Whether or not you work for yourself or a gym, you’re really always working for your clients.
That means long and odd hours on your feet – ready to go and ready to get someone else going.
This field requires you to retain an abundance of knowledge regarding nutrition, human anatomy, exercise science, and often the ability to market yourself.
It’s no easy gig, but often the people like you who do it love the satisfaction of helping others reach their full potential.
You understand what it’s like to work with people who have the goal, but need a little push, advice, expertise, or even just accountability to get them there.
Now, it’s your turn.
You’re looking for the best place that suits your talent and ambition.
The first step is to create a resume that captures all of your knowledge and talent.
Think of us as your own personal trainer, pushing you to create a resume that reaches its full potential.
You have the goal; you just need an expert to help you get there.
Together, we’ve got this thing in the bag.
Summary
- Resume Template
- Formatting
- Writing Your Resume Summary
- Areas of Expertise
- Writing Your Work Experience
- Writing Your Education Section
- Additional Sections
- Resume Points to Remember
- Resume “Don’ts” to Remember
- Some Helpful Tools
Let’s begin with a sample personal trainer resume to demonstrate how all the resume pieces fit together. Then we will break each section down to really drill into how to write the best personal trainer resume you possibly can.
Personal Trainer Resume (Text Version)
Contact Info:
Reese Holder
[email protected]
1 (804) 485-9544
Petersburg, VA 23083
linkedin.com/reeseholder
Summary Statement:
Personal Trainer: Highly motivated and dedicated Personal Trainer specialized in health and wellness and sports training. Skilled in strength and conditioning workouts, creating custom diet and exercise plans, and motivating clients to achieve their fitness goals via fitness assessments, customized lifestyle plans, and focused training. Works closely with gym management to create new programs and retain clients through excellent customer service and results-driven training.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise
- Nutrition Counseling
- Endurance Training
- Fitness Assessments
- CrossFit
- Goal-Oriented
- Discipline
- Routines
- Strong Leadership
- Motivational
- Weight Management
- AED/CPR/First-Aid
- Knowledge of Anatomy
- Listening/Communication
- Detailed Planning
Professional Experience:
Gold’s Gym | Petersburg, VA
Personal Trainer | October 2017 – Present
- Trained 10+ college-level basketball players in strength & endurance
- Developed nutrition plans with 80% success rate for client goals
- Designed client workouts based on personal goals & health status
- Read scientific journals & scientific studies on human anatomy
Johnson Fitness Center | Petersburg, VA
Fitness Instructor | January 2015 – August 2017
- Helped develop client base, acquiring 45% more via referrals
- Encouraged clients to safely push limits within individual physical limitations
- Worked one-on-one with over 100 clients in a gym setting
- Educated clients on nutrition, & lifestyle choices to achieve fitness goals
Zoom CrossFit | Petersburg, VA
Personal Trainer | June 2012 – December 2014
- Established personalized fitness plans for clients
- Checked all gym equipment for functionality/safety
- Led clients in CrossFit sessions, including skill development workouts
- Informed customers of free trials and gym packages
Education/Certifications
Bachelor’s in Exercise Science
University of Richmond
Class of 2012
Certified Personal Fitness Trainer
Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA)
2011
AED/CPR Certification
American Red Cross
2011
Formatting
When it comes to resume writing, it is important to hit the ground running.
Most hiring managers only spend about 6 seconds reviewing each resume they look at, which isn’t enough time to read an entire page.
In order to put your best foot forward and catch their attention right away, there are a few formatting basics to follow.
To start, list information in reverse chronological order so that your most recent, and likely impressive, work and achievements come first.
If there are specific skills and accomplishments that you feel need to be noticed, make sure to bold, italicize, and separate those details from the pack.
To separate important information, always pay attention and be intentional about proper spacing that helps guide the eye down the page and to the right details.
Bullet points are also a great formatting tool to assist with adding separation between sentences and facts.
While there are many acceptable resume formats to choose from, these basics remain consistent features among the formats that are sure to grab the attention of a hiring manager.
It might sound stressful to try to impress someone in such a short amount of time; however, the format is all about appearances.
If you stick with a resume format that appears professional and neat, you are already ahead of the curve.
Start With Your Resume Summary
The first section of your personal trainer resume is a summary that functions somewhat like an introduction.
Your resume summary should remain brief (two to three sentences) and discuss who you are as a personal trainer.
Before you jump in, ask yourself, “what does a good personal trainer do, and how?”
As you begin to answer that question, make a note of what details you relate to most and are the most impactful.
Work these details into your resume summary.
Let’s look at a few examples.
Yes!
Highly motivated and dedicated Personal Trainer specializing in health and wellness and sports training. Skilled in strength and conditioning workouts, creating custom diet and exercise plans, and inspiring clients to achieve their fitness goals via fitness assessments, customized lifestyle plans, and focused training. Works closely with gym management to create new programs and retain clients through excellent customer service and results-driven training.
