RBT Resume: Registered Behavior Tech Examples & Guide

You’ve been kicked, scratched, grabbed, and bitten. But you also form a deep bond with the professionals and students you work with. And surprise! Being a registered behavior technician is a lot of fun! But you can’t do it if they won’t hire you. So where are all the interviews?

The problem is your flailing RBT resume. I know it looks “okay.” But—the other RB techs in the stack look “okay” too. You’ve all provided ABA instruction, observed client behavior, and worked with autistic children.

The fix?

Show specifics. How many children and parents did you work with? Did you work with tools like PECS or give one-on-one therapy? Track decreases in problem behavior? These things will make your resume glow.

Ready?

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.

Looking for different healthcare and education resume samples? Here you go:

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• Healthcare Resume Sample
• Home Health Aide Resume Sample
• Occupational Therapy Resume Sample
• Public Health Resume Sample
• Speech Pathologist Resume Sample
• Physical Assistant Resume Sample
• Job Resume Examples for All Professions

Sample RBT Resume Template

Here’s how to write your own site-ready RBT resume:

1. Format Your RBT Resume Correctly

Why does the resume sample format above work so well? It’s designed to get the right information to the hiring manager, fast. A well-laid-out RBT resume is the manager’s first clue that she should spend time reading your application. Miss this step, and you risk getting ignored.

To design your resume for RBT jobs:

• Use chronological resume formats. Those are the best types of resumes because they put your best accomplishments in prime reading space.
• The best font for a resume is clean and no-frills, like Arial or Trebuchet. They fade into the background so the manager can focus on your words.
• How many pages should your resume be for RBT jobs? A single page works for entry-level applicants. A two-page resume is fine if you’re experienced.
• Put your name and email address in a header at the top. Professional resume headers add a phone number and LinkedIn address.
• You don’t need a physical address in a resume, but include your town if it’s near the organization’s offices.
• Name the file of a resume as, “Your Name - Job Title - Resume.pdf” (The resume PDF or Word debate is settled—PDFs look better on all screens.)

Need more tips to make your registered behavior resume shine? See our guide: 50+ Resume Dos and Don'ts

2. Start with a RBT Resume Summary or Objective

To get hiring pros to read your RBT resume, start with an elevator pitch. Tell them in brief the best few features in your resume. This kind of resume introduction goes by different names, depending on how long you’ve been in the field.

If you’ve been doing ABA therapy since Maria Montessori was a girl, write a career summary. It’s a 3-line profile that shows off your years of experience, a couple skills like client care or reporting, and some top-line results like a past caseload or child outcome improvements.

In a no experience resume, you’ll do the same thing. Focus on school achievements and how you’ll help the organization. These kinds of summaries are called career objectives.

Not sure how to order your resume? See our guide: Resume Outline: Basic & Professional Examples for Any Job

3. Customize Your RBT Job Description

You won’t get a good registered behavior technician job without an experience section. But listing work experience in a resume isn’t just a list of job duties. If you focus on what you did, the hiring team will wonder if you did it well. Know how to tailor a resume if you want the interview.

Here’s how:

• Start with the job title of your latest position. Exact job titles are vital to writing ATS resumes that work.
• Add the organization’s name, your dates, and several bullet points. Explain your job duties, but don’t stop there. Focus on the effect you had.
• Accomplishments to put on a resume for RBT jobs are outcomes you improved, caseloads, commendations, and tools you worked with.
• Use resume action words like created, tracked, and reduced to help you put the right accomplishments in place.

Did you know a past promotion can land the interview? Read more: Resume for Internship: Template & Guide (20+ Examples)

4. Improve Your RBT Resume Education Section 

How you list your education is especially important in a registered behavior technician resume. Your BACB credentials should come right after your work history. Add the dates you passed your competency assessment and exam.

These resume tips will help:

• If you have a college degree, list that after your RBT credential. A degree on your resume can make your application shine.
• Don’t have a degree? Don’t worry. Your RBT program is enough to get you hired. You can also add high school to your resume.
• Only put your GPA in a resume if it’s impressively high.

Read more: How to List a Major and Minor on a Resume

5. Prove the Correct RBT Skills

It takes special professional skills to be a registered behavior technician. There are about 30 you could list. But—list them all and you’ll camouflage the ones the hiring manager is looking for. Choose 5 or 10 skills and add them to your RBT resume the right way, and you’ll get a lot more interviews.

Here's how to add RBT skills to a resume:

• Hunt in the job ad for the skills they mention. Those are the resume keywords you’ll have to show. List them near the top or bottom of your resume.
• Mix in a few hard skills and a few soft skills. Listing both will show your abilities are broad-based.
• Finally, go back and look at the achievements in your work history. Do they prove the skills you’ve listed? If so, you’ll get a lot more interviews.

RBT Skills for a Resume

• BACB certified
• Client care
• Behavior reduction
• Reporting
• ABA therapy
• Mandt training
• Tracking skills acquisition
• Maintaining confidentiality
• Picture exchange communication system
• Discrete trial training
• Pivotal response training
• Interpersonal skills
• Compassion
• Active listening
• Verbal and written communication skills
• Organizational skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Stress management
• Time management skills
• Attention to detail
• Computer skills
• Teamwork skills
• Adaptability

Pro Tip: Registered behavior technicians earn an average of $39,174 per year. But not all RBT jobs are created equal. An eye-catching resume can get you in at a higher-paying firm.

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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6. Add More to Your RBT Resume

How much energy have you got? That’s a key concern of therapist hiring teams. Are you the kind of person who has passion to spare for side pursuits? Do you volunteer or stay active in a professional association like APBA? Those add-ons can paint a compelling picture of your skills.

Here are some ways to show strengths on a resume:

• Learn how to add your certification in a resume. Your RBT certification goes up top beneath your summary. Other certs go below your education section.
• Have you written about autism online? Publications on resumes create authority.
• Wondering how to describe volunteer work on a resume? List autism-related volunteering just like you’d list a job. Put other volunteer work at the bottom.
• Not sure how to put language skills on a resume? They go in your skills list. They’re important if the company’s patients are ESL.
• List hobbies and interests in a resume if your experience is light.

Read more: Elements of a Resume

7. Write a Cover Letter for Your RBT Resume

Do you need a cover letter for a job as an RBT? It’s so important. If you skip the cover letter, the hiring team won’t know if you’re just a bot or a real person. Are you invested in this job? Should they spend time reading your resume? Your cover letter is a way to tell them, “Yes!”

Build your resume cover sheet like this:

• Use the right cover letter structure, including a header that looks like the one in your resume.
• Format your cover letter just like any business letter, and keep it to 5 paragraphs max, and at least 3 paragraphs.
• How to open a cover letter: tell them the job title right away to reduce confusion. Then say something you like about their organization.
• In your next paragraph or two, share some ABA highlights from your resume.
• How to conclude a cover letter: talk up a few more RBT skills, then ask for a meeting.
• Following up on a job application can get you hired. Send a 2-line email each week with your cover letter PDF and resume attached.

Read more: Best Cover Letter Layout Examples

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

That’s it!

That’s everything you need to write an RBT resume that works.

Thanks for reading! Still chewing over how to write a highly functional registered behavior technician resume? Give us a shout in the comments section!