Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Samples & Guide

You need an occupational therapy cover letter that gets noticed. Why? The field is growing faster than most. There are 2,370 more OT jobs each year. But—you don’t want a job changing diapers all day, where your boss assigns you to patients who don’t need your help. That’s why your letter is important.

Without a cover letter for occupational therapy jobs, you’ll fall below the sensory threshold. To get a good therapy job with great pay and a mix of burns, acute, ergonomics, outpatient, inpatient, and pediatric, you need to turn heads. Your cover letter needs to show you’re not some burned out complainer.

The good news? It’s not so hard. Follow me and I’ll show you what to say to make it personal. And how to do it fast.

This guide will show you:

• An occupational therapy 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.

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Use this cover letter template

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

Thinking about other jobs? See:

• Physical Therapy Cover Letter Example
• Medical Assistant Cover Letter Example
• Nursing Cover Letter Example
• Nurse Practitioner Cover Letter Example
• RN Cover Letter Example
• Esthetician Cover Letter Example
• Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) Cover Letter Example
• Dentist Cover Letter Example
• Dental Assistant Cover Letter Example
• Massage Therapist Cover Letter Example
• Veterinary Assistant Cover Letter Example
• Best Cover Letter Examples for All Professions

Are you changing careers or getting your first job? See:

• Career Change Cover Letter Sample
• Relocation Cover Letter Sample
• Non-Profit Cover Letter Sample
• Cover Letter for College Student
• Entry-Level Cover Letter Sample

This occupational therapy cover letter template works:

Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Sample

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

• your contact info
• the organization’s contact info
• Dear [Hiring Manager’s Name],
• first paragraph: generate interest
• second paragraph: prove you have their top key skills
• third paragraph: look forward to next steps
• best regards and name & title

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 Therapy Cover Letter Examples [First Paragraph]

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:

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:

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 Therapy 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]

Ring, ring.

But—

The next of our OT cover letter examples is prone:

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.

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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

4. End Your Occupational Therapy Cover Letter Strong

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]

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:

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!