No!
Strong and motivated Personal Trainer specialized in health and wellness and sports training. Great at strength and conditioning, diets and exercise, and motivating clients. Works with gym to create great customer service and training.
The first example includes details concerning the candidate’s specialties, specific strengths, and utilizes diverse wording to show their versatility and expertise.
The second example reuses the same words and lacks the amount of detail necessary to describe their abilities and set them apart from other candidates.
PRO TIP: If you are having trouble getting started with your resume summary, try skipping this section and coming back to it. Often it is helpful to write about your work history and education first to get into a flow and start thinking about what your strongest assets as a personal trainer are.
Key Accomplishments/ Skills & Qualifications
The section that often comes next in a resume consists of a list of your most impressive and relevant skills and qualifications.
The skills you include in this section should be directly related not only to personal training, but specifically to the company to which you are applying.
This section is minimalistic in detail but packs a punch with clear and concise content.
It is easy for hiring managers to look at this section to make sure that a candidate meets the basic criteria they are looking for.
Key Accomplishments/Areas of Expertise:
- Nutrition Counseling
- Endurance Training
- Fitness Assessments
- CrossFit
- Goal-Oriented
- Discipline
- Routines
- Strong Leadership
- Motivational
- Weight Management
- AED/CPR/First-Aid
- Knowledge of Anatomy
- Listening/Communication
- Detailed Planning
A well-rounded skills section will include both hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are often referred to as technical skills because they deal with abilities that are typically taught and practiced in order to master.
Knowing in-depth information about dieting, nutrition, and anatomy, then being able to apply that information to design individualized fitness plans for clients would fall under this category.
Soft skills are often referred to as people skills because they are more subjective and innate, almost like personality traits.
Knowing how to lead and motivate a client to achieve discipline for physical fitness are soft skills essential to being an effective personal trainer.
You can list both kinds of skills in one list or separate them based on their type, but whatever format you choose should include an adequate amount of both.
PRO TIP: Job posts will often include details and skills they are looking for in a candidate. Make sure that you check what skills are listed and use those in your resume so that a hiring manager knows right away that you are a compatible choice.
Writing Your Work Experience
Your work experience section typically takes up the bulk of your personal trainer resume – and for good reason.
A solid work experience section should show a hiring manager that you have put your skills and strengths to the test to create real results.
Since this section is generally much longer, it is important to list your experience in reverse chronological order so that your most recent work comes first.
Listing things in this order allows for hiring managers to see what you are doing currently and typically your most recent job is your most impressive.
However, always take your own situation into account and steer clear of including any work that isn’t at least related to personal training.
Most resumes include about three jobs in this section when possible, but that isn’t always applicable.
Always defer to describing relevant and recent work only and, if you lack experience, focus on improving your other sections around this one.
Once you have decided what jobs to include, it is time to write three to five bullet points describing each one.
Make sure that each description is detailed yet concise by using strong and specific keywords and power words (action verbs).
Yes!
Gold’s Gym | Petersburg, VA | Personal Trainer | October 2017 – Present
- Trained 10+ college-level basketball players in strength & endurance
- Developed nutrition plans with 80% success rate for client goals
- Designed client workouts based on personal goals & health status
- Read scientific journals & scientific studies on human anatomy
No!
Gold’s Gym | Petersburg, VA | Personal Trainer | October 2017 – Present
- Train college-level basketball players
- Place clients on nutrition management plan
- Make custom workouts for clients
- Consistently update nutrition and fitness repertoire
The first example gives specific examples and descriptions of what the candidate has accomplished, how they have achieved those things, and what the results were.
The second example lists the same tasks and accomplishments without the details that create an impact and separate the candidate from the pack.
PRO TIP: As you write your job descriptions, make sure that you are quantifying and qualifying as many relevant details as possible. If you designed a fitness program, give details as to how you created it and what the results have been. If you have worked with many clients or you have seen a high success rate, give a number to paint a complete picture. These details build a resume that shows you can create results.
(If you lack work experience, see below for a helpful section.)
More About Bots
Throughout this article, we have often referred to a hiring manager as the likely person who will end up reviewing your resume.
However, in some cases, a hiring manager or any manager or owner for that matter, might not be the first to review your resume.
Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), or bots, are designed to review and sort through resumes when a company doesn’t have the time to review each and every one they receive.
Bots search resumes for specified keywords associated with “good-candidate potential” to decide what resumes should get “flagged,” and what resumes should get “tossed.”
For this reason, some resume experts believe that writing job descriptions in paragraph format instead of with bullet points allows candidates to use more keywords in their descriptions.
