Personal Trainer Resume Sample

1. Action Verbs for a Personal Trainer Resume

Like the above list of action verbs? There’s more where that came from! Our guide to action verbs for resume writing has every verb you’d ever need for a job application.

2. Beef Up your Resume Introduction

Your introduction is the “hook” that encourages gyms to take time to read through your entire resume. The candidate above uses a career objective, one of four resume introductions.

Unfortunately, many job seekers mistakenly use slim and weak career objectives that lack any punch. Here is an example of how not to write your objective:

Weak and unconvincing objective:

Personal trainer with 2 years of experience seeking a position in a gym or fitness studio.

An objective like the one above just isn’t going to cut it. Instead, personal trainers need to bulk up their introductions to include details on their skills, relevant experience, and accomplishments. Here’s how our sample formats a personal trainer career objective:

Personal Trainer with 9 years of health and wellness experience across fitness centers. Possess proven track record in helping clients achieve fitness goals through customized exercises programs and diet plans. Consistently improve fitness center revenue targets by developing new programs and retaining clients.

Now that’s how you write an intriguing objective. Adding meat to your introduction like the one above, will motivate employers to learn more about how you can contribute to their gym or club.

3. Add Weight to your Professional Experience Section

Once you’ve captured the attention of the hiring manager with your resume introduction, it’s time to sell them on your experience. The best way to do this is to add numbers to your bullet points whenever possible.

Numbers help to provide evidence of how well you can perform the required job duties. Without numbers, your resume becomes just a list of claims.

Here’s an example of how our applicant makes good use of numbers on his resume:

• Co-developed new fitness programs with management, with successful implementation that increased sales revenue by 34%

As most experienced trainers already know, sales is a big part of the job. A trainer who can increase membership sales is highly valuable to any gym. That’s why including a bullet point like the one above is essential.

However, adding one number to your professional experience will not be enough. Here are a few more ways that you can add measurable statistics to your resume:

• average amount of time it takes your clients to reach their goals
• # of clients you train every month
• how many clients you get through referrals
• % of average body fat your clients lose
• number of classes you teach

4. Include the Necessary Skills and Certifications

Skills and certifications are an important part of any personal trainer resume. With an industry that includes so many areas of specialty, it’s important to specific as to what qualifications you have. Here are some major skills to consider adding:

• Expert knowledge of the human anatomy 
• Ability to prescribe a nutritional and well-balanced diet to clients
• Capable of teaching clients how to use gym equipment
• Fitness Instructor Certification
• Certified in First-Aid and CPR
• Design fitness programs customized to the client’s abilities
• Amicable personality
• Strong grasp of motivational principles 
• Possession of liability insurance
• Expert salesperson
• Dedicated to safety and healthy exercise techniques

Remember that personal image is a big factor in getting a job as a personal trainer. Your body will either prove or disapprove that your exercise techniques actually work. So as a final tip, make sure you are wearing something that shows off your excellent physique when you go to hand in your resume.