How to Write an OTA Resume That Stands Out

A resume is your first impression on a hiring manager and a foot in the door to your new career. Presenting an accurate and comprehensive summary of your education and professional experience is crucial. Beyond that, a resume serves as a symbol of the candidate as a person; even minor details like layout or font can nudge you above or below a competitor in the rankings for an open position.

At St. Catherine University, our online Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program teaches students to notice the details as an essential element of our commitment to holistic care. Throughout the online coursework, skills labs, and fieldwork components of our hybrid curriculum, students have the support that comes with small cohort sizes and dedicated faculty. Upon graduating in as few as 16 months, students are prepared to tackle the NBCOT exam and apply for their first OTA role.

Before landing an OTA job, however, you need to know the ins and outs of an occupational therapy resume, so you can present your hard work and experience in the best light. Let’s look at why this document is so important, the essential components of any OTA resume, and some tips to make your resume stand out.

Why a Strong OTA Resume Matters

A strong OTA resume is essential for showing potential employers that you hold the relevant education, skills, and licensure necessary to work for their organization. Different clinics and settings have different needs and preferences for their employees, and resumes help hiring managers pinpoint candidates with the background that best fits the position. By including the right elements and highlighting the right skills, you can identify yourself as the ideal candidate for your desired role.

Key Elements of an OTA Resume

Before you can begin writing your resume, you need to know what components to include. Understanding all the pieces to the puzzle that is an occupational therapy resume can help you better organize the document to highlight your qualifications. Take a look at the common elements to add to your OTA resume:

• Contact Information: Include your full name, phone number, professional email address, and location. This ensures that hiring managers can contact you if they want to schedule an interview.
• Objective Statement/Professional Summary: Start the meat of your resume with a brief statement that hints at who you are as a person, your best skills, experience, and what you are looking for in an ideal role.
• Licenses and Certifications: Highlight any relevant credentials, especially your Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) designation, state licensure, and additional training or specialty certifications. Include the issuing organizations and expiration dates.
• Work Experience: Outline your work history in reverse chronological order, beginning with your most recent role. For each position, include the job title, employer, location, and start and end dates of your employment. This is the section to detail the primary responsibilities and achievements of your employment. You may also include any internships or shadowing opportunities that demonstrate relevant skills and experience.
• Education: List your academic qualifications, specifically your Associate of Applied Sciences degree in OTA and any school-based specialized training. Including the institution’s name and your graduation date allows potential employers to verify your academic credentials if needed.
• Key Skills: Use this section to list your technical and interpersonal capabilities. Include any assistive technology you’ve worked with, OT techniques you’ve employed, and personal qualities that stand out in your care, such as teamwork or problem-solving. Often, hiring managers will ask about how these skills are demonstrated in your experience, so try to connect them to a strong anecdote.

Occupational Therapy Assistant Resume Examples

The best way to start constructing an OTA resume and putting words on a blank page is to get inspiration from examples of resumes for your industry. Seeing how other OTA professionals describe their experiences is a great way to find new active verbs or turns of phrase to incorporate into your own OTA resume. You can find inspiration by using St. Kate’s virtual career center and downloading the occupational therapy assistant resume example.

Tips for Making a Great OTA Resume

As you integrate these components and ideas into your own occupational therapy resume, keep these tips in mind:

• Keep the layout simple and easy to read: Choose a clean font and organize each element into clearly defined sections to help hiring managers sort through your qualifications. This strategy also optimizes your resume for applicant tracking systems.
• Use concise bullet points: Summarizing your experience in concise bullet points keeps the content easy to skim for hiring managers and conserves space, allowing you to highlight your qualifications.
• Utilize COTA-specific keywords: Incorporating industry-specific terms, such as “sensory integration” or “fine motor skill development,” aligns your OTA resume with typical role expectations and key terms hiring managers may track for.
• Perform a thorough proofread after each draft: After working through several OTA resume drafts, it can become easy to overlook mistakes. Take the time after each round of changes to proofread for grammar and spelling mistakes. A polished resume is tangible evidence of your commitment and attention to detail.
• Prioritize action-oriented language: Resumes require a very specific style of language. Using strong verbs, such as “assisted” and “collaborated,” emphasizes your participation in each achievement.
• Quantify your contributions: When applicable, include instances of measurable outcomes that demonstrate the competency of your care. For example, “Helped client improve mobility by 30% over three months of treatment.”

Things to Avoid in an Occupational Therapy Resume

Using each of these resume writing tips will set you up for a solid OTA resume, provided you stay wary of these common resume pitfalls:

• Using the same resume for every application: While most OTA job listings will outline similar requirements and responsibilities, there may be some variation, depending on the setting or patient demographics. It is important that your resume not only represents your experience but also demonstrates how your experience aligns with the advertised role. If you notice any gaps between your resume and the job description, consider ways that you can adjust your resume to mention an experience or achievement that overlaps with the company’s focus.
• Including too many buzzwords: Qualities like “team player” or “hard worker” are crucial in most industries, but are often overused by applicants. A good rule of thumb is to eliminate any buzzwords or cliches that cannot be demonstrated in a bullet point on your resume or an anecdote in an interview.
• Highlighting your responsibilities, not your accomplishments: It’s a common mistake for job seekers to focus on summarizing their responsibilities from previous roles, rather than what they achieved while performing them. It is crucial, especially for OTAs just entering their careers, to dig deeper into how your skills differ from your peers or times when you went above and beyond in your care.
• Choosing a complex design/template: The goal of your resume is to make you stand out from other candidates—in the right way. Selecting a template or design that uses bright colors and stylish graphics is a fun way to showcase personality in creative industries, such as graphic design. As a healthcare professional, your resume shouldn’t include anything that may distract employers from your potential, so a simple, muted design is best.

Prepare for the Next Step in Your Career at St. Kate’s

Now that you know how to build your OTA resume, you can start earning the skills and knowledge to fill it. At St. Kate’s, you don’t need to wait to begin preparing for your OTA career. We offer three start dates each year and learning centers in Virginia, Minnesota, California, and Texas, allowing you to complete your OTA education on your own schedule and at your preferred location.

Contact an admissions counselor to learn more about the OTA program requirements and steps to apply.