
What is a Resume: Definition, Examples & How-to
Job hunting can be confusing. You know you need a resume, but what is it exactly, and how to even write one? Deep breaths. Read on to learn everything you need to know.
Don't let Freudian slips ruin your psychologist resume. Follow the advice from career experts to write a resume for psychology pros that reinforces your career goals.
A hiring manager reads a good psychology resume and immediately picks up the phone. Like Pavlov's dog. They can’t help it. They’ve got to meet the person behind the paper!
If you’re on a job hunt, you obviously want to be that person. And you can be. You just have to craft the perfect psychology resume that will make the right impact.
In this guide:
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Not ready for a career as a psychologist? Check out these resume examples:
Jason D. Dehaven
4930 Watson Lane
San Antonio, TX 78217
830-224-7357
JasonDDehaven@gmail.com
www.linkedin.com/in/jason.dehaven
Summary
Driven and ambitious psychology professional with 4+ years of experience leading individual psychotherapy sessions using empirically-based treatments to help patients. Met with over 100 patients monthly: individuals, couples and families. Conducted 4 experiments with 252 undergraduate students to investigate the relationship between general and academic procrastination with mental health and life satisfaction.
License
TexasState Board of Examiners of Psychologists
Experience
Certified Psychologist
Mindside, San Antonio, TX
March 2017-May 2021
Psychology Intern
San Antonio Therapy Center, TX
September 2015-April 2016
Education
BS in Psychology
The University of Texas, Dallas, TX
2016
Skills
Certifications
Psychologists are mental health professionals who strive to help others learn constructive ways to overcome mental health challenges. To write a successful psychology resume, you should demonstrate your knowledge alongside psychology skills such as interpersonal and problem-solving qualities.
Now here’s what to include on your resume:
First things first. The layout of your resume. Let’s satisfy the narcissist hidden inside the recruiter and make it perfect.
With these resume format tips, you will make your resume clean and looking professional:
A strong introduction is like the bottom part of Maslow’s hierarchy theory. It’s the first part of your resume that works as a base for grabbing the reader’s attention. The recruiter NEEDS a good resume summary or objective—otherwise they’ll be biased while reading the rest. Or won’t even bother to do it.
If you’re not sure what kind of intro your psychology resume needs, here’s a small cheat-sheet:
To make your resume summary or objective stand out, make sure you try these tricks:
Your resume summary should look like something like this:
Oh, no. The recruiter will develop a phobia after reading the bad example.
While the first example shows competence and highlights some important achievements, the second one, first of all, seems like it’s been written by a child, and second of all—
A recruiter isn’t interested whether you’re empathetic or not. A psychologist obviously should have highly developed interpersonal skills, but that’s not what makes him or her GOOD. It’s the experience and achievements that count.
Straight out of graduate school and have nothing to show off? Don’t worry. You can still land your dream job by writing a resume with no experience.
But this time, instead of writing a summary of your experience, start your resume with an objective. Examine this case study:
See the difference?
If you were the hiring manager, who would you choose for the job? Someone who cared to write a nice psychology resume objective that proves they have skills and attitude to take on a full-time internship? Or someone who didn’t even take the time to highlight their competencies?
Even entry-level candidates have some kind of experience from school or other projects that should be included in their psychology resume.
An eye-catching introduction is what makes recruiters greenlight a candidate. But remember—you have to make it relevant and attractive. No psychobabble. Highlight the skills and experiences you’ve acquired and be on your way to a whole new sense of self.
Expert tip: If you have some significant experience, skills and qualifications, you may want to use a summary of qualifications on a resume. This gives you the opportunity to highlight both your skills and work experience, which is a win-win situation.
Writing the job description section isn’t as easy as Albert Ellis’ ABC model. This part of your psychology resume should prove that you have everything that it takes to succeed in the field.
Here’s how to write the best psychology resume job description section:
Take a look at these two psychologist resume examples:
School Psychologist
Jane Addams Middle School, Philadelphia, PA
August 2017-May 2019
School Psychologist
Jane Addams Middle School
The first example? Looks like the candidate implemented a triangulation protocol. Or... used a simple STAR formula (Situation-Task-Action-Result) to phrase the bullet points.
The problem with the second one is that he/she doesn’t show numbers which is something that shows real impact. Simply listing your duties isn’t really what will make the recruiter have the “Aha! moment”.
Even though it’s not always easy to quantify your achievements when it comes to psychology —try your best to squeeze in some numbers here and there. Think about how many patients you’ve been seeing on a weekly basis, or how many research projects you were a part of. This will show the hiring manager that not only you can do your job well, but you also have the ability to show how effective you really are.
When it comes to skills to put on a resume, it’s pretty tricky to stand out from other candidates. The most important thing to remember is to list the right skills for a psychology resume, and the qualifications that are relevant to the position.
Double-check the job posting to see if the desired psychology skills are there. This is your “Big Five”.
Here are some psychology skills for resumes to inspire you:
Hard skills:
Soft skills:
Expert Hint: Use the job posting to target your resume and add those skills which are relevant for the position. Resume keywords will help you up your chances of passing the ATS scan.
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When it comes to the resume education section—don’t hide your ego.
Show off awards on your resume, honors, scholarships, relevant coursework—anything and everything that will show that you are a strong candidate.
Prove that you are in your psychology “flow state” by putting it in your document in the right format and wowing them with your qualifications.
Education
MA in Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago
2011
GPA: 3.8
Expert Hint: Various studies show that you have seconds to impress a recruiter with your resume. If they want to know more about you, they’ll probably want to check out your LinkedIn profile, so make sure it's up to date.
You’re almost done.
Show off your potential with an “Extras” section that will even convince Albert Bandura to hire you.
Certifications, extra research studies, projects, volunteer work—all of these will nicely spice up your resume!
Here are just a few examples of the most prestigious resume certifications that you can get as a graduate:
Depending on your field of study, you may want to take time to do some research on what kind of certifications are the most profitable ones for your mental health care area.
In the meantime, check out this psychologist resume example:
Certification:
Volunteer Work:
Conferences:
Expert Hint: According to research, 56% of recruiters think a well-written cover letter can improve the odds of an applicant, so make sure to write a cover letteras well.
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
For a psychology resume that gets interviews:
Did we help you get your psychology resume right? Got any more questions on how to write a resume or cover letter for a mental health professional? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to help.
Job hunting can be confusing. You know you need a resume, but what is it exactly, and how to even write one? Deep breaths. Read on to learn everything you need to know.
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