The Physical Therapist resume
A PT resume must prove licensure, the settings and populations you treat, and that your patients actually reach functional goals within a productivity standard.
What screeners actually look for
Three things, in order of weight.
01
DPT degree, state PT license (and PT Compact privilege), plus specialist certs like OCS, NCS, or CSCS.
02
Setting and caseload: outpatient ortho, acute, inpatient rehab, SNF, home health — visits per day and productivity %.
03
Outcomes and documentation: functional scores (e.g. LEFS, Oswestry), plan-of-care adherence, WebPT/Epic notes, Medicare billing.
The three mistakes this role makes most
- Listing modalities (ultrasound, e-stim) instead of the patient populations and outcomes you deliver.
- New grads omitting clinical rotation settings and weeks — that's their only experience signal.
- Ignoring compliance: no mention of documentation timeliness or Medicare/8-minute rule familiarity.
Keywords worth including
Work them into your title, project descriptions and skills — don't pile them into a list.
Templates that fit Physical Therapist
Each cover is the template itself, rendered.
Gives the DPT, clinical rotations, and specialist certifications proper weight.
License and certifications sit above the fold where rehab directors check first.
Clear section hierarchy for experienced PTs with several settings to show.
Common questions
How long should a Physical Therapist resume be?
One page. Unless you have 10+ years and a genuinely full second page, the second page only dilutes the first. Put dpt degree, state pt license (and pt compact privilege), plus specialist certs like ocs, ncs, or cscs. above the fold.
What gets a Physical Therapist resume rejected fastest?
Listing modalities (ultrasound, e-stim) instead of the patient populations and outcomes you deliver.. It is the single most common reason this role gets screened out, and fixing it matters far more than changing templates.
Can I generate a Physical Therapist resume with AI?
Use AI for the first draft, then verify every claim and number yourself and reorder keywords against the target job description. AI handles speed; the content is still your responsibility.