Hiring OT directors look for caseload size, productivity percentage, and the assessments you actually score on the first page, because that mix shows whether you can carry a full clinic load without supervision.
Entry-level OTs are fresh out of an accredited MOT or OTD program, often with two Level II fieldwork rotations and a recent NBCOT pass. The resume needs to prove caseload exposure, EMR fluency, and supervised outcomes from fieldwork.
Experienced OTs carry three to seven years of caseload ownership across one or two practice settings. The resume needs to prove productivity targets met, standardized assessment fluency, and at least one specialty track like hand therapy, pediatrics, or neuro rehab.
Senior OTs lead clinical programs, mentor staff, and own outcomes across multidisciplinary teams. The resume needs to prove program build-outs, supervision of OTAs and fieldwork students, and measurable gains in patient throughput or functional scores.
Renata Iglesias, OTR/L
Albuquerque, NM | (505) 449-1862 | [email protected] | linkedin.com/in/renataiglesias-ot
Bilingual occupational therapist with 9 years across home health, school-based, and outpatient pediatric care. Known
for building treatment plans families can actually carry out at home and for translating clinical goals into
language that teachers and parents understand. Comfortable carrying caseloads of 45-55 patients per week with full
documentation compliance.
Lead Occupational Therapist, Home Health
Sunpath Home Health Services | Albuquerque, NM | 2021-Present
School-Based Occupational Therapist
Mesa Verde Public Schools | Rio Rancho, NM | 2018-2021
Pediatric Occupational Therapist
Tumbleweed Therapy for Kids | Santa Fe, NM | 2016-2018
Occupational Therapist
High Desert Rehabilitation | Las Cruces, NM | 2015-2016
Your state license and NBCOT number prove you can practice. They do not prove what you bring to a caseload.
Add one line under your name a clinical director cannot find on a credential check. Examples: certified hand therapist track, LSVT BIG certification, SIPT training, bilingual Spanish pediatric caseload, or splinting fabrication for upper-extremity post-op.
Put it in your summary line, not buried on page two. This is the line that earns the second read.
OT directors read for three numbers: caseload size, productivity percentage, and functional gains. Bullets without a number tend to read as duties, not results.
Name your daily caseload (10 to 14 patients), your productivity rate (85% to 92% is the common band), and a documented outcome.
Tie outcomes to standardized tools: FIM gains on inpatient rehab, COPM performance scores in outpatient, MMT changes in hand therapy. Specificity beats adjectives every time.
A wall of bullets reads as noise. Cluster your work into three or four buckets a clinical lead recognizes.
Useful categories: evaluation and treatment planning, ADL and IADL retraining, splinting and modalities, family and caregiver education, and documentation and billing.
Under each bucket, keep two or three bullets that name the population (pediatric sensory, post-stroke adult, post-op hand), the intervention, and the outcome.
Credential verification happens before the bullets are read. Put your state OT license, NBCOT registration, and BLS in a page-one credentials block under your contact line.
List the state and “license in good standing” rather than the license number. Add NBCOT certification with the issuing year, and BLS with current expiration.
Name the EMR systems you’ve documented in: Epic, WebPT, Cerner, Net Health, or Raintree. That line clears a real screening gate.
For new grads and early-career OTs, the education section carries weight a senior resume can compress. List your MOT or OTD program, the ACOTE accreditation, and graduation date.
Detail both Level II fieldwork rotations: setting, weeks completed, caseload focus, and supervising OT’s credentials. This is your clinical reasoning evidence.
Add capstone or research projects if they tie to the job’s population. Skip high school, GPA below 3.5, and unrelated coursework.
Five years ago, an occupational therapy resume read like a list of treatment techniques and settings. The skills below come from the resumes our users built in 2026. The mix has shifted toward EMR fluency, standardized assessment scoring, and specialty certifications like CHT or LSVT BIG.
OT directors weigh hard skills first because they map to billable services and caseload coverage. Soft skills like family education and interdisciplinary collaboration land second, as evidence backing your bullets. Match the lists against your target posting, then use the soft skills as the through-line in your work history bullets.
| Soft Skills | % of resumes with this skill |
|---|---|
| Communication | 76% |
| Empathy | 65% |
| Patience | 44% |
| Problem solving | 38% |
| Adaptability | 34% |
And here are the top hard skills showing up most often.
| Hard Skills | % of resumes with this skill |
|---|---|
| Patient assessment | 75% |
| Treatment plan development | 52% |
| Activities of daily living training | 41% |
| Clinical documentation | 38% |
| Assistive equipment fitting | 34% |
Based on data from thousands of occupational therapists’ resumes built on ResumeTemplates.com, May 2026.
