Occupational Therapist Careers Tips

Occupational therapist work is important in the lives of so many people. As a part of the allied healthcare professional team, the role you play in occupational therapy employment can make the difference between someone not being able to be gainfully employed again, and someone able to quickly get back into the workforce.

People in occupational therapist jobs perform a wide number of duties, including assessments for safe work sites. Employers have a responsibility to provide safe work places and most are willing to pay for the services of an occupational therapist. Why? Because these employers know that it’s going to cost a lot more to have an employee out on sick leave than it will be to ensure the employee isn’t injured and is able to stay on the job.

As someone starting a career as an occupational therapist, remember to keep your options open. You could find work in hospitals, clinics, businesses, schools, or within insurance companies. If you decide to seek the help of a travel recruitment agency like Clinical One, you will have a wide range of employment opportunities including travel, contract, per diem and permanent positions. Remember that all occupational therapy work experience is good experience to have. As you build your resume and list of valuable references, you’ll find it easier to pick and choose the exact occupational therapist jobs you want.

When creating an occupational therapy resume, it’s important to be very specific about

a) where you’ve worked

b) who you’ve worked with

c) how many years you’ve worked

d) what kind of education you have

e) and what special qualifications and/or skills you possess.

Occupational therapist jobs are as varied as the people who work in them. Occupational therapist employment starts the minute a patient walks through the door and doesn’t end until there’s satisfaction that the patient is able to maintain a high level of function and health. How many people have you helped get back to work in a timely manner? How many people have you helped live independently within their home? Think back to a time when you really felt as if you made a difference in someone’s life. This is where your strength lies. So, when completing that occupational therapy resume, make sure to list all of your skills front and center.

Occupational therapist jobs are in demand, but there are also many other qualified people out there applying for the same positions. Make sure your resume stands out from the rest by keeping it to a maximum of two pages, listing your skills, related experience, education, and references.

As a professional seeking occupational therapist work, you may have specific preferences on the client demographic. For example, you may be more experienced working with the elderly than with pediatric patients. As a result, you may find yourself interested in continuing to work with the patient demographic you’re more comfortable with. Then again, you might be interested in branching out and developing a whole new skill set by taking occupational therapy jobs in areas where you’ve never worked before. Working in mental health settings can be particularly challenging and rewarding at the same time. In the 1700’s, an occupational therapist job description primarily focused on mental health treatments, which (unfortunately) were far from morally or medically acceptable by today’s standards.

A career in occupational therapy today is supportive of all patients, no matter what their physical, mental, or social condition. Treatment modalities today revolve around a wide skill-set, including the ability to help patients with physical exercises, designing modified work stations, designing home supports for physical disabilities, research, and patient advocacy work.

Occupational therapists tend to find a lot of support when working with recruitment agencies like Clinical One. With the added benefit of free continuing education and a team of professionals working on your behalf to find you the best jobs, you can’t go wrong.

If you’re a US or Canadian citizen interested in taking a leap into something new and exciting, consider applying for occupational therapy jobs in Australia or New Zealand. With the help of a recruitment agency like Clinical One, you could find occupational therapist employment in the land down under.

Clinical One’s website offers detailed information on all of the documentation required to work in Australia, including a guide on how to get started. The first step is to simply complete the online application form. Once you’ve been approved for work (in other words, your references and qualifications have been checked out), you’ll need to apply for a Work Travel Visa. When you apply for a Work Travel Visa, you’re basically saying that you are on a vacation but have to work in order to support yourself while on that vacation. In order to qualify for a Work Travel Visa, you must be a passport holder, a citizen from specific arrangement countries, between the ages of 18 and 30, and you must be without dependent children.

A career in occupational therapy could find you working in a wide variety of places. Hospitals, clinics, schools, businesses, and insurance companies all offer occupational therapist jobs. Working as an occupational therapist is rewarding because you can quickly see the positive results of your work. Whether you’re helping someone get back on their feet after a work place injury or helping to modify a work station because of a physical disability, occupational therapist work is important in the lives of others.

