Guide to finding therapy jobs online
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Get noticed with a strong resume
No matter where you are in your therapist career, you need a well-written resume that accurately conveys your knowledge, skills, and experience. As you search for a job online, you will come across numerous websites offering free resume advice and paid resume writing services. If you elect to use a resume writing service, be sure you choose one that specializes in healthcare career services and knows how to write a solid resume for a therapy job.
Format
Your resume should utilize a no-frills format with a standard font and one inch margins.
Heading
A centered heading should state your name and contact details (unless uploading to a job board with an anonymous search feature that you plan to use). A career objective or summary statement is optional; however, highlighting your preferences (geographical or type of facility) and any relevant skills (bilingual) can help you stand out – particularly if an employer uses a search engine to filter resumes from an online database.
Employment history
Begin with your present or most recent employment. State your status, the name of the clinic/group/practice and location. Be specific about the dates of employment, including the month and year. List your employment history chronologically backward.
Education and Training
On a medical CV or healthcare resume, most candidates list education first, as your degree is critical to the job. State advanced degrees first, followed by undergraduate information.
Additional Information
Your resume may also include professional affiliations, research accomplishments, extracurricular and volunteer experience, a list of publications and presentations, continuing education activities, and honors and awards. Full disclosure of this type of information can result in a lengthy resume, so for the purpose of your online search you should consider abbreviating. For example, instead of including a list of publications, note that a list is available upon request. You may wish to keep two versions of your resume: one comprehensive and another no longer than two pages, preferably one.
Optimize your resume for an online search
No doubt you've heard of search engine optimization – a technique to make a website rank higher on the results page of a search engine like Google or Yahoo. Part of that process involves using keywords. Having the right keywords and phrases on a webpage will cause it to rank highly on the Google results page. Likewise, using the right keywords on your resume will increase your chances of landing at the top of the results page when a recruiter or employer performs a search on a job board.
Many sites allow employers and recruiters to search for candidates in the site's database. Candidates use keywords to search for therapy jobs on the site, and likewise, employers and recruiters use keywords to search for candidates.
In order to rank highly on the employer's or recruiter's results page, you will need to have the right keywords included in your profile and/or resume. For example, if a recruiter is looking for a physical therapist for a job in Texas, make sure you've identified your specialty on your profile and marked that you have a license in Texas. Additionally, make sure your resume states your specialty in the heading or summary (keywords are generally pulled from the top of the document). Also, if you are not currently living in the state where you seek to practice, clearly note that you are willing to relocate in your objective statement at the top of the resume. You can also note this in your profile information. These methods ensure that you will show up in a search for a therapist in that state. The more details you provide – on both your profile and your resume – the more likely you are to be found by the right employer or agency.
Personalize your job application
Many sites allow you to apply to a job with the click of a mouse. While this certainly eases the application process, your efforts will go further if you attach a personalized message or cover letter to your application. While it does add an extra step to the job application process, it doesn't have to be time consuming. Spend a little time up-front writing a cover letter to introduce yourself. Save the document as a Word file and use it – with a few tweaks – each time you apply to a job.
It shouldn't take long to customize the letter for the position to which you're applying. Mention the reasons you're interested and why you feel you'd be a good match for that specific opportunity. Copy and paste the customized letter into the text field and submit your application.
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