On this page
- Resume guide for an occupational therapist resume
- How to write an occupational therapist resume
- Choosing the best resume format for an occupational therapist resume
- Include your contact information
- Make use of a summary
- Right vs wrong: the same occupational therapist summary, twice
- Outline your clinical experience
- Declare your setting: the eight occupational therapy jobs inside one license
- Build a snapshot of your key skills
- List your education, license and certifications
- Choose the right layout and design
- Occupational therapist job market and outlook
- What salary you can expect as an occupational therapist
- Key takeaways for an occupational therapist resume
- Related medical resume examples
- FAQ
In short, an occupational therapist resume is a one to two page document that names your NBCOT certification, your state license, the setting you are trained for, and the caseload and evaluation volume you carry inside it.
Above all, the setting is the part that decides the interview. For example, acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, skilled nursing, outpatient, school-based, home health, hand therapy and pediatrics are one profession on paper and eight different jobs in practice, with different documentation, different payers and different expectations about how many hours of your day are billable. As a result, a resume that says "occupational therapist with five years of experience" makes a rehabilitation manager guess which of the eight you can walk into.
Resume guide for an occupational therapist resume
To help, this guide and the corresponding occupational therapist resume example will cover:
- How to write an occupational therapist resume, section by section
- Why the setting block belongs on the page and what goes in it
- Three adaptable summaries: new graduate, practicing therapist and specialty lead
- What NBCOT certification, state licensure and specialty certification are worth
- What the job market looks like and what you can expect to earn
How to write an occupational therapist resume
Overall, it takes six sections: contact header, summary, credentials, clinical experience, the setting and caseload block, and education with skills. One page for a new graduate, two once you have practiced in more than one setting or hold a specialty certification.
Credentials come before experience because they are a gate. In fact, state licensure is required in all states to practice occupational therapy (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, accessed September 2026), and an application without a current license number or a pending application date is a no whatever the rest says.
SectionWhat it is answeringWhere it goes
- CredentialsCan this person legally treat on Monday?Directly under the summary
- Setting and caseloadWhich of the eight jobs have they actually done?Its own block, not buried in bullets
- Clinical experienceWhat changed for patients, and at what volume?Reverse chronological, with numbers
- EducationACOTE-accredited program, and at which degree level?Name the accreditor
Write the productivity number you met, not the one you were given
Nearly every occupational therapy employer sets a productivity expectation, usually as a percentage of your paid day that must be billable treatment time. Candidates leave it off the resume, which means the number is negotiated after you are hired rather than before.
Put it on the page with evidence: "88% productivity standard, met at 89% across the last four quarters without documenting after hours." That sentence tells a rehabilitation manager you can hold the number and how, and it makes the interview a conversation about acuity rather than a surprise.
If you left a job because the target was not achievable at the caseload you were carrying, that is a reasonable thing to explain in an interview. It is a better position than arriving with no numbers at all.
Run the finished file through the ATS resume checker before you submit. Hospital systems and large therapy contract companies parse applications into a record before anyone reads them.
Choosing the best resume format for an occupational therapist resume
Reverse chronological with a setting block. As for length, use one page for your first three years, two once you have worked across settings, supervised, or hold a specialty certification.
Functional formats fail here because the timeline is the evidence. A manager reads an occupational therapy resume for continuity of setting: how long in acute, how long in outpatient, whether the moves look like growth or like leaving. After all, a format that hides the sequence reads as a sequence worth hiding.
Include your contact information
Also, put the license number and the NBCOT number on the page. Credentialing verifies both anyway, and the file that lets them do it in ten seconds moves faster than the one that does not.
Make use of a summary
First, write four lines: credential and setting, years, caseload and evaluation volume, and the productivity number.
New graduate occupational therapist adaptable resume summary example
Practicing occupational therapist adaptable resume summary example
Specialty lead adaptable resume summary example
Right vs wrong: the same occupational therapist summary, twice
The right column can be staffed. However, the left column cannot, and a rehabilitation manager holding an unfilled acute care line is staffing.
Outline your clinical experience
Facility, unit, setting and dates. Then three to five bullets. Specifically, each names a population or a volume and carries a number.
