Occupational Therapist (OT) Text-Only Cover Letters
Years of Experience
- Entry-level
- Mid-career
- Senior-level
Melissa Anderson
123 Carpenter Street, Philadelphia, PA 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected]
Monday, April 18, 2022
Ms. Lori Taylor
Hiring Manager
Boston Medical Center
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
Dear Ms. Taylor:
Since October of last year, I have excelled as an occupational therapist at a major regional hospital, engaging with a diverse patient population and collaborating with a team of other OTs and OT assistants. I hope to bring that same dedication to Boston Medical Center as your team’s next occupational therapist.
I’m drawn to your description of a healthcare setting that values patients’ recovery of daily living skills after a major health event. This is my passion. Nothing motivates me more than helping patients set and achieve renewed activity and mobility goals.
My work highlights and qualifications also include the following:
- Provide case managers with insight and analysis that supports responsible discharge planning
- Offer ideas and suggestions to make patients’ home or work environment safer and more conducive to a healthy lifestyle
- Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from Temple University
- Highly efficient and attentive to detail, drawing on prior work experience in the service industry
I am available and look forward to potentially telling you more about how I can help your organization.
Sincerely,
Melissa Anderson
Raymond Ortiz
123 Bedford Avenue, New York, NY 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected]
Monday, April 18, 2022
Ms. Meiling Li
Hiring Manager
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
Dear Ms. Li:
In my current role as an occupational therapist for NY-Presbyterian Hospital, I’ve been praised for outstanding efficiency and focus on patient outcomes. I hope to bring that same level of performance to the new OT job opening at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.
Your job posting intrigued me as I’d love to support your goal of helping patients make a smooth and positive return to daily life. This is the work I’ve found most engaging and rewarding through my seven years of experience as an OT at both NY-Presbyterian and Tisch Hospital.
Below are four more of my key strengths and qualifications:
- Consult closely with patients to define their personal goals for regaining mobility and resuming daily work and life activities
- Collaborate with physical therapists to help determine and recommend the next phase of each patient’s recovery, drawing on a broad knowledge of available rehab, home health, and other services
- Adept at planning successful discharges based on a thorough evaluation of health and safety factors at patients’ homes and workplaces
- Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy from Columbia University
I would welcome the chance to discuss my skills further. Please call or email me to arrange an interview. I will follow up with you soon to confirm that you received my resume and see if you have any initial questions.
Thank you very much for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Raymond Ortiz
Joseph Corbin
123 Bridge Street, Boston, MA 12345 | (123) 456-7890 | [email protected]
Monday, April 18, 2022
Ms. Saanvi Khatun
Hiring Manager
Tisch Hospital
(123) 456-7890
[email protected]
Dear Ms. Khatun:
In my current role as an occupational therapist at Massachusetts General Hospital, I helped develop training modules that improved the performance of newly hired OT assistants. I hope to bring that same sense of teamwork and innovation to your hospital’s advertised OT position.
Your job posting spoke to me as I also believe in the value of continuous improvement in healthcare. Repeatedly I’ve earned praise from my colleagues and managers for quickly assessing health challenges and finding new ways to optimize patient outcomes. As I’ve discovered, the obstacles to a patient’s return to daily life are often numerous, but how we can help patients overcome those obstacles is limitless.
Additionally, I believe I’d prove an asset to your organization based on my skill in these three areas:
- Patient Consultation: Help individuals set clear, attainable goals for regaining mobility and resuming daily work, life, and social activities
- Collaboration: Provide detailed updates after each patient consult to ensure nurses’ full awareness of progress and any ongoing concerns
- Continuous Improvement: Contribute ideas and strategies to streamline operations further, standardize policies, and advance team success
The enclosed resume contains a complete overview of my recent work experience. I look forward to hearing from you and possibly learning more about this job opportunity soon.
Sincerely,
Joseph Corbin
Occupational Therapist (OT) Cover Letter Tips
Below are three essential tips you should follow in working on your OT cover letter:
1. Avoid “laundry list” sentences
Occupational therapists draw on an impressive variety of medical, therapeutic, and communication skills. But that varied skill set can undermine your cover letter if it causes you to state your abilities as a long “laundry list” sentence such as, “My skills include patient relations, family relations, patient assessment, discharge planning, task prioritization, and team collaboration.”
Instead of listing out your skills, express how you’ve put them to good use in a healthcare setting. Visualize yourself at your workplace and the actions you perform there on a typical day and write a sentence or two describing that mental picture. This approach gives your cover letter a much livelier tone and helps the hiring see you as an active employee and team member, not just an abstract set of skill areas.
Example
Since October of last year, I have excelled as an occupational therapist at a major regional hospital, engaging with diverse patients and collaborating with a team of other OTs and OT assistants.
2. Vary your sentence length
When you write sentences that are all about the same number of words, it can bore or distract the hiring manager. For more engaging language on your cover letter, try to mix long, descriptive sentences and short, emphatic ones. In the example below, see how one four-word line sets off the longer introductory sentences before it.
Example
Since October of last year, I have excelled as an occupational therapist at a major regional hospital, engaging with a diverse patient population and collaborating with a team of other OTs and OT assistants. I hope to bring that same dedication to Boston Medical Center as your team’s next occupational therapist.
I’m drawn to your description of a healthcare setting that values patients’ recovery of daily living skills after a major health event. This is my passion. Nothing motivates me more than helping patients set and achieve renewed activity and mobility goals.
3. Spell out the impact of your work
Occupational therapists can have a powerful positive impact on a patient’s overall recovery. Speak to that impact on your cover letter, and the hiring manager will more easily see the tangible value you might offer patients of their facility.
Example
Your job posting spoke to me as I also believe in the value of continuous improvement in healthcare. Repeatedly I’ve earned praise from my colleagues and managers for quickly assessing health challenges and finding new ways to optimize patient outcomes. As I’ve discovered, the obstacles to a patient’s return to daily life are often numerous, but how we can help patients overcome those obstacles is limitless.
