What skills should a Massage Therapist put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, and Judgment and Decision Making among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Massage Therapist list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes AppointmentQuest Online Appointment Manager, ICS Software SammyUSA, Land Software Customer Pro-File, Massage Suite, and Microsoft Excel. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Massage Therapist work?

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Certified Massage Therapist, CMT, Licensed Massage Practitioner, and LMP. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Massage Therapist need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 73% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Massage Therapist role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Massage Therapist resume example

A resume for a Massage Therapist needs to show the work itself: perform therapeutic massages of soft tissues and joints. Day to day that means work like this: confer with clients about their medical histories and problems with stress or pain to determine how massage will be most helpful; massage and knead muscles and soft tissues of the body to provide treatment for medical conditions, injuries, or wellness maintenance. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Certified Massage Therapist
CMT
Licensed Massage Practitioner
LMP
Licensed Massage Therapist
LMT
Bodywork Therapist
Clinical Massage Therapist
Integrated Deep Tissue Massage Therapist
Registered Massage Therapist
RMT
Soft Tissue Specialist
Therapeutic Massage Technician
Deep Tissue Massage Therapist
Massage Operator
Masseur
Masseuse
Massotherapist

O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation in total.

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Certified Massage Therapist (CMT)
Licensed Massage Practitioner (LMP)
Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT)
Massage Therapist
Registered Massage Therapist (RMT)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Confer with clients about their medical histories and problems with stress or pain to determine how massage will be most helpful.
Massage and knead muscles and soft tissues of the body to provide treatment for medical conditions, injuries, or wellness maintenance.
Maintain massage areas by restocking supplies or sanitizing equipment.
Apply finger and hand pressure to specific points of the body.
Develop and propose client treatment plans that specify which types of massage are to be used.
Maintain treatment records.
Assess clients' soft tissue condition, joint quality and function, muscle strength, and range of motion.
Provide clients with guidance and information about techniques for postural improvement and stretching, strengthening, relaxation, and rehabilitative exercises.
Treat clients in professional settings or travel to clients' offices and homes.
Refer clients to other types of therapists when necessary.
Prepare and blend oils and apply the blends to clients' skin.
Consult with other health care professionals, such as physiotherapists, chiropractors, physicians, and psychologists, to develop treatment plans for clients.

14 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Confer with clients about their medical histories and problems with stress or pain to determine how massage will be most helpful, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Massage and knead muscles and soft tissues of the body to provide treatment for medical conditions, injuries, or wellness maintenance, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Maintain massage areas by restocking supplies or sanitizing equipment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Apply finger and hand pressure to specific points of the body, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

AppointmentQuest Online Appointment Manager
ICS Software SammyUSA
Land Software Customer Pro-File
Massage Suite
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word
Scheduling software
Spreadsheet software
WinCity Custom Software WinCity Massage SOAP Notes
Word processing software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Bath robes
Body lotions
Bolsters
Cold packs
Cupping sets
Desktop computers
Heat lamps
Hot packs
Hydrotherapy equipment
Massage chairs
Massage stone sets
Massage stools

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Speaking
03Service Orientation
04Social Perceptiveness
05Judgment and Decision Making
06Active Learning
07Complex Problem Solving
08Critical Thinking
09Monitoring
10Reading Comprehension

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
Biology
English Language
Psychology
Medicine and Dentistry
Public Safety and Security
Sales and Marketing

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

73%Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school
12%Associate's Degree
8%Some College Courses

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Massage Therapist do?: Perform therapeutic massages of soft tissues and joints. Day to day that includes work like confer with clients about their medical histories and problems with stress or pain to determine how massage will be most helpful and Massage and knead muscles and soft tissues of the body to provide treatment for medical conditions, injuries, or wellness maintenance.
What skills should a Massage Therapist put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Speaking, Service Orientation, Social Perceptiveness, and Judgment and Decision Making among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Massage Therapist list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes AppointmentQuest Online Appointment Manager, ICS Software SammyUSA, Land Software Customer Pro-File, Massage Suite, and Microsoft Excel. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Massage Therapist work?: O*NET records 24 titles for this occupation, including Certified Massage Therapist, CMT, Licensed Massage Practitioner, and LMP. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Massage Therapist need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 73% reported their level of education as "Post-Secondary Certificate, awarded for training completed after high school". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Massage Therapist role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.