13 Respiratory Therapist Resume Examples

Respiratory therapists continue to play a key role in healthcare even after the pandemic as many people still deal with Long COVID symptoms and other chronic lung diseases.

As a result, demand for pulmonary specialists is growing, and job requirements continue to expand each year. A strong respiratory therapist candidate should show experience using a range of medical equipment across different settings, including critical care.

In this article, we’ll cover:

• Respiratory therapist resume examples to support your writing process
• Pitfalls to avoid when listing your degrees and certifications
• How to choose a resume format that reflects your specialization and experience
• How to tailor your application to match the role’s demands
• How to write an eye-catching resume profile

Explore related guides:

• Physical therapist assistant resume
• Physical therapist resume
• Occupational therapist resume
• Therapist resume
• Respiratory therapist cover letter

How to format your respiratory therapist resume

Because respiratory therapists work in a variety of environments and as part of larger medical teams, their work history often includes diverse roles. One common challenge is fitting every relevant position onto a resume while also showing how that experience connects to the job you’re applying for. In many cases, poor layout choices are the reason.

Choosing a resume format depends on your qualifications and the amount of clinical experience you have. To help you decide, here are the most applicable resume formats for respiratory therapists.

Reverse-chronological resume format

If your career path is fairly linear and you have more than five years of experience, choose the reverse-chronological resume format. This layout highlights your current level of expertise and shows how you have developed over time as a respiratory therapist.

A clear career progression, such as advancing within the same medical facility, signals reliability and professionalism to recruiters. It also helps employers understand your long-term goals as a pulmonary specialist and whether those goals align with their needs.

This format is also favored by hiring managers and works well with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

Hybrid (combination) resume format

If your employment background is varied or your roles often overlap, it can be difficult to summarize your experience and choose which positions to include. In that case, the hybrid resume format may be a better fit. It offers a balanced view of your background by emphasizing both your most relevant roles and your strongest skills.

This makes it especially useful for respiratory therapists with experience in both clinical settings and home care. It is also a strong option for candidates with less than five years of experience because it puts more focus on medical capabilities than on gaps in work history.

Keep in mind that you will need to be selective about the positions you include, since this format offers less space than a traditional resume layout.

Also be mindful of regional differences in resume conventions. For example, a Canadian layout may vary.

Functional resume format

The third layout is the functional resume format. It works best for novice respiratory therapists with little to no experience. If you’ve recently graduated and your only practical experience comes from clinical rotations, this is likely your best option.

This format emphasizes your education, training, and skills by placing those sections near the top of your resume. Even so, you should still include any relevant experience you have, even if it only includes clinical rotations and volunteer work.

Tips for tailoring your respiratory therapist resume

Once you’ve chosen a template for your respiratory therapist resume, the next step is to adjust the design and tailor it to the role you want. Keep these points in mind:

• Limit your resume to no more than two pages: Demand for respiratory therapists is growing, but so is competition. Recruiters also have limited time, so present all relevant information clearly and briefly.
• Tailor your resume for individual roles: Matching your experience to the job ad shows attention to detail and genuine interest. Highlight achievements that relate directly to the position to demonstrate your value as a respiratory therapist.
• Make full use of your resume header: Include your qualifications next to your name, along with your occupation and contact information. Since each state has different minimum requirements for respiratory therapists, it helps recruiters see right away that you meet the necessary qualifications.
• Pick a clean design and an appropriate resume font: Avoid excessive colors or decorative fonts, and keep the resume easy to read. Serif or sans-serif fonts like Raleway and Lato are good choices. Echocv’s resume builder also offers a library of ATS-friendly fonts designed to meet strict recruitment standards.
• Build an ATS-compatible resume: Hiring managers use ATS tools to reduce the number of resumes they review by filtering out ineligible candidates. These filters are often based on employer criteria and formatting preferences, including resume keywords, design, and resume layout.
• Submit your application as a PDF file, unless requested otherwise: A PDF preserves formatting across devices and platforms, while the outdated Word format often depends on matching device settings to display properly.

Organize Your Resume Into Sections

Next, divide your resume into sections, starting with the essential ones first. The order should follow the resume format you chose earlier.

For a full list of the key sections to include on your respiratory therapist resume, see the table below.

Finally, be strategic about what you share with recruiters. Be sure to emphasize the following:

As with every part of your resume, the experience section follows a few best practices that can help you present a stronger application.

How to describe your respiratory therapist resume experience

The resume experience section is usually the largest and most important part of your resume. It covers your work history, along with relevant achievements, training, and any certificates you have earned.

This section should do more than list your background. It should also show the scope of your expertise, the types of patients you have treated, and the workload you are comfortable handling.

Many candidates make the mistake of turning their respiratory therapist experience into a laundry list of duties. Recruiters already understand the basics of the role, so they pay more attention to measurable achievements and results than to routine tasks.