Standard Bullet Point Format:
Johnson Fitness Center | Petersburg, VA | Fitness Instructor | January 2015 – August 2017
- Helped develop client base, acquiring 45% more via referrals
- Encouraged clients to safely push limits within individual physical limitations
- Worked one-on-one with over 100 clients in a gym setting
- Educated clients on nutrition, & lifestyle choices to achieve fitness goals
Paragraph Format:
Johnson Fitness Center | Petersburg, VA | Fitness Instructor | January 2015 – August 2017
Helped maintain and engage client/member base via cheerful engagement, retaining clients and acquiring 45% more through referrals. Monitored clients during exercises to effectively push the limits while staying safely within individual physical limitations. Worked one-on-one with over 100 clients in a gym setting. Educated clients on health, nutrition, and lifestyle choices to successfully achieve fitness goals.
Paragraph With Additional Bullet Points:
Johnson Fitness Center | Petersburg, VA | Fitness Instructor | January 2015 – August 2017
Helped maintain and engage client/member base via cheerful engagement, retaining clients and acquiring 45% more through referrals. Monitored clients during exercises to effectively push the limits while staying safely within individual physical limitations. Worked one-on-one with over 100 clients in a gym setting. Educated clients on health, nutrition, and lifestyle choices to successfully achieve fitness goals.
- Senior Fitness Programming
- Weight Training for Athletes
Here at Big Interview, we believe it is best to stick with bullet points in order to catch the eye of hiring managers.
You can still include enough keywords to impress a bot with this format as well.
Writing Your Education Section
Your education section should include your highest level of education, whether it is a high school diploma or a degree in Health Education or Exercise Science.
Make sure that you list the title of the degree, the school you attended, and the year you graduated.
Example:
Bachelor’s in Exercise Science
University of Richmond
Class of 2012
Example:
Certified Personal Fitness Trainer
Athletics and Fitness Association of America (AFAA)
2011
AED/CPR Certification
American Red Cross
2011
Possible Sections to Include
In some instances, you will have accomplishments and qualifications that don’t fit into the sections that are part of a typical resume.
You can always include an additional section if you feel it is relevant.
Some additional sections to consider including are:
- Awards and honors
- Publications
- Noteworthy Projects
- Social Media Influence
- Speaking Engagements
- Hobbies/Interests
- Volunteer Work
What if You Have No Experience?
If you are just getting started either due to a career shift or you recently graduated, you can still create a standout resume if you make a few adjustments.
If you have an impressive education related to physical fitness, move your education section below your resume summary.
Now that your education section is in a prominent location, try to spice it up a bit.
Add in details like a high GPA, honors, awards, and any specific coursework that is related to what the job you are applying for requires.
You can also always include additional sections to add in information about your history with athletics and fitness.
If you have any internship or volunteer experience related to personal training, make sure to include those accomplishments as well.
Overall, stay positive and confident in your strengths and abilities and let that approach guide how you tackle your personal trainer resume.
Everyone has to start at the bottom, and if you don’t shy away from discussing the abilities you currently have, you will land an interview before you know it.
might make the difference.
Resume Points to Remember
Work every angle
Make sure that you are starting each bullet point with a fresh new power word or keyword. Using versatile language to describe yourself shows hiring managers that you are well-practiced and knowledgeable about what you do.
Physical appearance matters
This is true when it comes to resume layout. Make sure that you are paying attention to the overall structure of your resume so that it appears professional and easy to follow. Utilize bullet points and spacing to allow important details to stand out.
Break it down
Make sure you are providing distinct information when you describe a previous job. Give specific impactful details that will catch a hiring manager’s attention and separate you from the pack. Adding in quantifying details whenever possible shows that you can create results.
Try to Avoid
Quality not quantity
It’s important to be detailed and make each sentence count, but never write a resume that goes over one page. Writing a two-page resume will show a hiring manager that you couldn’t take the time to narrow things down for them.
Don’t forget the small stuff
Resumes can be complicated when you are just getting started. Make sure that you aren’t getting so hung up on the new details that you forget to include your name and contact information at the top of the page in plain sight.
Keep it straightforward
Don’t try to get fancy by including a crazy font or format. Make sure that you are making decisions that support your resume appearing professional. Don’t try to catch a hiring manager’s attention with an “abstract” visual style that could end up rubbing them the wrong way.
(See below for a helpful table of some suggested power words.)
Helpful Tools:
Personal Trainer Resume Power Words
- Administered
- Founded
- Adept
- Formulated
- Built
- Implemented
- Created
- Improved
- Consolidated
- Initiated
- Coordinated
- Launched
- Developed
- Pioneered
- Designed
- Organized
Personal Trainer Resume Skills List
| Hard Skills | Soft Skills |
| Fitness Assessments | Detailed Planner |
| Nutrition Counseling | Motivational |
| Endurance Training | Goal-Oriented |
| CrossFit | Physical Stamina |
| AED/CPR/First-Aid Certified | Leadership |
