Complete Guide to Writing Your Personal Trainer Resume
The personal trainer job hunt can be both exciting and daunting. There are endless opportunities available, but how do you market yourself as unique?
Written By
- All of our content is written by humans, not robots. Learn More
Table of Contents
As you navigate through the competitive personal trainer job market, there are several resume enhancements you can apply to get your foot in the door. Here, we’ll examine everything you need to know to elevate your resume to another level and land more interviews.
Make Your Format Easy to Read
The employer reads hundreds of resumes per day. They do not have time to look through a disorganized personal training resume. If you do not have your headers, sections, and font in order, it could disqualify your application immediately.
There are multiple ways to make your resume format stand out. First, you should utilize the standard reverse-chronological format in the “work experience” section. This area of the resume tells a story about your growth and development, which is why you need to lay it out nicely.
Font style and size are small details, but they have a massive impact on the aesthetic of a resume. Use a simple, clear font style to make sure all eyesight levels can read it. Try to incorporate larger headers too, or at least make sure the header size is bigger than the body text size. As you write out the content on the page, leave enough white space to give the person a mental break.
Lastly, the file format is an important factor to consider. Every person’s computer might be different, which is why you should save the resume as a PDF. A PDF format will look organized and consistent on any computer or mobile device.
Create a Captivating Summary or Objective Statement
The resume objective or summary is a “first impression” within the resume. The recipient will most likely read this section first, so you want to engage them immediately. What do you want this person to know about you right off the bat? This prime opportunity shows how you are different from all the other applicants.
The summary should be a high-level overview of your experience as a personal trainer. You have 2–3 sentences to explain your top capabilities and unique skill sets. A personal trainer resume with no experience should emphasize the motivations to apply for the position. The employer should know exactly what they are getting out of you as a personal trainer.
Let’s put it into practice. Below are two examples that showcase a “bad” and a “good” summary for a PT resume.
- Bad Personal Trainer Resume Example: Hello, I am a CPT who is good with people. I have skills in fitness, nutrition, and team leadership. My goal is to earn a CPT position at your company.
- Good Personal Trainer Resume Example: Innovative Certified Personal Trainer with a successful track record helping over 125 individuals realize their overall fitness goals. People-driven professional with a 97% client satisfaction rating through innovative programming, attention to detail, and interpersonal skills. Extremely motivated to impact a growing company through an impactful role.
As you can see, the second statement is much more captivating. It fully explains how the person is unique by quantifying a satisfaction rate and the number of clients. It is also direct when describing the overarching goals of the applicant.
Highlight Your Summary of Experiences
Your experience section will give employers an idea of how closely you align with the role. It is also the best section of the resume to show why you are different from any other applicant.
As you fill up this area of the resume, there are two things to remember: tailor it to the job description and integrate quantifiable accomplishments. Fifty-four percent of recruiters claim that a resume gets rejected because it is not tailored to the job.
Once you compile your list of job prospects, highlight the key areas of the job description. Focus on hard skills, soft skills, and other unique keywords. Reflect on your past experiences and identify moments where you applied these skills. If you initiated a new workout program or improved a process, put these real-life examples into the resume.
Sprinkle them throughout the resume to ensure your resume is optimized for both a human eye and the applicant tracking systems. In fact, approximately 75% of recruiters and HR teams from large companies use an ATS to sort resumes based on keywords that match the job description.
When the employee reads through hundreds of personal trainers’ resumes, you want to ensure your document stands out with unique accomplishments. While it may be acceptable to write out your roles and tasks, you should focus on what your impact was. Everything should be accomplishment-driven. Focus each of your bullets on the following:
- Numbers: the number of clients you served or training plans you formed
- Percentages: client satisfaction rating, clientele growth, or retention rating
- Impact: What was the result of what you did?
- Process improvement: was there ever a time you improved a system or pivoted your training model?
Showcase Your Top Skills
As you list out your skills in the resume, it is important to be selective. When the employer reviews your resume, they do not want to drown in a long list of skills. Pick the ones that accurately capture your experience, but you should also look at the job description. Find the word used the most, and then integrate those into the resume.
One of the most important aspects of a resume is proof. If you list a skill in the dedicated section, you should prove it in your experience bullets. Here is a list of skills that many personal trainer job descriptions ask for:
- Hard Skills: nutrition, fitness assessment, fitness planning, exercise programs, exercise physiology, holistic techniques, safety techniques
- Soft Skills: interpersonal skills, time management, critical thinking, active listening
Make sure to include a balanced combination of hard and soft skills. Sixty-one percent of employers believe that soft skills are just as value-added as hard skills.
List Out Your Education, Certifications, and Continued Education
In addition to the education information, certifications are vital for a personal trainer resume. Certifications show your commitment to lifelong learning. They also differentiate you from other applicants who did not invest the time to earn them. Certifications such as:
Final Wrap Up
You have a unique story to tell, and your personal training resume is your vehicle to do that. Reflect on your unique accomplishments and align them with what the employer is looking for.
Showcase your motivations to apply for future positions, your approach with clients, and how you have already made an impact. When you apply the principles in this guide, the sky’s the limit.
We know how hard it can be to land the first clients. That’s why Fitness Mentors has created a course that will provide you with the best strategies to help you get started. Access our website for all the details.
Eddie Lester
Read more from the category
Personal Trainer Job Outlook 2024: What To Expect In the Coming Years
How To Get a Personal Trainer Internship in 2024