- Instead of
Provided occupational therapy services to patients
UseCarried 7 to 9 patients a day on a 32-bed neurological and orthopedic rehabilitation unit
- Instead of
Completed evaluations and treatment plans
UseCompleted 214 evaluations in the year, roughly 60% at moderate and high complexity
- Instead of
Educated patients and families on home safety
UseRan 38 family training sessions on transfers, bathing setup and equipment before discharge
- Instead of
Collaborated with the interdisciplinary team
UsePresent ADL status and equipment needs at daily rounds and weekly team conference for the full unit caseload
- Instead of
Supervised students and assistants
UseSupervise 2 certified occupational therapy assistants and take 2 Level II fieldwork students a year
- Instead of
Met productivity requirements
UseHeld an 88% productivity standard at 89% across four quarters without documenting after hours
Adaptable resume employment history example
Occupational Therapist, Acute Care and Inpatient Rehabilitation, Rio Grande Regional Medical Center, Albuquerque, NM, July 2022 to Present
Carry 7 to 9 patients a day on a 32-bed neurological and orthopedic rehabilitation unit, plus acute care coverage for 2 medical floors on a rotating schedule.
Completed 214 evaluations in the last year, roughly 60% at moderate and high complexity, and own the discharge recommendation for home safety, equipment and level of supervision.
Held an 88% productivity standard at 89% across four quarters without documenting outside paid hours.
Built the unit's low vision ADL protocol, now used for every stroke admission with a documented field deficit.
Supervise 2 certified occupational therapy assistants and take 2 Level II fieldwork students a year.
Declare your setting: the eight occupational therapy jobs inside one license
In practice, this is the block almost nobody includes, and it is the one that gets the interview.
Start with the boundary, because it is the thing most often blurred on a resume. First of all, occupational therapy works on occupations: the activities a person needs and wants to do. For instance, the American Occupational Therapy Association's Practice Framework, fourth edition, groups them into nine categories: activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, health management, rest and sleep, education, work, play, leisure and social participation (AOTA, accessed September 2026). Under federal special education regulation, occupational therapy as a related service means improving, developing or restoring functions impaired or lost, improving the ability to perform tasks for independent functioning, and preventing initial or further impairment through early intervention (34 CFR 300.34(c)(6)).
That is a different job from physical therapy, and a resume should make the difference legible rather than assume it. Gait, strength and range of motion are means; by contrast, dressing, bathing, feeding, toileting, cooking, medication management, handwriting, returning to a job and getting back to a hobby are the outcomes an occupational therapy resume should be full of. In other words, if your bullets could be lifted onto a physical therapist's resume unchanged, they are not describing your work.
Evaluation complexity only OTs can quote
Evaluation complexity is a number only occupational therapists can quote. The occupational therapy evaluation codes are tiered: 97165 for a low complexity evaluation identifying one to three performance deficits, typically 30 minutes face to face; 97166 for moderate complexity, three to five deficits, typically 45 minutes; 97167 for high complexity, five or more deficits, typically 60 minutes; and 97168 for re-evaluation, typically 30 minutes (AOTA, descriptors of the occupational therapy evaluation codes, accessed September 2026). A therapist who writes "roughly 60% of my evaluations at moderate and high complexity" has said something about acuity, documentation load and billing judgment in nine words.
How the payer shapes your paperwork
The setting sets the payer, and the payer sets the paperwork. In a skilled nursing facility your documentation feeds the Patient Driven Payment Model, which classifies payment on diagnosis codes and patient characteristics rather than on therapy minutes, and which carries a combined limit on group and concurrent therapy of 25 percent (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, FY 2019 SNF prospective payment system final rule). At a school, the individualized education program and the related service definition above govern your work, not a treatment note. In home health you carry a windshield schedule and a different assessment instrument. Name which one you have lived in.
So write the block. Seven lines, no prose:
Adaptable resume setting and caseload example
Setting: Inpatient rehabilitation, 32-bed neurological and orthopedic unit, with acute care coverage on 2 medical floors; previously skilled nursing (96 beds) and outpatient hand therapy
Population: Stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord, total joint, deconditioning, upper extremity post-surgical
Caseload: 7 to 9 patients a day, 4 to 6 new evaluations a week, 214 evaluations in the last year
Evaluation mix: Roughly 60% moderate and high complexity, remainder low complexity and re-evaluation
Productivity: 88% standard, met at 89% across four quarters without documenting outside paid hours
Assessments and measures: Barthel Index, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, Section GG self-care items, Nine Hole Peg Test, Box and Block Test, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, Functional Independence Measure items
Systems and supervision: Epic Rehab, Casamba at a previous employer; supervises 2 certified occupational therapy assistants and 2 Level II fieldwork students a year
Even so, two of those lines earn their space. Specifically, the evaluation mix line is the only one that describes acuity in a way a manager can compare between candidates. And the supervision line matters more than most applicants think, because a therapist who can supervise assistants changes the staffing arithmetic of a department.
