How To Build An Irresistible OT Showcase Resume To Land Your First Pelvic Health Job

If you are hearing crickets when applying for a Pelvic Health job, then a different approach is needed.  This is especially true if you are applying for your first job in Pelvic Health.

You have to find a way to stand out and be remarkable so your expertise isn’t passed by. 

In short – you want to stake the odds in your favor.

Even though roughly 85% of jobs are filled through networking, you still need to stand out.  Networking will help you get the connection and the interview, but you need to then sell yourself for why you are a perfect fit.

The good news is there is a simple way to stand out from the pack and sell yourself:  the OT Showcase Resume.

What the Heck is an OT Showcase Resume for Pelvic Health?

Taking the time to build an OT Showcase Resume will overcome objections from hiring managers, open doors you didn’t think was possible, and make the path to obtaining your first job as an OT in Pelvic Health much smoother.

An OT Showcase Resume simply brings forward your resourcefulness and capabilities.

If you don’t have the exact experience the hiring manager is looking for then why should they take a risk on you?

In many cases, they won’t take the risk on you unless you make it easy for them to see that it is in fact not a risk to hire you.  If your experience isn’t there yet, then you need to convince them on other factors to hire you.

And if you don’t have tons of experience, you can do this with an OT Showcase resume.

An OT Showcase Resume is an asset you put together that “showcases” your passion, your creativity, your resourcefulness, and gives the hiring manager a more accurate view of you as a practitioner (or budding practitioner).

Think about it – you may not have a ton of experience, but you do know stuff.  And that stuff you know probably isn’t coming to life on your resume.  Because of this, a hiring manager may not see the benefits of hiring you.

So, it’s your job to take what you know, demonstrate how you apply it in real life, and bundle it up in a way that’s easy to deliver to the hiring manager.  

That’s your OT Showcase resume.

What is an example?  Well let’s say you’ve already taken OT Pioneers so you’ve learned how to perform an internal exam but haven’t done one on a client before.  

Why not get creative, perform the internal exam on yourself, create an “intake” form for yourself, document your findings and “prescribe”  a set of unique exercises (which you film yourself)?

If the hiring manager asked you “Have you ever performed an internal exam” and your answer was “No” then imagine how much better it would be if you said :

BOOM! 

Imagine how much more powerful this response is versus just saying “No.”  

A “No” closes doors and stops a conversation.  A response like the above is an open invitation to the hiring manager to ask more questions.  

They get intrigued, they find you creative, they find you resourceful and passionate.  

And that is going to DISTINGUISH YOU.

So, an OT Showcase Resume is a living, breathing, example of what you can do with what you have.  There’s a few attributes that are super important for your OT Showcase Resume:

• Professional: yes this is work you are doing yourself but it still needs to be professional.  If you film a video, make sure it is well done.  You don’t need expensive equipment but don’t film it with your bed in the background or your kids walking by.  If you are writing up documentation, make sure it’s well formatted, easy to read, and guides the hiring manager on the steps you did in a logical fashion.
• Shows your resourcefulness:  A compelling OT Showcase Resume demonstrates your resourcefulness.  You don’t have to shy away from saying you have limited experience.  In fact, embrace it!  Create a contrast between yourself and others in a similar situation and that you took the initiative to get all you could out of all you got.  That makes you memorable and a compelling team member
• Has an interesting twist:  Some people get intimidated if you tell them “make it interesting” and their creative juices dry up like water on hot pavement.  But what I mean by an interesting twist is an additional element you could add to make it even more distinctive.  For instance, let’s say you decide to keep a bladder diary, document it and chart the impact of water intake on your bladder.  At the same time, you could go out and interview strangers and ask them questions to debunk myths around how frequently you are supposed to pee, how much water you should drink, etc.  You can combine those interviews into a short 60 sec reel which demonstrates the need for more basic education around behavior modification.  Many people can keep a bladder diary, but how memorable will you be when you combine it with interviews? That’s right, very.

Does this seem like a lot of work? Perhaps but just remember this:

“Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can do what others can’t”

Jerry Rice

 

How to Find OT Pelvic Health Ideas to Showcase

Don’t be intimidated about coming up with an idea.  You actually have a treasure trove of ideas at your fingertips.  You can pull ideas from:

• Personal Experience
• Friends/Family Experience
• Case Study Examples

As you’ve learned about Pelvic Health, there is probably a topic that has piqued your interest and curiosity.  It could be incontinence, painful sex, postpartum recovery or any other host of pelvic health related topics.

Pick ONE to focus on.

Then ask yourself “Is this something I have personal experience with?  Do I know anyone who is experiencing this right now?”  

The answer to those questions form the basis of your OT Showcase resume.

