Occupational Therapist CV Guide

What to include in an Occupational Therapist CV

Knowing where to start and what to include in your CV can often feel overwhelming, regardless of whether you are starting one from scratch or refreshing an existing one. Do not worry, it is not too difficult when you understand what employers look for and the typical structure of a CV.

First, look at the job description for the particular occupational therapist position you are interested in and note the essential and desirable criteria mentioned. Also, identify what qualifications, skills, experience and personal qualities they want candidates to possess. Once you have this information, you will know what to include to tailor your CV to the specific job posting.

Next, after analysing the job advert, you can begin to write your CV. Before you put pen to paper or start typing, take some time to think about the design and layout to use and the main sections you want to include. Most CVs have similar sections such as contact information, professional summary, education, work experience, skills, achievements and references. Some may also include other sections, depending on their background.

Now you have a framework for your CV with the main sections, let us look at what you can include to help you get noticed by potential employers.

Contact information

The first section in most CVs, and probably the easiest to start with, is contact information. It is where you provide clear and concise details to enable prospective employers to easily reach you to ask for more information or to invite you to an interview.

Your contact information goes at the very top of your CV, usually in the middle, but some put it at the side. You should add your full name, in slightly larger text and bold, and your location (town, city or county), phone number and email address. You can also include the following, which are optional:

• Professional title, i.e. your current or last job role.
• LinkedIn profile link if it is relevant and professional.
• Website link if it showcases previous experience.

Here are some things to consider when adding your contact information:

• Only include one phone number, as adding multiple may mean missed calls.
• Ensure your email address is professional and does not contain overly casual or silly names.
• Avoid adding personal identifiers, such as home address, date of birth, marital status, national insurance number or photos. It can create privacy risks.
• Do not include personal social media accounts unless relevant to the job.

Professional summary

After your contact information is the professional summary, sometimes called a personal statement, career summary, professional profile or executive summary.

A professional summary is a brief overview, usually a 3-5 line paragraph, where you highlight your qualifications, skills, experience, achievements, passion and career goals. You are basically providing potential employers with a snapshot of what makes you a fantastic fit for the role.

Ensuring your professional summary is well-crafted and engaging is essential, as it is typically one of the first things potential employers will read, and it sets the tone for your CV. A strong summary may capture their attention quickly and encourage them to read the rest of your CV, whereas a generic and poorly written one may do the opposite. Here are some elements you may want to cover in this crucial paragraph:

• Your current or previous role – start your paragraph with a strong action verb and include your job title, e.g. “Occupational Therapist”. If you are a recent graduate or between jobs, add something like “Enthusiastic graduate” or “Dedicated professional”.
• Qualifications – name relevant training and certifications, e.g. degree, HCPC registration, additional specialist training, etc.
• Years of experience – give employers an idea of how long you have worked in the field. If you have limited experience, focus on your transferable skills.
• Specialisations – highlight any areas you focus on in occupational therapy, such as paediatrics, older people, mental health or rehabilitation.
• Key skills – include skills that match the job posting, e.g. hands-on therapy techniques, patient assessment and treatment planning.
• Core strengths – showcase your qualities, such as adaptability, compassion, empathy and teamwork.
• Achievements – if applicable, mention successes such as improving patient outcomes or implementing effective therapy programs.
• Career goals – outline your ambitions, whether advancing in a specialisation, contributing to research or leading a multidisciplinary team.
• Passion for occupational therapy – express your commitment to helping individuals regain independence and improve their quality of life.

Here is an example of a professional summary for an occupational therapist:

“Dedicated Occupational Therapist with over 5 years of experience specialising in rehabilitation and paediatric therapy. Passionate about empowering individuals to achieve independence through tailored treatment plans. Skilled in patient assessment, therapy interventions, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Committed to delivering compassionate, evidence-based care to enhance quality of life.”

Education

After your professional summary, you can add your education or work experience. You could add education first if you have limited work experience in the job and field you are applying for, i.e. you have just graduated.

In the education section of a CV, you outline your academic background and include relevant formal qualifications, training, certifications and professional development. As occupational therapists require specific qualifications and registration, employers will use this section to determine if you meet the necessary educational requirements for the role. It also helps them assess your expertise.

When writing your education section, you should include your achievements in reverse chronological order (most recent first). Here are some examples of the information to add:

• Degrees and certifications
  • List relevant qualifications, such as a BSc or MSc in Occupational Therapy, or a degree apprenticeship.
  • Specify the university name, location and year of graduation (or ongoing if still studying).
  • Add any awards, distinctions, scholarships and honours where you have achieved them.
  • Include any modules, coursework, research or dissertation titles related to occupational therapy.
  • If relevant, mention clinical placements during university studies. Highlight settings you worked in and include specific skills gained or therapeutic techniques applied.
• Professional registration
  • Mention your Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration, as this is a requirement to practice.
  • You could also include any membership in professional organisations, such as the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT).
• Relevant training and courses
  • Include specialised certifications, e.g. sensory integration therapy, mental health first aid or rehabilitation techniques.
  • You could also add any continuing professional development (CPD) courses that enhance your expertise, e.g. workshops, seminars, conferences or short courses related to occupational therapy.

It is not usual to include lower qualifications in your CV, such as GCSEs and A-Levels (or equivalent) if you hold degrees. If the job posting mentions them and you have space on your CV, you can include them if you think it will benefit your application.

Work experience/employment history

You can add your work experience before or after your education section. It is where you showcase your employment history, detailing your previous roles and responsibilities. It provides potential employers with insight into your expertise and suitability for the role.

