Resume guide · Job Zone 3

Occupational Therapy Assistantsresume guide.

Assist occupational therapists in providing occupational therapy treatments and procedures. A strong Occupational Therapy Assistants resume shows active listening, service orientation and social perceptiveness, and names the tools you have worked with, such as Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office software.

See how a parser reads your resumeFree, no card→

01Also called

O*NET
Acute Care Occupational Therapy Assistant (Acute Care OT Assistant)Certified Occupational AssistantCertified Occupational Therapist Assistant (COTA)Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA)Licensed Occupational Therapist Assistant (LOTA)Licensed Occupational Therapy Assistant (LOTA)Occupational Therapist Assistant (OTA)Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA)Registered Therapist AssistantSchool Based Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (School Based COTA)

02Skills employers expect

O*NET

Importance is how much the skill matters to the job; level is how much of it the job demands. Both are worth naming on the resume, in this order.

SkillImportanceLevel
Active ListeningHighIntermediate
Service OrientationHighIntermediate
Social PerceptivenessHighIntermediate
SpeakingHighIntermediate
Reading ComprehensionHighIntermediate
Time ManagementHighIntermediate
Critical ThinkingHighIntermediate
MonitoringHighIntermediate
Active LearningHighIntermediate
InstructingHighIntermediate

03Knowledge areas

O*NET
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Psychology
  • Education and Training
  • English Language
  • Therapy and Counseling
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Sociology and Anthropology
  • Administrative
  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Computers and Electronics

04Common responsibilities

O*NET

Ordered by importance. Each one is a bullet waiting for a result and a number.

  1. Instruct, or assist in instructing, patients and families in home programs, basic living skills, or the care and use of adaptive equipment.
  2. Maintain and promote a positive attitude toward clients and their treatment programs.
  3. Implement, or assist occupational therapists with implementing, treatment plans designed to help clients function independently.
  4. Report to supervisors, verbally or in writing, on patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior.
  5. Monitor patients' performance in therapy activities, providing encouragement.
  6. Observe and record patients' progress, attitudes, and behavior and maintain this information in client records.
  7. Select therapy activities to fit patients' needs and capabilities.
  8. Aid patients in dressing and grooming themselves.
  9. Attend continuing education classes.
  10. Evaluate the daily living skills or capacities of clients with physical, developmental, or mental health disabilities.

05Software and tools

O*NET

33 tools across 18 categories. The six largest categories are below; Hot marks a hot technology, In demand a tool employers ask for most often.

Medical software8
  • eClinicalWorks EHR softwareHot
  • Laboratory information system LIS
  • BrainTrain Captain's Log
  • Client caseload management software
  • SpectraSoft DocuPRO
  • Patient documentation software
  • TheraClin Systems iMAPR
  • Visual Health Information VHI PC-Kits
+ 3 more
Data base user interface and query software4
Computer based training software3
  • Language arts educational software
  • Math educational software
  • BrainTrain IVA+Plus
Accounting software2
  • Bookkeeping software
  • Financial record software
Billing and invoicing software2
  • Billing software
  • Fifth Walk BillingTracker
Electronic mail software2
Action games1
  • BrainTrain SmartDriver
Calendar and scheduling software1
  • Scheduling software
Device drivers or system software1
  • Screen reader software
Graphics or photo imaging software1
  • Graphics software
Internet browser software1
Office suite software1
Operating system software1
Optical character reader OCR or scanning software1
  • Text scanning software
Presentation software1
Spreadsheet software1
Web page creation and editing software1
Word processing software1

06Education and preparation

O*NET
Typical education
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
92% of surveyed workers. Others report Some College Courses (5%) and Bachelor's Degree (3%).
Preparation level
Job Zone 3 · Medium preparation
Usually vocational training, an associate degree or a few years of related experience.

07Putting it on your resume

ResumeXRays guidance
BEE · How to show it

Lead with the credential and the record. Job Zone 3 roles usually ask for training, a license or a few years of related experience. Put those on the first screen, then show what you did with them.

Name the tools exactly. This occupation is heavy on named software. A skills section that says "Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Windows" matches more job descriptions than a general phrase. Use the spelling employers use.

Show service orientation and social perceptiveness, not just active listening. Service orientation and social perceptiveness rank close to active listening for this occupation. One bullet per role that shows a decision, a tradeoff or a result covers them.

Run your resume through the free scan →

See your fitbefore youhit apply.

Drop your resume and see what a parser flags before you send it. Free, no card.

Analyze your resume free →$0 to start · No card · Free plan forever