Want to create the perfect personal trainer resume and land your dream job? Whether you’re a gym instructor, fitness coach, or newly qualified PT, 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 from 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.
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! Following this guide will take the hassle and uncertainty out of applying for jobs. It covers…
- How to structure a professional personal trainer resume (step-by-step)
- How to present your non-industry experience if you’re new to personal training
- The exact phrases you should use to maximise your chances of success
By following these tips and using our free personal trainer CV template for Word, you’ll get the job you want in no time.
Personal Trainer Resume 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, 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 or 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…
Entry Level Personal Trainer Resume Tips
If you’re a beginner and don’t have PT 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.
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, ISSA, Future Fit, 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, strength and conditioning, 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.
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.
Personal Trainer Business Resources
Our ready-made templates make it quicker, cheaper, and easier to promote your fitness business. They can improve the effectiveness of your sales and marketing campaigns. If you aren’t an experienced marketer, then templates also provide a useful guide for you to follow.
Whether you run a gym club, fitness studio, or personal training business, these templates will save you time and effort. They’ll help you to plan and organize your promotional activities so that you generate more revenue. You’ll get 40+ templates covering sales, marketing, and business start-up resources.