These are the must-haves hiring teams look for when scanning an occupational therapy resume.
Every occupational therapy posting screens for the same legal-minimum credentials before bullets are read. Get these on page one in a credentials block under your contact line.
List your state OT license as “License in good standing, [State name]” without the license number. If you hold licenses in more than one state, list each on its own line.
Add NBCOT certification with the year you passed the exam. Note any pending applications for additional state licensure with the expected issue date.
Most states require CE hours per renewal cycle, and OT directors read your CE list as a map of where you’re sharpening. Include CE only when it ties to the role you’re applying for.
Group CE by topic, not by date. A cluster of pediatric sensory courses tells a school-based hiring lead something a chronological list does not.
Name the provider (AOTA, MedBridge, university-based programs) and the year. Skip generic ethics or HIPAA refreshers unless the posting calls them out.
Patient stories make strong bullets and weak compliance. Write outcomes that prove your clinical reasoning without identifying anyone.
Use population descriptors and aggregate numbers: “post-stroke adults,” “pediatric caseload of 30,” “average FIM gain of 18 points.” Avoid diagnoses paired with ages, locations, or any detail that could re-identify a patient.
Never name a specific patient, even by initials. If a case study or capstone project drove a measurable outcome, describe the intervention and result without the individual.
Beyond your state OT license and NBCOT registration, the certifications below tell an OT director which patient populations you can take on without a ramp and which billing codes you can carry. List each item with the certifying body and the current expiration or issue date.
The top-paying states for occupational therapists tend to cluster in markets with chronic clinician shortages and rural service areas, not the dense coastal metros most new grads target. Reimbursement structures and travel-therapy demand drive the spread more than cost of living. The employment leaders track population centers and large hospital systems, where caseload mix and productivity expectations shape the ceiling.
If you’re geographically flexible, your resume should foreground multi-state license eligibility and the settings (acute rehab, SNF, home health) where you’ve carried a full load.
| # | State | Avg. Annual |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | $119,470 |
| 2 | Oregon | $106,840 |
| 3 | Nevada | $104,770 |
| 4 | Colorado | $103,970 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | $103,510 |
| 6 | New Jersey | $103,340 |
| 7 | Washington | $102,360 |
| 8 | Arizona | $102,220 |
| 9 | Connecticut | $102,080 |
| 10 | Maryland | $101,880 |
| # | State | Workers | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 12,020 | $119,470 |
| 2 | Texas | 11,700 | $101,760 |
| 3 | New York | 10,540 | $95,370 |
| 4 | Florida | 9,230 | $99,070 |
| 5 | Illinois | 7,410 | $98,900 |
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Treat Level II fieldwork like clinical experience, not coursework. Give each rotation its own block with setting, weeks completed, supervising OT's credentials, and caseload focus.
Add two or three bullets per rotation that name the populations you treated, the assessments you scored, and the interventions you ran.
Quantify where you can: average daily caseload, number of evaluations completed, productivity reached by the final week.
No. List NBCOT certification with the year you certified, and your state OT license as "license in good standing" with the state name.
The actual numbers belong on the application form, not on a document that may be shared widely.
This follows standard guidance from state boards and protects you from misuse of your credential numbers.
Skip the "passionate OT seeking opportunity" opener. Write three lines: years of experience and primary setting, your strongest specialty or certification, and one outcome a director can verify.
For new grads, swap years for your fieldwork settings and a measurable result from each.
Anchor it to the posting's population, not a generic mission statement.
State the productivity rate alongside an outcome metric, so the number reads as evidence of competence rather than corner-cutting.
For example: "Maintained 90% productivity while achieving average FIM gains of 18 points per inpatient rehab discharge."
Pair caseload size with quality data when you have it, like patient satisfaction scores or readmission rates.
For an occupational therapist, an ATS-friendly template is the safest pick, because it puts your certifications and experience where a hiring manager scans first. A basic template is a solid alternative. Whichever you choose, keep the formatting clean and easy to parse: clear section headings, a standard font, and no graphics a parser can choke on.
Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach
Andrew Stoner is an executive career coach and resume writer with 17 years of experience as a hiring manager and operations leader at two Fortune 500 Financial Services companies, and as the career services director at two major university business schools.
