Personal Trainer Resume Guide + Tips + Example
by Kellie Hanna, You need a great resume if you want a great job as a personal trainer, and we’re here to help you build one. Our guide to crafting a great personal trainer resume will help you make the most of your interpersonal, motivational and creative skills so you stand out from the competition.
Start by editing this personal trainer resume sample template or explore our library of resume templates to find the best one for you.
More Resume examples for the next step in your fitness nutrition career
Personal trainer resume example (text version)
Jared Kelsey
Miami, FL 33127
555 555 555
(555) 555-5555
example@example.com
Professional Summary
Spirited personal fitness trainer with weight management expertise and the ability to motivate others toward accomplishing weight loss goals. Designs classes to match the skill and learning levels of all participants. Skilled in personal program development and individual life and body assessments.
Skills
- Fitness instruction
- Health and wellness
- Exercise program design
- Coaching
- Knowledge of human anatomy
- Nutrition principles
- Weight management
- Healthy living role model
Work History
May 2018 – Current
Crunch Fitness – Miami, FL
Personal Trainer
- Design specific workout systems for 30 individual clients based on performance ability.
- Provide clients with safe reasonable exercise to perform at home or at the gym.
- Train clients on a variety of strength training, cardiovascular exercises and stretching techniques.
September 2016 – March 2018
Planet Fitness – Miami, FL
Front Desk Associate
- Greeted 70+daily visitors upon arrival, offered assistance and answered questions to build rapport and retention.
- Increased membership enrollment by 20% using innovative sales and promotional techniques.
- Leveraged POS system to sell water, energy drinks, snacks and other gym items.
June 2015 – August 2016
Win-Dixie – Miami, FL
Cashier
- Replenished sales floor merchandise and organized shelves, racks and bins for optimal appearance.
- Completed sales in excess of $2,500 with a near-zero error rate using POS system.
- Checked prices for customers and processed items sold by scanning barcodes.
Education
May 2018
University of Miami Miami, FL
Bachelor of Arts Kinesiology
5 essentials of a top personal trainer resume
Contact details
Add your contact information to the top of your resume; otherwise, hiring managers won’t know how to contact you for an interview. You must display your contact information like so: Your full name, then your city, state and ZIP code, followed by your phone number and professional email address. Add your LinkedIn profile and professional website (if you have them) last.
Personal statement
A personal statement is also known as a professional summary. This is where you introduce yourself and highlight your top qualifications for the job in three to five sentences. A resume for a personal trainer must include a professional summary with appropriate skills and one or two notable accomplishments, and it should touch on how long you’ve been in the industry.
Skills
You’ve got to let potential employers know what skills you bring to the table. Create a separate section for your job-relevant skills and display them with bullet points to make them easy to read. As our sample personal trainer resume shows, include hard and soft skills, from human anatomy to your innate leadership ability.
Work history
Your resume must include an employment history section, whether or not you have professional experience as a personal trainer. In reverse-chronological order, list current and previous employers and provide business names, locations and the dates you worked for each. Include three bullet points of measurable achievements for every job you list. If you’re applying for your first job as a personal trainer, it’s acceptable to highlight any extracurricular activities, coursework, presentations, volunteer experience and community service.
Education
Hiring managers want to see your education credentials, so a resume for a personal trainer job must include an education section. Add all the educational institutions you’ve attended after high school and display the name of the schools and the years that you graduated in reverse-chronological order using bullet points. If you did not attend college, then list your high school information and the classes you’ve taken since graduating.
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Action words for a stand-out personal trainer resume
action words strengthen resumes because they tell the hiring manager exactly what you did and convey confidence. Use them with numbers to make a more substantial impact.
Here’s a short list of perfect action words for a personal trainer resume:
- Evaluate
- Train
- Assess
- Instruct
- Counsel
- Motivate
- Plan
- Organize
- Lead
- Develop
- Create
Need the perfect resume for a personal trainer job now? Our builder has all the tools you need to craft a professional resume in minutes! You can make edits as you go, download your finished resume and save it in multiple file formats. It’s so easy!
Top skills for a personal trainer resume
Review the job description carefully and match the required skills to the skills and traits that fit you.