Build a snapshot of your key skills
For skills, list twelve to sixteen entries in four groups: evaluation, intervention, documentation, and the setting-specific work.
Adaptable resume skills example
Evaluation: ADL and IADL assessment, Cognitive and perceptual screening, Upper extremity range of motion and strength, Home safety and environmental assessment, Seating and positioning
Intervention: Self-care retraining, Adaptive equipment prescription and training, Splinting and orthotic fabrication, Neurorehabilitation and task-specific training, Energy conservation and joint protection, Caregiver and family training
Documentation and measures: Section GG scoring, Evaluation complexity coding, Goal writing and progress reporting, Discharge planning and equipment justification, Canadian Occupational Performance Measure
Setting-specific: PDPM documentation, Individualized education program goal writing, Home health assessment, Post-surgical upper extremity protocols, Group and concurrent therapy delivery
List your education, license and certifications
License first with its number and expiry, then NBCOT certification, then the degree with its accreditor, then specialty certification.
Three authorities are worth naming precisely. The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy awards the OTR credential, and certification is granted for a three year period during which certificants must accrue at least 36 units (NBCOT, renewal handbook, accessed September 2026). On education, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education accredits occupational therapy programs at master's and doctoral level, and the accreditation of the program you attended is what a credentialing office checks (ACOTE, accessed September 2026). State licensure is separate from both and is required in all states.
For specialty work, the Hand Therapy Certification Commission requires a minimum of three years certified or licensed as an occupational or physical therapist plus a minimum of 4,000 hours of direct practice experience in hand therapy before you may sit the Certified Hand Therapist examination (HTCC, accessed September 2026). In addition, the American Occupational Therapy Association offers Board Certification in Gerontology, Pediatrics and Physical Rehabilitation through year-round computer-based examinations (AOTA, accessed September 2026).
Adaptable resume education and licensure example
New Mexico Occupational Therapist License #OT-4471, valid through 2027
NBCOT Certified Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR), #1148702, renewed 2025 with 36 professional development units
Certified Hand Therapist (CHT), Hand Therapy Certification Commission, 2021
Board Certification in Physical Rehabilitation (BCPR), American Occupational Therapy Association, 2023
Master of Science in Occupational Therapy, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 2012. ACOTE-accredited program.
Additional: Neuro-Developmental Treatment adult hemiplegia certification (2019). Certified Stroke Rehabilitation Specialist (2020).
Choose the right layout and design
For layout, use a single column, plain type at 11 or 12 point, clear headings, no photograph. Put the credential string next to your name in the header, because OTR/L is what a screener looks for first. Set the setting and caseload block apart from the experience bullets so it can be read as a block.
Do
- Put the license number, the NBCOT number and the expiry on the page.
- Name the setting and the bed count or panel size.
- Give caseload per day and evaluations per year.
- Say your productivity standard and what you met.
- Describe outcomes in occupations: dressing, bathing, cooking, handwriting, returning to work.
- Name the assessments you actually administer.
Don’t
- Do not write "treated a variety of patients" when the population list is what gets you staffed.
- Do not describe your work in gait and strength terms borrowed from physical therapy.
- Do not list an assessment you have only read about.
- Do not name or describe an individual patient, even indirectly.
- Do not claim a specialty certification you are only eligible for; write "eligible" and the date you qualify.
Occupational therapist job market and outlook
Overall, it is a mid-sized occupation growing much faster than average, with steady replacement demand and a master's degree at the door.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Occupational therapist jobs, 2025 | 169,600 |
| Projected change, 2025-35 | 15% (much faster than average) |
| Projected annual openings | About 10,000 |
| Typical entry-level education | Master's degree in occupational therapy |
| Licensure | Required in all states |
| Median annual wage, May 2025 | $100,330, or $48.24 per hour |
The pay order of the settings is not the one most students expect
Occupational therapists earned a median of $100,330 as of May 2025, but the median moves by roughly $19,000 across settings (BLS, May 2025): home healthcare services $106,300, skilled nursing facilities $105,850, hospitals $102,820, offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists and audiologists $97,940, and educational services $87,300.