Once you know what information to include, list your experience in reverse chronological order so employers can quickly see your most recent respiratory care experience. For each entry, include the following:

• Name of the facility and dates of employment: Hiring managers often compare how long you worked somewhere with the results you achieved during that time to assess your effectiveness.
• A brief description of the facility’s main health services: This helps employers understand the types of patients you have cared for. If most of your experience comes from home care services, mention the main issues you treated. Be sure to protect patient confidentiality.
• Techniques and tools used in your practice: Employers value candidates who already have hands-on experience with the equipment used at their facility. Include the names of relevant tools and equipment, such as mechanical ventilators or pulmonary life support systems.
• Achievements instead of daily tasks: Hiring managers prefer results-oriented candidates who focus on patient outcomes. Include as many accomplishments as possible, list them as bullet points, and start each one with an action verb.
• Experience aligned with the employer’s goals: Every hospital or clinic faces different challenges. Research the employer’s current needs and show how your experience and expertise can add value.
• Professional development: Show that you are committed to improving your respiratory care skills and continuing your career growth.

Keep each experience entry concise. To avoid overcrowding:

• Start each bullet point with an action verb to highlight initiative.
• Limit each entry to no more than five bullet points.
• Avoid filling your accomplishments with resume buzzwords.
• Quantify your achievements whenever possible.

Have a look at the following respiratory therapist experience section example:

The candidate has made several mistakes:

• Unhelpful company description: Saying that patients may need rehabilitation therapy for many reasons adds little value. The only real clue about the applicant’s patient experience appears in the bullet points.
• Too much focus on duties and responsibilities: Although the candidate mentions how many patients they cared for, the bullet points do not highlight any actual achievements.
• Vague description of experience: The second entry mentions using oxygen machines. However, this equipment is more commonly associated with home care, which makes the entry seem inconsistent.

To remove ambiguity from your experience section, provide more context. Explain how your achievements happened and why your actions were necessary.

Like so:

How to quantify impact on your resume

Why this works:

• Pulmonary treatment specialization and skills: The candidate specifies the number and type of patients treated, along with the range of health issues addressed.
• Team fit: The experience entry shows how the applicant supported other medical teams and which equipment they handled.
• Numbers and data: The candidate outlines the scope of their responsibilities by sharing results backed by relevant performance metrics.

Respiratory therapist applicants often overlook data and numbers when writing their experience section. Quantifying your achievements matters because recruiters evaluate candidates based on the data they provide.

For example, listing the number of patients treated can demonstrate multitasking, time management, and organizational skills. Metrics such as a health improvement rate can also show the impact of your work and the types of illnesses you treat.

Depending on your experience and the role, you can tailor your resume by including:

• The number of patients you regularly manage or treat
• The number of specialized respiratory procedures you have performed
• Any significant patient recovery or improvement rate
• The number of different respiratory therapy equipment types you can operate
• Any reduction in medication errors or patient safety incidents under your care
• The number of cross-functional medical teams you have collaborated with
• The frequency or number of continuing education or professional development courses attended
• Your total years of experience in respiratory therapy

How do I write a respiratory therapist resume with no experience

If you are writing a respiratory therapist resume with no experience, focus on relevant skills, professional training, and volunteer work.

This can be challenging for recent graduates, but your clinical rotations can provide strong material. Think back to feedback from medical teams, patients, or families, and reflect on the impact you made on patient health. Use that input to shape your experience section.

Emphasize your ability to listen to patients and follow guidance from the medical team. Here are a few ways to approach it:

1. Use your clinical experience: Avoid adding irrelevant positions such as waitressing or sales work. While those roles may involve interpersonal skills, patient care requires specific protocols and standards.
2. List rotations as work experience: This experience shows that you understand hospital settings, respiratory equipment, and collaboration with other medical professionals.
3. Highlight certifications and additional training: Some roles require extra qualifications based on the services a facility provides and the patients it treats.
4. Show your transferable skills: Hiring managers want candidates who can both operate medical equipment and communicate effectively with patients.

Next, make sure your skills section presents those capabilities clearly.

How to list your hard and soft skills on your resume

The skills section should show the range of your abilities. Many applicants overcrowd it with too many technical abilities, but a long list alone will not impress healthcare recruiters. A strategic approach works better.

Hard vs soft skills

Most respiratory therapist skills fall into two categories:

• Respiratory therapist hard skills: Medical knowledge, rehabilitation and treatment techniques, and the ability to operate equipment such as ventilators, CPAP, and BiPAP machines.
• Respiratory therapist soft skills: Emotional intelligence, empathy for patients, and the ability to work effectively with other medical professionals.

Before listing your skills, review your work history again. Note which skills are already reflected in your achievements, then compare them with the requirements in the job posting. If you find abilities you have not yet covered, describe them with the same care you would use in your experience section:

• Start each entry with an action verb.
• Provide enough context to show why the achievement matters.
• Quantify the result when possible.

Below you will find some of the most in-demand respiratory therapist skills. If you have them, feature them prominently in a dedicated section.

