Sports Therapist Resume Examples and Tips

Sports therapists (also known as athletic trainers) use advanced physical techniques and therapies to prevent and treat sporting injuries, manage injury prevention, and support sports rehabilitation. For this job, you should have good interpersonal skills, knowledge of physical therapy, and excellent decision-making skills.

To put together a standout resume for a sports therapist position, use these tips and our resume examples:

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Sports Therapist Resume Example

Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-Class Sports Therapist Resume

  1. Summary Describe who you are as a job candidate in your summary statement, identifying top work achievements and relevant skills. For example: “Dedicated sports therapist experienced in working with individuals of all ages. Well-versed in therapeutic techniques, and familiar with health fitness programs.”
  2. Skills Browse through the job description to pick out skills the employer needs, then feature your own matching abilities in this section. It’s good practice to create two subcategories here: one for hard skills (e.g., CPR, injury prevention, massage techniques) and soft skills (e.g., empathy, critical observation or adaptability).
  3. Work History Mention current and previous jobs in reverse chronological order, specifying dates of employment, and name and location of each organization. Use descriptive bullet points to explain accomplishments and responsibilities where you made an impact, rather than typical everyday duties. For example: “Created and implemented one-on-one massage techniques to improve flexibility and range of motion.”
  4. Education List out degrees and diplomas you’ve attained, as well as any special awards or honors that are related to physical therapy. For example: “Master of Science in Sport Rehabilitation and Therapy,” or “Ph.D. in Sport and Exercise Science and Sports Therapy.” Also feature related certifications you’ve earned, such as “Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.”

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Visit our resume templates page for even more templates you can use.

Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume

  • DO add industry-relevant training and certifications. In a profession such as sports therapy, having the right combination of knowledge and training is key, so don’t hold back from featuring certifications and training programs you’ve completed, such as “Advanced Exercise Therapist Certification,” or specialized courses (e.g., “Science in Sports Medicine”). You can include these details in your education section, or create a separate “Training and Certifications” section if you have more than a couple of credentials.
  • DO keep your resume concise. Since employers usually take just a few seconds to scan a resume, keep your document short and sweet. Stick to information that directly relates to the specific job, using punchy phrases and bullet points rather than long-winded sentences, and limit your work history section to the past ten years. Aim for a resume that’s two-pages long at most.
  • DO add measurable terms to your work achievements. Highlight your work achievements using numbers and metrics. For example, a general statement like “Coached undergraduate students, implementing injury prevention techniques” can be buffed up with some details: “Coached 500 undergraduate students for more than 200 hours each semester, implementing injury prevention techniques.”
  • DON’T use a single resume for different job applications. Sports therapy jobs can cover a wide range of treatments and sports, so don’t sabotage your chances by using one resume for every job. Create different versions of your resume for each job opportunity by reading through the job description, picking out the job’s specific requirements (e.g., treating soft-tissue injuries, or developing appropriate profiling, screening and injury prevention protocols), and then update your summary, skills and work history section with qualifications and experiences that fit these needs. For example, you could list “soft-tissue injury treatment” as a skill, or describe your work experience with setting injury protocols. For more tips, see our article How to Create a Targeted Resume.
  • DON’T get too fancy with your layout. While it’s important to have a resume that makes a good visual statement, using extravagant fonts or unusual graphics in your document can throw off employers, and the applicant tracking systems (ATS) they use to scan it. Focus instead on having the right content in your resume, and a straightforward resume template to showcase it.
  • DON’T submit your resume without proofreading it. Before submitting your resume, review your information to make sure it’s both relevant and accurate. This is also your chance to catch typographical or grammar mistakes as well as misspellings. To save yourself time, use our Resume Builder, which checks for these types of errors.