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Is your occupational therapy cover letter more of a strain than a stress-reliever? Without a good cover letter for occupational therapy jobs, you’ll fall below the sensory threshold.

With our expert advice, you'll craft a cover letter showcasing your therapeutic expertise and capturing hiring managers' attention. Time to put your healing skills to work and secure your dream job!

This guide will show you:

  • An occupational therapist cover letter better than 9 out of 10 others.
  • How to write a cover letter for occupational therapy jobs that lands 10x more interviews.
  • Why understanding the clinic or provider will get you noticed.

Want to write your cover letter fast? Use our cover letter builder. Choose from 20+ professional cover letter templates that match your resume. See actionable examples and get expert tips along the way.

Create your cover letter now

Sample cover letter for a resume—See more cover letter examples and create your cover letter here.

Thinking about other jobs? See:

This occupational therapy cover letter template works:

Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Sample

Delena Pedrosa

Occupational Therapist, NBCOT

3882 Clay Street

Indianapolis, IN 46225

delena.pedrosa@gmail.com

812-568-9742

linkedin.com/in/delenaqpedrosa

3/16/20

Kayla Chiu

Recruitment Coordinator

Hagen Health Network

2802 Davisson Street

Indianapolis, IN 46201

Dear Ms. Chiu,

I’m writing to convey my excitement for your occupational therapist job opening at Memorial Medical Network. I’m an NBCOT-certified occupational therapist with 6+ years of experience who managed a caseload of 50+ patients at Hagen Health Network, Inc.

After a careful read of your job offer, I see you need a therapist skilled in leadership, preparing treatment plans, and administering ADL/IADL therapeutic exercises. Here are three reasons I think I’m a fit:

  • Leadership. Supervised and trained 5 occupational therapist assistants.
  • Preparing treatment plans. Created treatment plans for 600+ patients.
  • ADL/IADL. Administered exercises and training to 500+ patients.

Ms. Chiu, I’m very interested in talking to you about how my skills in patient assessment, documentation, and teamwork can help Hagen Health Network fulfill its goal to build lasting relationships with its patients. Can we set up a call to talk about next steps?

Best regards,

Delena Pedrosa

Occupational Therapist, NBCOT

delena.pedrosa@gmail.com

812-568-9742

A cover letter for occupational therapy jobs like that can get you hired.

Your cover letter needs an equally smart resume. See our guide: Occupational Therapy Resume: Sample & Complete Guide

Now, here’s how to write occupational therapy cover letters that work:

1. Use the Right Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Template

Employers won’t read occupational therapy cover letters that look sloppy. Invite them to look closer with a clean cover letter layout. Choose font styles, cover letter margins, line-spacing, and a cover letter header that shows you know praxis from plasticity. Use the 3-paragraph format to look your best.

Start with this template:

Sample Occupational Therapy Cover Letter—Checklist

How long should your cover letter be? 200–400 words depending on your OT experience.

Read more: Cover Letter Format: A Complete How-To Guide

2. Start Your Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Right

“I liked you when I read your letter.” If your occupational therapy cover letter doesn’t do that, it’s wasting paper. To hit them like a stim toy, start with their name and the job title you want. Then think—what’s your most job-appropriate accomplishment? Put that in the first paragraph of your cover letter.

See these occupational therapist cover letter examples:

Occupational Therapist Cover Letter Examples [First Paragraph]

Right Example

Delena Pedrosa

Occupational Therapist, NBCOT

3882 Clay Street

Indianapolis, IN 46225

delena.pedrosa@gmail.com

812-568-9742

linkedin.com/in/delenaqpedrosa

3/16/20

Kayla Chiu

Recruitment Coordinator

Hagen Health Network

2802 Davisson Street

Indianapolis, IN 46201

Dear Ms. Chiu,

I’m writing to convey my excitement for your occupational therapist job opening at Memorial Medical Network. I’m an NBCOT-certified occupational therapist with 6+ years of experience who managed a caseload of 50+ patients at Hagen Health Network, Inc.

That cover letter sample for occupational therapy jobs works. Ms. Chiu’s name and “your occupational therapist job opening” are attention-getters. Your years of experience and 50+ caseload show you’re in the right place.

But this occupational therapy cover letter example lacks coordination:

Wrong Example

Dear Recruiter,

I’m an occupational therapist with a 6+ year track record of providing healthcare excellence. I’m compassionate and patient-centered, and I have a long history of helping patients recover from injury with a conscientious mindset.

Low tone.

That example fails, because it’s not grounded by details. It might as well say the applicant is superhuman and can fly. Where’s the proof?

Now maybe you can’t talk about your giant caseload. What if you need an OT cover letter with no experience?

Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Sample [Entry-Level]

In a cover letter for occupational therapy with no experience, start with:

  • A news item
  • What you love about the organization
  • Your biggest school accomplishment
  • Achievements from non-occupational therapy jobs
  • A referral from inside the organization

See these occupational therapy cover letter examples with no experience:

Right Example
  • When I read about your occupational therapist shortage in The Journal Gazette...
  • I read about your inclusion in this year’s Fortune 500 list on IndianaBusiness.com. That’s great, and as an occupational...
  • Getting my BA in Occupational Therapy from CSU was exciting. When I received the Dalbert Goodwin Scholarship for academic...
  • Bill Ballew suggested I apply. His take on my stroke patient recovery skills is...
  • As a CNA, my supervisor awarded me employee of the month because...

Integrated.

Those openings for a new grad occupational therapy cover letter beat, “My resume shows...”

Pro Tip: Should you mention salary in a cover letter? It can save days pursuing the wrong jobs. Check the company first on Glassdoor to get an idea what they’ll agree to.

3. Connect Your Occupational Therapist Cover Letter to the Job

Don’t stop with a supportive first paragraph. If you can get them nodding, you can get the interview. To do it, make your occupational therapy cover letter fit the job like a weighted vest. To focus your chances, get a handle on the job requirements before you write.

In your letter’s second paragraph:

  1. Prove you get what they’re looking for.
  2. Show have that with a few key moments from your past.

See these occupational therapy cover letter examples:

Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Examples [Middle]

RIGHT EXAMPLE

After a careful read of your job offer, I see you need a therapist skilled in leadership, preparing treatment plans, and administering ADL/IADL therapeutic exercises. Here are three reasons I think I’m a fit:

  • Leadership. Supervised and trained 5 occupational therapist assistants.
  • Preparing treatment plans. Created treatment plans for 600+ patients.
  • ADL/IADL. Administered exercises and training to 500+ patients.

Ring, ring.

But—

The next of our OT cover letter examples is prone:

Wrong Example

I’ve worked for the past five years with hundreds of geriatric patients to help them recover from hip replacements, knee replacements, amputations, and fractures. These experiences have helped me to become a more compassionate caregiver and have honed my people skills and communication skills to a high level. I believe I have the ability to become a strong member of your team.

Not so good.

It’s fine—but the clinic manager isn’t looking for “fine.” That example misses the point by mentioning the wrong skills. Worse, it’s vague. “Hundreds” is okay, but what does “high level” mean? The first example gives plain numbers that work like a yardstick.

Pro Tip: Talk about a recent project the clinic just completed to raise their interest. A cover letter should say you’re interested in them. Interest is interesting.

Creating a resume with our builder is incredibly simple. Choose a resume template and follow our step-by-step guidance to have a professional resume ready in minutes.

When you’re done, our free resume builder will score your resume and our resume checker will tell you exactly how to make it better.

4. End Your Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Strongly

The final paragraph of your cover letter should motivate them. You want them to take action—not nod and move on to someone else. So, restate your interest in the job. Then get them thinking forward to the future. Asking for the interview isn’t pushy. It’s proactive.

See these examples:

Cover Letter Examples for Occupational Therapy [Ending]

Right Example

Ms. Chiu, I’m very interested in talking to you about how my skills in patient assessment, documentation, and teamwork can help Hagen Health Network fulfill its goal to build lasting relationships with its patients. Can we set up a call to talk about next steps?

Best regards,

Delena Pedrosa

Occupational Therapist, NBCOT

delena.pedrosa@gmail.com

812-568-9742

Engaging.

You referenced more occupational therapy skills. You shared your hopes for the future, and gave them a plan to follow.

But the next of our occupational therapy cover letter samples has no inner drive:

Wrong Example

Thank you for your time. I’m free to chat whenever you like.

Pro Tip: Do occupational therapy jobs need cover letters? Yes. There are almost 2,400 new jobs each year. But there are thousands of O.T.s looking for work.

Key Takeaway

Here’s how to write an occupational therapy cover letter:

  • Use the right occupational therapy cover letter format. Choose the same font and margins as your resume.
  • Start your letter with the hiring manager’s name and your most job-fitting past success.
  • In the middle paragraph, show you “get” the job duties, and that you’ve done tasks like that before—and done them well.
  • End by listing a few more skills they want, and ask for the interview.

Not sure how to start your occupational therapy job cover letter? Want to write a cover letter for occupational therapy positions that makes the phone ring? Leave a comment. We’ll be happy to reply!

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This article has been reviewed by our editorial team to make sure it follows Zety's editorial guidelines. We’re committed to sharing our expertise and giving you trustworthy career advice tailored to your needs. High-quality content is what brings over 40 million readers to our site every year. But we don't stop there. Our team conducts original research to understand the job market better, and we pride ourselves on being quoted by top universities and prime media outlets from around the world.

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Tom Gerencer, CPRW
Tom Gerencer is a career expert and Certified Professional Resume Writer who has published over 200 in-depth articles on Zety. Since 2016, he has been sharing advice on all things recruitment from writing winning resumes and cover letters to getting a promotion.
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