Physical Therapists are the licensed healthcare professionals who work in home health agencies, hospitals, nursing homes, private practices, schools or sports facilities. They use various treatment techniques and help physically-ill or injured patients to reduce pain, restore or improve mobility. Whether you are an aspiring candidate or are an experienced professional in this field, a well-written and organized resume will always give an added advantage to your application. Your resume is a marketing tool that will not only showcase your eligibility and talent required in the therapy field, but also demonstrate how and why you are the best fit for the job that you are applying for. Following tips or guidelines will give you a clear understanding on drafting an effective physical therapist resume to stand out in the crowd of job applicants.
Choose an appropriate resume format
Employers would like to know about your work experience, skills or the qualifications you hold and decide why they should hire you over other applicants. To convey this information, your resume should be written using an appropriate format so that it is easy to read and understand. There are mostly three resume formats that include chronological, functional, and combination. Chronological resume is the one with your education and work experience details written in reverse chronological format and is also the mostly used format. Functional resume is the best choice if you are a career changer or have employment gaps as it mainly focus on your skills and achievements relevant to the job applied. Another way that can give the best of both the above resume formats is to use the combination one as it focuses equally on relevant work experience and skills.
Mention accurate contact information
Regardless of which resume format you are going to use, top of the resume should always be filled with your basic contact details. Start with your name written in bold to make it more noticeable and then add your mailing address along with name of city, state and zip code. Do include email ID and phone number. These personal details are important and should be accurate as they help recruiters contact you easily in case they find your resume interesting. So always use easy to read fonts; and you can also align this section either left, right or center.
Open with an impressive career summary
One of the best ways to catch the employer's attention is to write a compelling career summary that will demonstrate why you are the right person for the job. While targeting a specific physical therapist job, first understand the job description and then summarize your key strengths and relevant work experience accordingly. Always keep this section concise so that recruiters would want to know more about your profile. If you are a fresher or an entry-level candidate, write an objective statement that showcase your educational qualifications and career goals and also tell employers how your skills can be helpful for the organization.
For example:
Highly professional and licensed Physical Therapist with more than 6 years of experience in providing home based services to patients with disabilities, diseases or injuries to relieve pain, develop and restore mobility using appropriate therapy procedures and treatments. Expertise in counseling patients about physical exercises and related precautions as well as possess compassion for patients, solid communication, time-management and record-keeping skills.
Mention job-specific skills
If you want to show the prospective employer that you have what it takes to not only do the physical therapist job but to do it well, then specify this section demonstrating areas you are proficient in. You should also use specific keywords that match with the job postings to make it more effective. Common skills mentioned in a physical therapist resume includes communication and active-listening skills, computer proficiency, problem-solving skills, ability to provide instructions, strong physical strength, team-working skills as well as ability to stay current on latest trending therapies, treatments or related industry advancements.
Showcase your work experience with accomplishments
Make this section effective by highlighting accomplishments along with your previous job roles and responsibilities so that it doesn't look like a job description. Write this section in brief and go for a reverse chronological order. You should also use action verbs to list your key achievements and contributions to the previous companies you have worked with. Other than that, start with job title, name and location of the organization along with the date of employment as well as use bullet points while listing work description. Consider the following examples to understand clearly:-
Highlight the educational background
At the bottom of your physical therapist resume, list all your education details, including certifications in reverse chronological order. Mention the degree name with specialization, name of the university, year of passing and GPA (optional). In case of physical therapist, education requirements are Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) along with a relevant license.
Reference
You should only add references if it is requested by employers. If it is asked to list it, simply add name of the person along with his/her job title, phone number, and email address.
Once you have completed writing your physical therapist resume, proofread it 2 or 3 times to avoid grammatical or spelling mistakes. Take the time to customize your resume every time before sending it out and also pay attention to formatting including the accurate use of fonts or bullet points.
To learn more, refer to various physical therapist resume samples given below.