The two highest-paying settings are the two that students most often assume are the least desirable, and the lowest is school-based practice, which is also the setting with the most predictable hours and a school calendar attached.
The occupation as a whole is projected to grow 15 percent between 2025 and 2035, much faster than the average for all occupations, with about 10,000 openings each year over the decade (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 to 2035 projections). That growth is why a new graduate can choose a setting rather than accept one, and why the setting block on your resume is an argument about pay as well as fit.
Where the jobs sit:
| Setting | Median annual wage (May 2025) |
|---|---|
| Home healthcare services | |
| Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) | |
| Hospitals; state, local, and private | |
| Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists | |
| Educational services; state, local, and private |
What salary you can expect as an occupational therapist
On pay, the median annual wage for occupational therapists was $100,330 as of May 2025, or $48.24 an hour. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $71,690 and the highest 10 percent more than $131,950 (BLS, May 2025).
Setting explains most of that spread. For example, home healthcare services paid a median of $106,300 and skilled nursing facilities $105,850 as of May 2025, against $87,300 in educational services (BLS, May 2025). In other words, those gaps are not seniority, they are payer and workload, and moving between them is the single largest pay decision most occupational therapists make.
As a result, what the resume can move is the part that sits above the setting band: specialty certification, supervision and program building. A Certified Hand Therapist credential takes three years of licensure and 4,000 hours of hand therapy practice to obtain (HTCC, accessed September 2026), which is exactly why employers pay for it rather than train for it. The same is true of a therapist who supervises assistants, takes fieldwork students or has built a protocol that a department still uses. Those are the lines that argue for the top of a band rather than the middle of one.
Key takeaways for an occupational therapist resume
- First, lead with OTR/L, the license number and the NBCOT number; they are the gate.
- Name the setting and its size, because the eight settings are eight different jobs.
- Then give caseload per day and evaluations per year, with the complexity mix.
- State the productivity standard and what you actually met.
- Also, write outcomes as occupations, not as strength and range of motion.
- Name the assessments you administer, not a generic list.
- Finally, add supervision and fieldwork students; they change a department's staffing math.
Related medical resume examples
- Physical therapist resume
- Physical therapist assistant resume
- Speech language pathologist resume
- Respiratory therapist resume
- Audiologist resume
- Medical social worker resume
- Nurse resume
- Home health aide resume
- Nursing home resume
- School nurse resume
- Art therapist resume
- Behavioral therapist resume
Occupational therapist resume questions, answered
How long should an occupational therapist resume be?
One page for your first three years. Two once you have practiced in more than one setting, hold a specialty certification, or supervise. The setting and caseload block is the last section to cut.
What do I put on an occupational therapist resume with no experience yet?
Write Level II fieldwork as a job. The facility, the setting, the bed count or panel size, the population, the caseload you were carrying by the end, the evaluations you completed and the productivity expectation you were held to. Then the license or the license application date, the NBCOT number, and the ACOTE-accredited program. A new graduate who can state a caseload and a productivity number reads as someone who has already worked.
How do I show that I am an occupational therapist and not a physical therapist?
Write outcomes in occupations. Dressing, bathing, feeding, toileting, cooking, medication management, handwriting, driving, returning to a job. The Practice Framework groups these into nine categories including activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living and health management (AOTA, accessed September 2026), and a resume built on them is unmistakable. Cognitive and perceptual assessment, adaptive equipment and splinting are also strong markers.
Is a doctorate required to practice occupational therapy?
No. The typical entry-level education is a master's degree in occupational therapy (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, accessed September 2026), and ACOTE accredits programs at both master's and doctoral level. Write the degree you hold and the accreditation, and do not imply a clinical scope the degree does not carry.
Should I put my productivity percentage on the resume?
Yes, with the standard and what you met, over a stated period. It is the number the hiring conversation will reach eventually, and stating it first means you are describing your practice rather than defending it. Pair it with the caseload, because 89% at 7 patients a day and 89% at 14 are different claims.