Remember, whichever skills you include on your resume, avoid overcrowding it. Ideally, showcase no more than 10 talents.

How to list your certifications and education on your resume

Recruiters are very particular about candidates having the right credentials because each state has different requirements for specialists to be eligible to practice.

This means you should present your education section in a way that shows recruiters you have all the necessary qualifications and that they are in good standing.

Before adding all your licenses, review the job description to see whether one certificate is preferred over another. Then list the mandatory qualifications first.

Formal education

Your academic background in respiratory care shows that you have the medical knowledge needed to treat patients with care and understanding. That’s why it’s important to describe the scope of your course and training.

Use this simple framework to list your degrees:

• Name of your degree and the qualification it grants you.
• Name and location of the accrediting institution.
• Date of course completion or expected date of graduation.
• A few of your top academic achievements.
• Relevant research or coursework you’ve completed, especially if you plan to apply for a position at your college’s health center. This helps health managers understand your professional focus and future career plans.
• GPA, if you’re a recent college graduate and it’s above 3.5.

In the end, your education section entries should resemble the one below:

Certifications

Certifications on a resume show your knowledge of current respiratory disease treatment and rehabilitation techniques. They also demonstrate your commitment to continuing to develop your skills.

As a pulmonary specialist, it is your responsibility to keep your licenses current and in good standing. Many applicants forget to track renewal dates, so for each certification you include, be sure to:

• Provide the name of the certification and the qualifications it grants.
• Name the issuing organization.
• Include the date you obtained the credential.

Like so:

If you’re unsure whether any of your certificates is relevant to the role, refer to the job description.

Below are the most popular certifications for respiratory therapists.

How to write your respiratory therapist resume summary or objective

An integral part of your respiratory therapist resume is your personal profile. This short paragraph appears at the top of your resume and gives employers a quick overview of your career highlights.

There are two types of profiles: the resume summary and the objective.

A resume summary is best for respiratory therapists with more than three years of clinical experience. It should include:

• Top professional achievements: Quantify your accomplishments and mention a past employer if the facility is well known for pulmonary care.
• Specialization as a pulmonary professional: Some recruiters look for specific qualifications before reading the rest of your resume. For example, if a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is hiring, mention that you are a certified Neonatal Respiratory Care Specialist.
• Key respiratory care skills: Show what makes you an effective pulmonary specialist by highlighting a few technical and interpersonal strengths.

A resume objective, on the other hand, is ideal for novice respiratory therapists because it focuses more on the employer’s needs than on your past experience. It should cover:

• Professional goals: If you do not yet have extensive experience, explain how you plan to grow as a pulmonary specialist.
• Potential value as part of the medical team: Tailor your objective to the role by showing the benefits the employer could gain from hiring you.
• Relevant skills: Outline your main respiratory care abilities to present yourself as a strong candidate.

To help you picture what an effective profile looks like, review a few examples below.

Have a look at the respiratory therapist resume objective example below:

This objective is unlikely to impress recruiters for several reasons:

• Poor formatting: The candidate does not state how many years of hands-on experience they have. It is also best practice to write out abbreviations in full to avoid potential misunderstandings.
• Missing essential information: The applicant does not explain how their experience or skills were developed.
• Unclear value and goals: It is not clear what the applicant wants to achieve or how they hope to progress in their career. Although a few core skills are mentioned, the objective is not tailored to the health facility’s goals.

With these points in mind, a much stronger version of the resume objective would be:

This version is more informative, which helps it stand out to hiring managers:

• It clearly states how much experience the applicant has and the type of patients they specialize in treating.
• It highlights a relevant achievement that shows how the candidate built their clinical experience.
• It presents a balanced mix of role-relevant technical and interpersonal skills, while also showing a commitment to continued growth through an advanced-level certificate.

Now, take a look at the following respiratory therapist resume summary example:

This sample is unlikely to make hiring managers pause and read the rest of the resume because the summary falls short in several key areas:

• It doesn’t provide enough detail: The applicant should include at least one or two career achievements to support the level of experience reported.
• It gives only a vague overview of the candidate’s top skills: This is the applicant’s chance to stand out, so the summary should mention at least three core respiratory care specialist skills and group them as “other pulmonary rehabilitation techniques”.
• It doesn’t identify the types of patients the candidate has worked with: Employers want to know whether applicants can effectively treat their patients, how they developed their skills, and which work settings they are familiar with.

With those points in mind, here is how the personal profile can be improved:

Why this resume summary grabs recruiters’ attention

• Highlights professional focus: The applicant explains the type of patients they typically care for and the goals they are working toward.
• Describes a range of respiratory care tech skills: By listing the medical equipment and techniques they are proficient in, the candidate shows how their expertise can add value to an employer.
• Informs hiring managers of the candidate’s availability: Rather than waiting until the interview stage, the applicant uses the profile to let recruiters know they can cover specific shifts.