Your skills might include:
- Physical fitness
- Empathy
- Goal setting
- Motivation
- Persuasion
- Leadership
- First Aid / CPR
- Nutrition knowledge
- Friendly
- Leadership
- Communication
- Customer service
- Adaptability
- Patience
- Human anatomy
Certifications for a personal trainer resume
Personal trainers are not required by law to be certified, but most are certified because clients prefer personal trainers who are. A resume for a certified personal trainer stands out from resumes for personal trainers that are not certified, so consider adding one to your professional toolkit.
A nationally recognized personal trainer certificate proves you have the proper knowledge and skills to train others in physical fitness and helps limit liabilities in case of an injury or accident.
At the very least, personal trainers should be certified in CPR, first aid and automated external defibrillator (AED), but there are many other certification options, including:
Pair your resume with a matching cover letter
Personal trainer resume FAQ
1. What does a personal trainer resume look like?
There is no standard personal trainer resume template; you can use any of our resume templates and customize them for the job you want. A good resume for a personal trainer will look much like the personal trainer resume example on this page and will contain the job seeker’s contact information, skills, employment history, education and certifications, if applicable. A personal trainer resume might also contain sections for awards and honors if the job candidate has them to display.
2. What to put under skills on a resume for a personal trainer?
A resume for a personal trainer should only include skills that
- Are relevant to the job and
- Fit the job applicant’s true skill set.
3. What are some tips for creating an excellent resume for a personal trainer job?
Not all resumes are created equal. Here are our top tips for crafting a perfect personal trainer resume:
- Add separate sections for extra training, certifications, licenses and awards.
- Keep your resume short and to the point. If you have less than 10 years of experience, it should be one page long; if you have more than 10 years of experience, then it’s acceptable to have no more than two pages.
- Ensure your resume is formatted correctly, meaning margins should be one inch on all sides and line space should be single or 1.5 inches.
- Only use appropriate fonts, like Times New Roman, Arial or Helvetica, in 11-12 points on the body and 14-16 points on headers.
- Proofread your resume more than once before sending it to potential employers.
Do’s and don’ts for building a personal trainer resume
- Use measurable achievements to describe your personal trainer abilities and experience.
- Use action words to make an impact on your personal trainer resume.
- Tailor your resume to your target personal trainer job.
- Use keywords from the job description throughout your personal trainer resume.
- Format your personal trainer resume so that it is easy to read by ATS software and human eyes.
- Lie about your personal trainer experience and skills.
- Boast that you’re the “best personal trainer ever.”
- Include irrelevant personal information such as your ethnicity and age.
- Add skills and experience that do not pertain to personal trainer.
- Forget to proofread. A personal trainer resume with errors is unprofessional.
Top 4 tips for acing a personal trainer interview
Learn about the institution.
It’s vital to take the time to learn about the institution or company’s history, goals, values and people before the interview. Doing so conveys interest, passion and commitment — traits that can set you above the competition. Plus, having a glimpse of the company culture early on will help you know what to expect and can give you a confidence boost.
Practice at home.
Practice really does make perfect. To practice for your interview, start by reviewing the most common interview questions, such as:
- What do you see yourself doing in 10 years?
- What’s your proudest accomplishment?
- Why did you choose this career?
And some possible behavioral questions include:
- Give me a specific example of a time you used good judgment and logic to solve a problem
- Tell me about a time when you were forced to think on your feet
- Give me an example of a time when you took the initiative
Write down two or three possible answers as you review potential questions, then review them with a friend or a family member in a mock interview so you can get comfortable with the questions and memorize your answers.
Ask questions.
You should always have at least three questions ready to ask every job interview you encounter; those who do tend to get hired more often than those who don’t because they show motivation, keen interest and thoughtfulness.
Some questions you might ask for a personal trainer job are:
- What are the clients like?
- What are your expectations for the first 90 days?
- What does a successful personal trainer look like to you?
Gather references.
You’ll need professional references quickly if the hiring manager offers you the job after the interview. Having them ready will save you stress and time, so prepare a list of two former colleagues and a former manager who are willing to speak to your abilities to perform the job of a personal trainer and who you know will give you a stellar review.
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Kellie Hanna
Content Strategist, Career Advice Expert
Kellie is the content strategist for My Perfect Resume. She has more than 20 years of experience in digital media and is passionate about helping job seekers navigate their careers. She has a B.A. in English and writing from Temple University.
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