can signal to a recruiter that you have relevant experience even if you haven’t held a full-time job.

Is it a good idea to change up my physical therapy resume for every job posting?

Yes. You should always look at resume keywords and the type of person the job posting is asking for before you submit your physical therapy resume. This way, you’ll be able to target your resume to the specific job you’re applying to.

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