Here are some ideas to help get your juices flowing:

• Create your own intake and evaluation forms.  
• Create your own sample treatment forms.
• Find a family member who has incontinence and eval them, treat them, and document what you learned.
• Find and review different dilators for clients with painful sex.
• Create a small video library (around 8) of exercises someone could perform to learn how to downtrain their pelvic floor.
• Create a small community workshop dispelling common myths on the pelvic floor.
• Create an audio only guided 10 min meditation to help someone find their pelvic floor.
• Document your own internal exam, findings and proposed treatment plan.

You are literally limited by your creativity. But, if you try to think of an idea while you are stressed it may be difficult.  

My advice would be to find yourself an isolated time where you can sit down with a notebook by yourself, perhaps with a cup of tea, and just write down the first 10 ideas that come to you.  

Don’t self censor, don’t judge while you write, don’t ask yourself “but how?”  Just write down ideas to get them on the paper.

 After you’ve done that, give it a day.  Sit on it.  

Then come back to your list and start evaluating which one is compelling, which one you can do (in a reasonable amount of time/effort) and then just choose one!  

Don’t get into analysis paralysis.  Just make a decision and start acting on it.  This will build the momentum which will lead to results.

What’s The Best Format For Your OT Showcase Resume?

After you’ve decided your showcase topic, the next critical decision is what format you will use.  This format will be largely dictated by the topic as well as your strengths.

Options include:

• Written
• Video
• Audio

Writing is good for things like intake form examples, documentation and treatment plans.  

Video is good for exercises, treatment ideas, informational interviews, etc.  

Audio could be used for guided meditation, interviews, or other things where images may be distracting.

When deciding on the format it’s important to also play to your strengths.

• Don’t like being in front of the camera?  Then writing is probably best for you.  
• Hate writing but enjoy public speaking?  Then doing video may be right up your alley.

Whatever format you choose, it’s important to get at least 1 friend/family member, etc. to look over your creation.  This person/s should be someone who will give you critical and honest feedback.  You want your final product to be professional, clear and show you in a good light.  It can be hard to be this self-aware and this is where your reviewer will play a key role.

They don’t need to provide you with a ton of notes, but rather just answer a few key things:

• Does the result appear professional?
• If it’s in video format, do you appear energetic?  Are there awkward pauses or otherwise unclear language?  Is the sound okay?  Anything (such as background) that’s distracting?
• Is the overall flow of information clear, concise and well thought out?

Remember, play to your strengths and get honest feedback, adapt and move forward.

Get It Into The Hands Of The Pelvic Health Hiring Manager

Congrats!  You’ve made it this far and now is the exciting time to get it into the hands of the Pelvic Health hiring manager! 

(Related: Read 4 Tips to Help OTs Land A Job in Pelvic Health Without Years of Experience)

The question now is “how the heck do I get the hiring manager to look at it?”

There are two different situations and depending upon the situation you are in the strategy will change slightly.

Those two situations are:

1. You have an upcoming interview booked and need to make the best impression
2. You don’t have an interview booked and you are using the OT Showcase Resume to get one

In situation 1, you get the benefit of speaking to the hiring manager in person.  This means you want to “wow” them with your OT Showcase in person.  What does this mean?  If your OT Showcase is something written, then print it out on nice stationary, and get it bound at the printer with a title page.  Create an engaging and catchy title.  If you know the name of the hiring manager, you can say “Created for ___________” on the title page with the name of the hiring manager.  You don’t want to just tell the hiring manager, you want to show it to them.   

If your format is video or audio, then you can send them the information ahead of the interview or as a follow up in a thank you note to them after the interview.  If you choose the latter, be sure to talk about this work in your interview and let them know to expect it.

In situation 2, your goal is to elicit the hiring manager’s curiosity, get an interview booked and to overcome any of their hesitancy about you from the beginning.  You still want to package up your OT Showcase as above but drop it off in person.  

You should include a quick cover letter explaining your interest in the role, why you’ve done this “extra work” (e.g. demonstrating your passion and capability) and asking them for a time to meet to discuss this work and the role. Don’t be afraid of being direct and saying “I would love the opportunity to discuss with you the current role and how the extra work I’ve done makes me a stellar resource.”  

Do These Action Steps Now

To build momentum, take time RIGHT now, to do these things:

• Write down 10 ideas that could form the basis of your OT Showcase resume.  Let them marinate for a day and then pick ONE
• Pick the medium you will use (video, written, audio)
• Create your OT Showcase resume and get it reviewed by at least 1 person
• Get it into the hands of the hiring managers
• Don’t give up until you land your first job!

Taking the time to create your OT Showcase Resume for your first pelvic health job will tilt the odds in your favor.  While networking is important, you will still need to overcome objections to paint yourself as THE person they want to hire.  Taking the time to create your OT Showcase resume using these tips will do just that.