The work experience section is one of the most crucial, as it demonstrates to potential employers that you have practical experience relevant to the job and proves you have applied your training in professional settings. Tailoring your work experience to the specific occupational therapist role and ensuring it is well-structured can give you an edge over other candidates.

When writing your work experience section, you should showcase your clinical expertise, patient care skills and ability to collaborate with healthcare teams. You should also ensure you add your previous roles in reverse chronological order. Here are some pointers on what to add in this section:

• Heading  – include a heading -“Work Experience” or “Employment History”.
• Job titles – clearly state your previous roles, focusing on those most relevant to the job you are applying for. You do not need to list every job you have had.
• Employers – include the names of the organisations you worked for.
• Employment dates – add start and end dates (month and year) for each job. Add present if you are still currently employed.
• Key responsibilities
  • Use bullet points for clarity and keep them concise; aim for 3-5 duties.
  • Focus on key tasks you undertook in your previous jobs that are relevant to the role you are applying for.
  • Start each responsibility with an action verb, e.g. “Developed”, “Assessed”, “Supported”, “Collaborated”, etc.
  • You can highlight your achievements and skills alongside your duties to showcase your impact.

Here is an example of how to structure your work experience:

Occupational Therapist

ABC Rehabilitation Clinic, London. March 2020 – Present.

• Conducted comprehensive patient assessments to identify therapy needs.
• Developed and implemented individualised treatment plans to enhance daily function.
• Collaborated with physiotherapists and healthcare teams for holistic patient care.
• Educated patients and families on adaptive techniques and assistive devices
• Introduced a new sensory integration therapy, improving patient outcomes by 30%.

Key skills and achievements

You can incorporate your key skills and achievements into your work experience section, combine them into one or have separate sections for both. It is your choice. You may want to keep them separate if you have many relevant and stand-out examples. Wherever you add them to your CV, ensure you tailor them to the occupational therapist role.

Key skills showcase your abilities and strengths to potential employers, helping them quickly assess your suitability. Skills are typically divided into two main types, hard and soft:

• Hard skills are technical abilities specific to a job and are learned through education, practice and on-the-job training. Some hard skills for an occupational therapist include patient assessment, treatment planning, rehabilitation techniques, assistive technology proficiency and medical knowledge.
• Soft skills are personal attributes that help you work effectively with others. Some examples of soft skills for an occupational therapist include communication, empathy, active listening, problem-solving, patience and teamwork.

Employers are more likely to prioritise candidates who demonstrate both skills, so ensure you include relevant hard and soft skills in your CV. Look at the job description and identify the skills mentioned. Including these keywords and similar language can help your CV pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) filters. Many organisations use these to screen CVs.

Where skills highlight your abilities, achievements showcase your personal and professional accomplishments, demonstrating your ability to deliver results. They go beyond listing job responsibilities and showcase your impact in previous roles. We will look at how to focus on your achievements in further detail later.

Other information

Your CV is unique to you. That means you can add, remove and move sections as you see fit. If you find that some of your information will not fit into the standard CV sections or want specific details to stand out, you could include other sections and information in your CV. Here are some examples you could consider:

• Certifications and training – you could keep your education section specifically for formal qualifications, such as degrees, and have a separate one for any courses, workshops, online training, specialised training and other continuing professional development (CPD).
• Professional memberships and registration – perhaps you may want a separate section detailing memberships in organisations like the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) or the British Association of Occupational Therapists (BAOT). You could also include your HCPC registration.
• Publications, projects and research – if you have contributed to any projects, studies, reports or articles on therapy techniques, you could include them separately. Add the titles, dates and links where relevant.
• Volunteer experience – you could include any unpaid work in a separate section and leave your work experience for paid roles. In this volunteer experience section, you could add unpaid work in hospitals, care homes or community programs to demonstrate commitment and transferable skills. Include your role, organisation name and a brief overview of your responsibilities.
• Languages – some choose to keep language skills separately, especially if they speak multiple languages. You could also include it in a separate section, as it can be valuable for working with diverse patient groups.
• Hobbies and interests – this section does not tend to be included in professional CVs. However, you could include it if relevant and especially if you are early in your career, as they can showcase personality and soft skills. You could mention activities demonstrating empathy, patience or creativity, such as art therapy or mindfulness practices.
• Testimonials – you could have a section detailing positive feedback or testimonials from clients if you have been self-employed in a healthcare or social care field.

When adding other sections and information, do not add too many, as it makes the document look cluttered and difficult for employers to read. Always ensure that anything additional adds value and increases your chances of success.

References

The reference section is usually the last one in a CV. It is where you provide details of 2-3 individuals (referees) who can vouch for your skills, experience and character. Employers may contact these referees to verify your qualifications and work ethic, so choose individuals who can best speak to your expertise and competencies in occupational therapy.

When choosing referees, ensure they are professional, e.g. a current or previous employer, manager, supervisor or colleague. If you are starting your career, you could ask someone from your time in education, such as a professor, lecturer, tutor or mentor. Having strong references is important, as it adds legitimacy to your claims in your CV and reassures employers that you are a reliable candidate.

Before writing the references section, check the job posting to see if it asks for specific referee details at this stage. If it does not, you can add a statement, “References available upon request”, under the section heading. If you do need to add details to your CV, always ask your referees’ permission, and once they agree, add the following information:

• Full name – the referee’s name and title.
• Job title and organisation – their role and the organisation name where they work or worked.
• Contact details – a current email address and phone number.
• Relationship to you – how they know you (e.g. former manager, supervisor or mentor).

You can also provide your referees with information about the job you are applying for so they can tailor their reference accordingly.