You’ve recently graduated and passed your PT boards. Next up is the job hunt. Looking for and securing your first physical therapy job can seem intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be. You’ve successfully completed years of hard work and dedication going through physical therapy school. You’re entering a strong and growing job field, and joining an Alliance Physical Therapy Partners clinic (Alliance PTP) can be your best move. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is projecting continued growth of 15% in the physical therapy field from 2022 to 2032. This makes it a promising career choice with the potential of almost 14,000 job openings each year. To help you on your way to one of the best jobs in health care, potentially with a top-25%-in-benefits clinic like an Alliance PTP clinic, you need a well-defined plan to help get you on the road to launching your career.
Where do physical therapists work?
The field of physical therapy opens diverse career opportunities in different locations and settings, working with a variety of demographics.. Physical therapists can be found in many places including:
- Outpatient clinics.
- Rehabilitation centers.
- Sports medicine clinics.
How to find a physical therapy job
Even with a booming demand for physical therapists, it can take a while to find the perfect fitting job. Places you can look for your dream physical therapy job can include:
- Online portals.
- Alumni connections.
- Internships or clinical rotations.
- Professional networking.
- Recruitment events.
- Career fairs and job expos.
- Clinic social media presences like Facebook or Instagram.
Strategies to help you kick-start your physical therapy career
After the cap and gown are put away and the excitement and celebrations after graduation and passing your PT boards settle, the next chapter of your physical therapy journey begins. Kicking off your search for a physical therapy job at a clinic like an Alliance PTP clinic needs careful planning and a strategic approach. It can be tempting to jump at the first offer you get, but it’s essential to make sure any potential job is a good fit before you accept an offer. Beneficial strategies that can help you kick-start your career and achieve your professional goals include:
- Get started — If you don’t have a job offer on the table from one of your clinical rotations, you’ll want to start laying the groundwork to look for job opportunities. You don’t want to wait until the last second to start applying for positions. It can take a while to wade through the job searches. Physical therapy is a diverse employment field, so make sure you take some time to figure out what you’re looking for. Narrowing down your preferences as far as specialization, location or demographic can help you tailor your job search opportunities. Researching potential employers can let you see if their company fits with your career goals and expectations.
- Do a self-assessment — Decide where you want your career to take you. Think about what kind of work environment you want to work in and what kind of patients you enjoyed working with during clinical rotations or internships. What type of facility do you want to work in? Where do you want that location to be? Are you willing to relocate? Keep your work-life balance in mind and identify any deal breakers to help you sort through potential jobs. Alliance PTP clinics boast diverse patient populations, flexible scheduling and many more benefits for our employees.
- Update your résumé and cover letter — As tedious as it can be, make sure your résumé and cover letter are updated and polished. Take the additional time to tailor them to each job you apply for so it can focus on skills that are relevant to each position you apply for. Highlight your education, clinical experience, skills and qualifications. Emphasize your knowledge about patient evaluations, therapy planning, therapeutic activities and documentation.
- Clean up your social media — College can be a wild and crazy time, and posting pictures of every move can be commonplace without a thought of how it will look in the future. Social media can help or hurt you during your job search. You don’t want a future employer or co-workers to see very questionable or unprofessional posts or photos to tarnish their opinion of you. Take the time to clean up your profiles so you can put your best foot forward.
- Grow your networking relationships — Networking can play a pivotal role in finding a potential physical therapy job. Referrals can go a long way to help secure a position. If you don’t have any references lined up, reach out to professors, mentors or classmates to see if they would be willing to give you a good recommendation to future employers. Make sure you have several lined up because employers may ask for more than one. Continue to grow your network by attending conferences, events or seminars. These are great ways to learn about advancements in the field to stay up to date and make new connections.
- Make the most of online job portals — The American Physical Therapy Association Career Center can show you job openings around the country. It also has career tools that can help you with résumés, cover letters, career coaching and more. Other useful online job portals include LinkedIn, Glassdoor and Indeed. LinkedIn can tell you if you have mutual connections at a particular company, allowing you to use your networking connections to potentially secure a job. Glassdoor lets you research a company’s culture, its interview process and potential salaries. Indeed can search job listings based on location, relevance or pay.
- Get ready for interviews — You’ve applied for jobs and now you’re on to the next step: the job interview! The goal of a physical therapy job interview with an Alliance PTP clinic is to determine your qualifications and if you’re a good fit for our team. It’s also your chance to see if the culture of our clinics lines up with your personal career goals. One of the best ways to prepare for a physical therapy job interview isn’t to pick the perfect outfit. It’s to study potential questions and formulate an idea of how you want to answer them. You don’t want your answers to be scripted, but you also don’t want to sit and stare at the interviewer while you put together an answer. You can also research the facility before the interview to see what kind of atmosphere it is. Dress to match it for your interview. You don’t want to be over- or underdressed for the environment. You want to showcase your ability to seamlessly join the team.
- Commit to improvement — In a blooming career field, you want to make yourself stand out from the crowd. Consider pursuing additional certifications or continuing education opportunities that can set you apart and showcase your dedication to your professional development. Being committed to staying up to date with the latest advancements and being willing to use these advancements to provide the best care to your patients can make you a more desirable hiring prospect. Alliance PTP proudly offers a generous budget for continuing education and personal development for our employees.
Ready for a new and exciting career opportunity? You’ll find it at an Alliance PTP clinic
Alliance Physical Therapy Partners firmly believes that partnership means creating something that is greater than the sum of its parts. Alliance PTP is proud to bring together physical therapy clinics around the nation to help people get the kind of treatment they’re looking for and then exceed their expectations.
But we realize that our partners can’t serve the people in their communities with exceptional PT without amazing PT team members and admin staff. That’s why we’re always on the lookout for hardworking individuals who want:
- A less hectic daily schedule than most PT providers require.
- Exceptional health, retirement and wellness benefits.
- Readily available mentorship and professional development opportunities.
- To be part of a team that’s committed to caring for its patients and the local community.
Want to learn more about the current career opportunities available at Alliance PTP’s partnership in care? Check out our Careers page.