Let's Get to Work: RESUME  WRITING

Many new grads are intimidated about putting a resume together. They are not certain where to begin, may not have put together a professional resume before, and don't feel they have mad OT skills to write about!

Read through the following information to get some ideas on how to approach this important step.

Length of Resume

Your resume should be no more than 1-2 pages in length. Get the most bang for your resume-buck! Each word should be focused upon giving a potential employer an impression you are the best candidate for the position.  

Organization of Content

Include your name, address and contact info (phone, e-mail) on the top of each page.

Put the most important information first. For a new grad, this might be your fieldwork experience followed by previous work experience. Be specific with information.

There are many free online templates to help you produce a professional and organized resume. Don’t get too creative! Create a professional looking resume.

Format: Professional and Easy to Read

Use bullet points whenever possible to make the process quicker for the individual reviewing your resume. Highlight critical experience with bullets and short sentences packed with information. Do not bullet your entire resume, however, as it will look like you threw it together in an unorganized manner.

The resume should be professional looking. Do not include pictures, fancy fonts, designs, etc. Avoid over using capitals and bold text. Font should be 11-12 in size. Utilize bold text for headings (ex. Work history, educational history, professional affiliations, volunteer experience, special certifications, etc.)

If printing your resume, make certain the quality of print and paper is good. Take it to a printer if your printer will not produce something of quality.

Make Resume Specific for the Position

Your resume should be tailored for the position you are applying for. This may require preparing several versions of your resume when your first begin your search (pediatrics, rehab, psych, acute care, etc.).

Your employment objective should be reflective of the position you are applying for.

Ex. Employment Objective: To obtain a professionally challenging position as an Occupational Therapy Assistant in a dynamic pediatric setting dedicated to providing quality service to the clients served.

Powerful Word Selection

Clearly communicate achievement by using verbs to describe experience. See list included in “Pages” in this blog.

Avoid  using pronouns such as “I” or “me” as they are redundant and unnecessary when every word counts.  It is assumed the resume is about you and therefore unnecessary to use such terms.

Highlight Strengths and Achievement

Support your strengths with examples from work experience. Avoid including a long list of attributes (disciplined, creative, problem solver). Include examples of how these skills were applied in fieldwork, the clinic, or in past work experience. Avoid using the term “responsibilities”. Consider using “achievement” as it has a stronger message of your ability and contributions in past positions.

Ex. Problem solving skills: Created a new tracking sheet to address weekend per diem coverage issues. Organizational skills: Responsible for organizing OT department daily schedule.

Prior Work Experience

Stress skills which carry over from past work experience to the one you are applying for. This is where your task analysis skills can help you! Even if your work history appears unrelated to the professional position you are applying for, there are skills which cross over.

Ex. A position as a waitress: Requires organizational skills, problem solving, interpersonal skills, team building skills, ability to plan ahead, ability to multi task, ability to establish rapport quickly, ability to anticipate needs, multicultural exposure.

What to Include from Fieldwork

Adaptive equipment and technology experience

Advocacy (client, caregiver, profession, departmental)

Assessments performed/observed

Competencies (modalities, specific interventions)

Disciplines and professionals you worked closely with (PT, SLP, SS, MD, teacher, administrator, parents, volunteers, psychologist, etc.)

Functions within department

Group work

Inservices provided and attended

Marketing of OT services

Meetings you actively participated in or conducted (IEP, case conferences, family meetings)

Quality assurance tasks

Reimbursement systems you were exposed to

Role in care coordination and case management

Role in transition services

Scheduling responsibilities

Scholarship and research activities

Specific populations you worked with

Supervisory experience

Treatment models used (SI, NDT, PNF, Rood), o

Types of documentation (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, electronic, SOAP, PAP, DAP)

How Can You Help the Employer

Clearly illustrate how you can be an asset to the organization you are applying to. Describe how the company will benefit from hiring you. This may require you do a bit of research about the organization to find out about the services they offer and who their client-base is.

Carefully read the job description. If the ad does not include many details, request a copy from their human resource department. You could also perform an online search for posted job descriptions for similar positions. This will help you embed language from the job description into your resume.

Ex. Redesigned patient education handouts to improve patient follow-up and ease of use.

Provided inservice training to CNA staff regarding strategies to encourage patient independence in ADL’s

Many resumes are now submitted online. If your resume is heavily formatted, save it as a pdf, then upload that copy of the file.

Be Selective in What You Include

Avoid including hobbies unless they directly relate to the position.

Include special skills, certifications or training (CPR, first aid training, sign language, certain drivers licenses can be useful if client transport is common, modality training, additional languages you speak, swim certifications, ethics training, etc.), committee involvement, and association involvement.

You may include volunteer information as long as it relates to your objective. Volunteering in a beer tent at the local chowder cook-off is not useful. Volunteering at Special Olympics IS useful information!

Review Your Resume!

Spelling and grammar errors on a resume shows a lack of attention to detail. Ask a friend or mentor to review your resume prior to sending or posting it.

DO NOT RELAY ON SPELL CHECK! (FYI: Spell check did not pick up on the incorrect use of “relay” in the previous sentence!)

This should give you some ideas on how to proceed. Begin by brainstorming your experiences and compile a list. From that list, you can begin to get organized. Share a draft with a classmate for feedback. 

GOOD LUCK!