Want to create the perfect personal trainer resume and land your dream job? Whether you’re a newly qualified PT or veteran fitness professional, this guide is for you. It’ll walk you through the exact steps to preparing an awesome CV that shows off your unique skills and abilities.
In this article – learn how to create an impressive personal trainer resume that’ll help you stand out from the crowd and land your dream job.
With over 15 years of experience in the fitness industry, we’ve seen a lot of personal trainer resumes. We know exactly what employers are looking for and the mistakes that stop people getting an interview. It doesn’t matter if you’re preparing a fitness trainer resume or a gym instructor CV, the fundamentals are the same.
What To Include In A Personal Trainer Resume
Wondering what to include in your personal training resume? The key sections it should cover are…
- Short bio
- Employment history
- Education & Qualifications
- Personal Interests
Following this format will ensure that your resume or CV covers all of the essential info that employers are interested in. It’ll give you the best chance of making the cut and being invited to a PT job interview.
We’ll cover what each of these sections should include in the rest of this guide. It’ll take the hassle and uncertainty out of applying for personal training jobs. You’ll learn…
- How to structure a professional personal trainer resume (step-by-step)
- The exact phrases you should use to maximise your chances of success
- How to present your non-industry experience if you’re new to personal training
We’ve also included a personal trainer resume example and several professional templates that you can download. All you have to do is fill in the blanks and submit it! By following this guidance and using our free personal trainer CV template for Word, you’ll get the job you want in no time.
Let’s dive into each of the sections to include in your personal training cv…
Personal Trainer Resume Bio & Objective
Begin your resume with a short bio that’ll make you stand out from the crowd. We recommend summarising yourself in just one concise sentence, followed by a few bullet points of your key achievements. Some people like to state their career objective here so that employers and recruiters know what they’re looking for.
If you’re applying for an advertised job, then align this with the job description. You might also want to review the top 10 qualities that health clubs look for in PTs. Then demonstrate how you embody their desired qualities using factual statements. Here are a few examples…
- Consistently exceeded revenue targets by 20% over the last three years
- Planned and marketed small group PT concept resulting in 50 new clients
- Awarded ‘Personal Trainer Of The Year’ by Company XYZ
Avoid using fluffy descriptions that aren’t backed up with facts or generic statements that won’t set you apart… Bland phrases like ‘I’m a dedicated and highly driven individual’ or ‘qualified PT with a keen interest in the fitness industry’ won’t help you stand out.
Employment History Section
This is the job description part of the resume where you describe your previous experience and responsibilities. Here are the types of details that potential employers will expect to see…
- Duration – most employers prefer you to have 1-2 years of personal training experience, but don’t worry if you aren’t yet there – we’ll address this a bit further down.
- Client Assessments – with bonus points awarded for more complex or technology driven approaches like lab testing and metabolic assessments.
- Personalised Program Design – developing and delivering safe, exciting, and customised personal training programs is central to any PT role.
- Nutrition & Lifestyle Guidance – related to both products and strategies that’ll improve a client’s goal achievement (like nutrition coaching, supplements, or registered dietician status).
- Sales & Marketing – experience persuading, selling or marketing products or services, will show them that you can contribute to their bottom line, as well as client needs. Mention any activities, campaigns, or seminars that you’ve organised.
- Professional Development – potential employers like to see that you’ve either progressed professionally in terms of responsibility (maybe from fitness instructor, to PT, to PT Manager), or continued to grow by attending courses and expanding your knowledge.
Ultimately, employers want to be assured that they’ll get a return on their investment… They want to know that you’ll contribute to PT income and member loyalty.
Revenue and retention are the two key areas that health clubs care about, so it’s important to demonstrate how you can help with these. Always be super-clear about how you can help support their business goals in your resume…
Education & Qualifications
In this section, you should list all your relevant qualifications from both inside and outside of the fitness industry…
- Personal Trainer Certification – from a recognised and respected training provider such as ACE, NASM, ACSM, Premier, or AASFP (including the PT level achieved)
- Current CPR/AED Certification – basic First Aid knowledge is required for most roles
- Degree – sports science, kinesiology, or other related fields are preferred
- College diploma – or A-Levels
- High School diploma – GED or GCSEs
- Relevant industry qualifications – such as behaviour change, kettlebell training, nutrition, group exercise, MMA etc.
Personal Interests
This is where you can really let your personality shine. Give potential employers a sense of who you are, what you enjoy, and what drives you.
Highlight any hobbies or interests that will make you stand out from the crowd, but always be honest and authentic. People will often ask you about this part in an interview, so if you make something up, you’re guaranteed to get caught out.
Newly Qualified Personal Trainer Resume Tips
If you’re a newly qualified personal trainer and don’t have fitness industry experience, then don’t worry. There are plenty of other personal trainer skills you’ll have built up that are easily transferable.
Whether you have a background in retail, hospitality, or are straight out of high school, there are several areas that can help you be successful…
- Communication – any experience where you’ve interacted with people is relevant. Personal training is inherently social, so any role or situation that involves to talking to new people will be useful.
- Sales and marketing – personal training generates revenue, so if you’ve ever held a position that involved sales, marketing or even just persuasion (like retail), mention it plus any results.
- Customer service – maybe you worked in a coffee shop, clothing store, or call centre. All of these roles prepare you for delivering great customer service. It’s also worth mentioning any customer service training they provided too.
- Management or leadership – maybe you were a team leader in a previous role, or held special responsibilities? Or perhaps you coached a sports team or contributed to organising events? Any examples like this will help demonstrate that you’re a responsible and reliable individual.
By highlighting your previous experience and how it can benefit your employer, you’ll have a much better chance of securing a role.
Free Personal Trainer Resume Template
Now you’re armed with all the knowledge you need to prepare a killer personal trainer resume and land your dream job! We’ve gone through how to structure your resume, how to present your non-industry experience, and the exact phrases you should use to maximise your chances of success.
All that’s left is to present it all in a professional format, which is why we created this stylish template. It comes in Word format so that you can easily customise the content and change the colours. This will help you show a bit of personality and stand out from the average applicant.
Simply join our mailing list to receive your free personal trainer resume template. You’ll also get access to more exclusive resources like downloadable cheat sheets, sales scripts, and lots of other juicy goodies! Join our community of like-minded PTs to get full access by entering your email address below…
