How to craft a compelling personal trainer resume

Personal trainers play an influential role in the lives of many people, including those who are working to improve their health, fitness, and overall wellness. To become a personal trainer, you must first craft a stunning resume that showcases your passion for the industry and commitment to your clients.

In this guide, we discuss the five important elements to focus on when writing a personal trainer resume. Keep reading to learn all about:

• Choosing the right format for your personal trainer resume
• Writing an eye-catching summary for your personal trainer resume
• Selecting your top technical and interpersonal skills for a resume
• Describing your experience as a personal trainer effectively
• Listing your key educational and training credentials as a personal trainer

Fitness Instructor, Assistant Coach Resume Sample

Hired by: Sport Inn

Hired by: Sport Inn

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Personal Trainer Resume Sample

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1. Choose the right format for your personal trainer resume

When writing a personal trainer resume, your primary focus ought to be on your real-life experience with clients. As such, the best resume format for most personal trainers is the reverse-chronological resume, which focuses on work experience above all else.

However, if you are new to the industry or have only trained one or two clients since finishing your training and education, you may opt instead for a functional or hybrid resume.

These formats shift the focus away from work experience and onto education, skills, and unpaid experience, with the hybrid formatting spreading the focus out more evenly between all sections.

No matter which format you ultimately select in the end, your resume should always start with a visually appealing header containing your name and contact information.

2. Write an eye-catching summary for your personal trainer resume

Next up on your writing to-do list is to craft an eye-catching resume summary.

Your resume summary should concisely introduce you to the employer, stating your years of experience and specialized areas of expertise. You can also include additional details about your professional goals or what type of position you are looking for in your summary as well.

Why is this Correct?

Not only does this summary cover the applicant’s overall experience and specializations, but it also offers the employer a glimpse at what this applicant is most passionate about. This will help to establish a great first impression with the employer, especially if they are looking for an applicant with these specific types of specializations. 

3. Select your top technical and interpersonal skills for a resume

After finishing your resume summary, you should now begin brainstorming which key skills you want to include in your personal trainer resume.

Most resumes will include a dedicated skills section where certain skills are listed out with bullet points. In this skills section, you should focus primarily on technical skills that do not require too much additional explanation for the employer to get the point.

Meanwhile, your interpersonal skills should be sprinkled throughout your work experience section, used as descriptors to make your work experience entries more enticing.

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4. Describing your experience as a personal trainer effectively

When describing your work experience as a personal trainer, it is crucial to include highly specific, relevant, and quantifiable details whenever possible.

Using bullet points to list out descriptions within your work experience entries will help to keep the information organized and make your resume easily skimmable for employers.

5. List your key educational and training credentials as a personal trainer

As a personal trainer, you may or may not hold a degree in your field.

While many personal trainers do go to college to study their craft, many others work their way up to the position through gym training and certification programs.

Regardless of how you have arrived on this career path, make sure your resume includes your best educational and/or training credentials to show off to employers.