Swimming Coach Resume Example & Writing Guide

You’re ready to dive into the job market. To help your search go swimmingly, you need a resume that cuts through the applicant pool and and gets you that interview! How do you make that happen?

With writing guides and resume examples for 300+ professions, Resume.io is here to help you get your job hunt off to a quick start and create a resume that makes a splash with athletic directors and hiring managers. This guide, along with the corresponding swimming coach resume example, will cover the following topics:

• What does a swimming coach do?
• How to write a swimming coach resume (tips and tricks)
• The best format for a swimming coach resume
• Advice on each section of your resume (summary, work history, education, skills)
• Professional resume layout and design hints.

What does a swimming coach do?

A swimming coach is a professional who coaches, guides and mentors swimmers under their instruction. Swim coaches can work for schools, athletic facilities or public or private organizations. They may work privately with individual athletes or small groups. 

Swim coaches provide swimmers with helpful swimming techniques, game strategies and knowledge of swimming. They work to effectively communicate the rules, regulations and details of competitive swim, and they strive to impart a positive attitude and good sportsmanship on their athletes. Swimming coaches strive to help athletes enhance existing techniques and cultivate new ones. 

They plan exercise and conditioning regimens, team practices, drills, contests and competitions. Coaches must be experts at safety and first aid techniques as well as stroke and breathing development. Swimming coaches work to meet both individual and team needs. They assess the performance levels of individual swimmers and help them to achieve personal goals. Swimming coaches aim to increase team morale, dedication, and overall athletic performance.

How to write a swimming coach resume

Before you begin to compile your swim coach resume, you need to know what elements go into it. Your CV should contain the following components:

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

You plan a meet strategy by scouting the other team and taking into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of your own team. You should do the same when strategizing for your job hunt. Scout your target employer and find out the level and skill of the swimmers you will coach. Check out the environment and coaching philosophy as well.

Then, set a tone that meshes with that employer. Target your message as well by choosing examples and skills that show that you will be a great fit for the job.

Choosing the best resume format for a swimming coach

We usually recommend reverse chronological order resume format because it is favored by recruiters and ATS software. That means that when you compile your employment history section, you start with your most recent position and move backwards in time.

This is your best bet unless you have special circumstances. If you are new to the job market, are changing careers or have been in the field a long time, consider one of our alternative resume formats.

Resume summary example: your pep talk

The summary, also known as a profile, gets the recruiter excited about you by showing off your career highlights. Have you coached a championship swimmer? Taught someone who was afraid of the water to jump into the pool? These are the anecdotes you want to include in these 3-4 sentences.

Your goal here is to enhance the information you will provide in the rest of your resume. Try writing in your natural voice or the voice you use when you are encouraging your athletes. This will give the hiring manager insight into your style.

This may not be the first section a recruiter reads, although it sits at the top of your resume, but they will definitely pay attention to it if the rest of your resume resonates.

You can find a swimming coach resume sample summary below.

Employment history sample: a deeper dive

The employment history section of your swimming coach resume details your career up to now. Instead of writing sentences, use bullet items to describe your successes and highlights at each job, omitting extraneous words such as “In this position I …”. Instead, start with a strong action work and focus on a tangible outcome instead of a job duty.

Your resume should be no longer than two pages and should not go back more than 10 years unless absolutely necessary. If you have an outstanding achievement from earlier than that, you may choose to use it in your accompanying cover letter.

You can find a swimming coach employment history resume sample below.

Skills section CV example: your individual medley

The skills section of your swimming coach CV is the perfect spot to individualize for the ATS. Choosing the attributes your prospective employer seeks also shows that you understand what the particular job entails and that you have the skills to achieve.

Create a blend of the skills you have learned such as first aid, stroke technique and coaching strategy with the interpersonal soft skills that make athletes respond positively to you.

Here are Swimming World Magazine’s top swim coaching skills. Note that they are all soft skills:

• Skilled observer
• Focus
• Empathy
• Character
• Communication
• Lifelong learning
• Confidence
• Humor

You can find a skills resume sample below.

Swimming coach resume education example

The education section of your swimming coach resume is a listing of your academic degrees. You may also include any certification and training, such as safety or CPR, you have completed.

Any honors or distinctions should be noted here as well. If you hold a degree higher than a bachelor’s degree, you may leave out your high school experience. If you have many certifications or championships and you have space in this document, you can create a separate section to highlight them. 

See resume example content below. 

Resume layout and design: first impressions

Presentation makes a difference. As a swimming coach, you teach economy of motion, attention to detail and consistent technique. You can show these in your design by follow some simple guidelines.

• Your goal is to get your resume read, so keep it clean and leave plenty of white space. Large blocks of type are hard to read. Use bullets and display type to your advantage
• Give your contact information a little flare; you want those hiring managers to know how to reach you quickly
• Avoid color or graphics even if your win-lose record looks great on a pie chart.
• Use an online resume builder that includes spellcheck to avoid typos and formatting errors.

A resume template can help you focus on the writing while still allowing you to customize essential elements of your page design.

Key takeaways for a swimming coach resume

• If you work in education, sports coaching is a great place to be.
• Just as you change your strategy depending on your athletes and the circumstances, you need to change your resume to fit the job.
• Use active, sporting language to give your resume more energy.
• Check out our swimming coach resume sample for more ideas on creating an attractive and functional page layout.