The question is where do you want to find occupational therapy employment? Maybe you’ve got a place in mind and maybe not. Clinical One offers allied healthcare professionals an opportunity to work in challenging and rewarding positions all over the country. It’s easy to get started, too. Just visit www.clinicalone.jobs, fill out the online application form and submit. Once your qualifications have been validated, you will be able to start applying for jobs as they become available. There are many occupational therapy jobs to apply for including jobs in Boston, Los Angeles, and New York.

Occupational therapist jobs can offer salaries ranging from $35,000 per year to $80,000 per year, depending on the level of experience and education. The average salary falls somewhere within the middle of that range. In today’s economic uncertainty, you may be wondering where to find the best occupational therapy jobs in order to earn the highest salary possible within your profession. The best way to do that is to seek occupational therapy employment through a healthcare recruitment agency like Clinical One.

Talk to your recruitment specialist at Clinical One about where you’d most like to work whether it’s in a school, hospital, business, or insurance company. If you’re interested in really branching out, you might want to think about applying for jobs in Australia or New Zealand. Keep in mind that your first few occupational therapist jobs will pay less, but will increase as you gain more experience and confidence. To help boost your ability to command better rates, take advantage of Clinical One’s free continuing education opportunities. Gradually, as you add more educational successes and work experience to your resume, your salary will begin to climb.

The average occupational therapist salary varies depending on level of experience, but on average is somewhere between $50,000 and $60,000 per year. With a good projected outlook for occupational therapist employment in Canada and the United States, you might wonder what reason you’d have to consider taking travel occupational therapy jobs. Maybe you’ve met that special someone, want to be closer to family, or just have a burning desire to move to a particular location.

There’s something to be said for taking a wide variety of jobs. In addition to working with different employers and co-workers and learning from them, you’ll also get to travel to new and exciting places. You never know who you’re going to meet or how that person is going to impact your career. The bottom line is to keep your future in mind at all times. The jobs you take and the way you perform them now can seriously impact your employment opportunities for the future.

As a Canadian looking for occupational therapy employment, you may wonder how it’s possible to work through an American healthcare recruitment agency like Clinical One. How is it that Canadians are able to accept traveling occupational therapy jobs in the United States without having to go through a lot of paperwork and proverbial red tape? The North American Free Trade Agreement makes it possible for registered nurses, physical therapists, and Canadians seeking occupational therapist jobs to accept employment in the United States.

It’s easy to apply. Just go to the Clinical One website where you can complete an online application form. You’ll be contacted by a recruitment specialist and, at that time, you can ask the questions you need to know about applying for occupational therapist jobs. Registered nurses, qualified professionals seeking occupational therapist employment and physical therapists all qualify to apply for travel jobs from Canada to the United States. Applying for occupational therapy employment from one country to another sounds daunting, but it’s actually quite simple. When it comes time to travel to your first assignment, Clinical One will make sure you have the paperwork needed to get through the process with ease.

Occupational therapy dates back to the 1700's at which time the role mainly served the mentally ill. As the years passed, occupational therapist work changed to reflect the changing times, encompassing a wide demographic and undergoing a metamorphosis over several decades. Occupational therapist jobs went from treating the mentally ill, to including the treatment of wounded soldiers of war. In the 1960’s, occupational therapy jobs became specialized, moving into the areas of disability treatment and pediatric care. In the mid 1960’s, Medicare began to cover the cost of occupational therapy. It was around that time when occupational therapy employment was starting to be seen as something accessible to the masses. Gradually the role began to focus more on a person’s quality of life no matter what their physical or mental disability might be.

Today, professionals are opting to take traveling occupational therapist positions as a way to expand their horizons. Working with a wide variety of people in diverse clinical conditions has helped thousands of occupational therapists to further their careers. Working with Clinical One, occupational therapists are able to find jobs all over the United States for short term contracts, travel assignments, per diem shifts, and permanent placements. It’s really just a matter of submitting your online application and waiting for a call from a healthcare recruitment specialist.