SLP Resume Example & Writing Guide

You’re spending your career helping people communicate better. Now you need to communicate to a potential employer just how valuable a speech-language pathologist you are with an SLP resume that speaks to your successes.

The more informed you are about what recruiters want, the more likely you are to win an interview. The resources at Resume.io, including resume guides and resume examples for 350+ professions, and resume builder will take you through the resume creation process from brainstorming to professional products. 

Get started with this resume guide, along with the corresponding speech pathologist resume example. In it, we will cover the following topics:

• What does an SLP do?
• Tips for writing a standout SLP resume
• The best format for a speech-language pathologist resume
• Advice on your summary, work history, education, and skills sections
• Professional resume layout and design hints

What does an SLP do?

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) work with patients who struggle with some form of language deficit. They may be children with developmental speech delays, stroke patients, or anyone with a speech disorder.

SLPs work to improve diction, understanding of language (receptive skills), communication with others, word usage, and socially appropriate language use. They assess, diagnose, set patient goals, and develop treatment plans for individual patients. SLPs work in schools, hospitals, residential treatment facilities, and private practices.

SLP job market and outlook

Like many other healthcare professionals, SLPs are in demand. One reason is the aging population. As people age, more people have health problems that result in speech deficits. Another is the awareness of speech and language disorders in preschool-age children and the benefits of early intervention.

Rural areas are hardest hit by the shortage of SLPs, but overall, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a 19% jump in the number of speech pathologists needed by 2032.

How to write an SLP resume

The very first step in writing an SLP resume is understanding what sections to include. These are the same sections you will find in our SLP resume example. Your CV should contain the following elements:

• The resume header
• The resume summary (aka profile or personal statement)
• The employment history section
• The resume skills section
• The education section

Although these sections will remain the same, the best speech-language pathologist resumes
personalize the content to target the needs of each employer and job situation.

Choosing the best resume format for an SLP resume

The best speech-language pathologist resumes take into account that a standard format makes life easier for HR; if life is easier for HR, they are more likely to spend time reading your resume. That means using reverse chronological order unless you have a compelling reason not to.

Begin your work history and education section with your most recent job or degree and work your way backward. If speech pathology is your second career, or you are looking for your first position, you may consider an alternate format that allows you to expand on your skills and profile and minimizes your employment history.

Resume header

The point of any resume for a speech-language pathologist is to be offered an interview. For that, you need a clear, eye-catching header that includes your name, address, best phone number and email, and any professional social media URLs.

You do not need to include your street address, your city and state is fine unless your full address is relevant to the position.

The secondary function of a header is to draw visual attention to your SLP resume. It is the one spot within this document where you have the opportunity to add a little punch to your design. Our expertly-designed resume templates will give you a good jumping-off point.

SLP resume summary example 

Why did you become a speech pathologist? How do you approach patient care? What type of disorders and demographic of patients do you prefer to work with? What will you bring to this practice? These are among the questions you should answer in your SLP resume summary.

The summary, or profile, consists of about four lines of text, but they serve the purpose of differentiating you from other candidates by allowing for an argument for your employment. Keep the tone professional and avoid exaggeration, but do make sure you tell your prospective employer what makes you an excellent candidate.

Employment history sample

The employment history section of an SLP resume shines a light not just on what you have done, but the successes you have achieved during your career. Each bullet item should be a well-crafted illustration of a skill you have honed and how you used it to help a patient.

Recruiters are looking for a pattern of growth from your first position to now, so make sure you highlight your senior-level accomplishments.

CV skills example

Speech pathology requires a specific set of knowledge, but it also requires certain interpersonal traits or soft skills. The job listing will give you a good idea of what skills you should include on your SLP resume given that they are attributes for which you are proficient or expert. 

Speech pathologists must understand fluency, articulation, voice and resonance, and receptive and expressive language among other language knowledge. Along with that professional knowledge, great SLPs have the following traits, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association: teachability, strong ethics, excellent communication, curiousity, empathy, social consciousness, objectivity, and patience. 

Choose your strongest skills to include in your skills section, doing your best to match them to the job listing.

SLP resume education example

The education section of your SLP resume is a listing of your academic achievements. SLPs need at least a master’s degree in their field. They also need to complete a fellowship, although requirements vary by state. Finally, to obtain their license, they need to pass the PRAXIS exam.

You may list all these elements within this section, or, if you are new to the field, you may consider your fellowship as part of your employment history. Make sure you include your license number. 

Resume layout and design

A basic necessity in your field is to present yourself professionally to each patient. The layout and design of a speech-language pathologist's resume must project this image. To do so, keep your fonts legible and your use of color to a minimum.

Other helpful hints for your layout:

• Maintain margins of at least ¾-inch all around
• Use one serif font and one sans serif font—one for headings and one for text
• Break up blocks of text by varying your line length; in other words, don’t run the type to the edges of the margin for each bullet item
• Use a resume template to avoid formatting errors

Key takeaways for an SLP resume

1. Speech-language pathologists are in high demand for several reasons.
2. The main opportunity to differentiate yourself comes in your summary, where you should clearly state to your prospective employer what you will add to the job.
3. Great SLPs have a depth of language knowledge but also possess personal attributes they should highlight in their skills section.
4. A professional image starts with a clean, legible design.