OT Career Fair: Résumé Advice and Preparation

April 3, 2019
by Jessica P.

Getting Involved Life Hacks

This past Friday, our division hosted our annual OT Career Fair. We had almost 40 organizations come to speak to and recruit our students for jobs in pediatrics, adult physical rehabilitation, mental health, school-based OT, and more! For me, it was a great opportunity to network and see what the job market is like as a new graduate. One of the most helpful parts of the day was getting feedback on my résumé. As an occupational therapy student, my résumé has evolved over the past few years to include to numerous fieldworks and experiences I have had during my time at USC.

Putting together an OT résumé for the first time from scratch can be a daunting task so here are my tips on creating your best OT résumé.

Key Elements of a Résumé

• Contact Info
• Education
• Honors/awards
• Experience
• Fieldwork
• Professional associations
• Additional information (skills, interests)

When writing a résumé, you can edit it to target the specific position you are applying to. Always include your skills and accomplishments rather than just listing your required work duties. Use action words to describe what you have accomplished.

Presentation of a Résumé

• 1-2 page length
• Single-spaced
• No smaller than 10-point font
• Print on thicker paper

Hopefully if you have a stellar résumé, you are able to secure an interview. One of the most important parts of an interview is preparation.

Interview Preparation

• Research the company: Know the company’s mission and why you want to work there.
• Check social media: Learn what the company is really about.
• Prepare questions for the interviewer: What do you like about working here? How did you get into this line of work? If you weren’t working here where would you be working?
• Practice interviewing skills: Work with someone who can give you feedback. USC offers mock interviews on connectSC which can help you gain confidence in your answers.

Whether you are a prospective student looking at occupational therapy programs or about to graduate and look for your first job, know that our career outlook is great. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a projected 24% growth of OT jobs from 2016-2016. This means that we need more OTs to fill jobs and I know that my classmates and I have been well prepared to be the occupational therapists of the future.

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