You might look the part with a great build and strength to match after years of dedication in the gym. But when it comes to securing the best personal trainer jobs, you cannot rely on how you look — no matter how defined your abs are!
You might have a personal training certification, but the key to finding the best job is to understand your preferred specialty and how your qualifications fit in with that. While it might seem challenging to land a personal training job without experience, it’s 100 percent possible with these top tips.
Read on for more.
1. Brush Up on the Other Skills You Need
While a personal training qualification is absolutely essential when finding the right job, there are other important qualities you’ll need to bring to the table as a personal trainer.
Effective personal trainers are dynamic individuals. Some of the key qualities you need to focus on include:
- Your communication and listening skills
- Patience
- Effective time management
- Personal organization
- Motivational skills
- Practicing a positive attitude
- Coaching skills — including public speaking
These skills and qualities depend on the type of certified personal trainer you are and the type of clientele you’d prefer to coach. But all in all, they’re all pretty important skills you should focus on expanding.
2. Establish Your Own Career Specialty
Another important aspect of breaking into the fitness industry is figuring out what you want to specialize in. Before you start searching for jobs, you’ll need to understand and clearly define your own career goals.
Asking yourself these questions could help you understand your career goals better:
- Who do I want to work with as a personal trainer, i.e. who is my ideal type of client?
- What style of training am I most interested in?
- Do I want to coach people one-on-one, or in a group setting?
- Do I want to be a part-time or full-time personal trainer?
- What are my career aspirations in terms of earning potential?
By focusing on the answers to these questions, you can really narrow down and fine-tune your career goals, which will ultimately help you in your job search.
3. Think About Where You’d Like to Work
Aside from outlining the above career goals, another fundamental part of finding the right personal training job is to understand the environment you want to work in.
So, before you start sending out your resume, think about where you’d like to focus your skills. Here are some popular work environments to consider:
- Large, corporate-owned gyms
- Small, community-run gyms
- Small, privately-owned fitness centers
- Senior living centers
- A resort and spa gym
- Apartment complex gyms
- Personal studios
- Personalized, one-on-one in-home training
A personal training career is pretty broad. Yes, you’re teaching people how to live a healthier life by building up their strength and fitness. But the great thing about becoming a personal trainer is the amount of opportunity at your fingertips when it comes to your work setting.
When you’re just starting out, you might not be able to work in your ideal setting right away. Understandably, you need to build up your experience first. But the great news is that there is plenty of room for expansion and work environment exploration.
4. It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know
Starting your career as a personal trainer also depends on how well you network and broaden your reach in terms of who you know. It’s a smart and necessary strategy for starting out in just about any career.
The more you network and get to know people within your chosen industry/profession, the more you open yourself up to opportunities. What’s more, an employer is far more likely to hire someone they’ve met before in a professional setting.
One of the best ways to network when starting out as a personal trainer is to attend as many gym/fitness classes as you can. Look for gym memberships or class passes that allow you to try different classes at different times or in different locations.
Make a point of introducing yourself to other instructors and don’t be afraid to ask for pointers on how to increase your experience. Other smart ways to network include gym open houses, entering fitness competitions, joining a local run club, or attending health and wellness conventions and seminars.
5. Don’t Overlook Entry-Level Jobs
No matter how basic a personal training job may seem, it’s important to lap up every opportunity you can get when you’re trying to establish your name.
This is why it’s so important to say ”yes” to entry-level jobs, even if they’re not in your preferred field/specialty. The more experience you have, the better! Generally, entry-level jobs will require little to no experience, so they’re a great place to start.
6. Always Prepare for Your Interviews
If you manage to land an interview, preparation is key. Take the time to think about how you’ll answer an employer’s questions, and write down your answers if you need to.
Most of the time, employers will want to know your motivation behind a personal training career. Think about your answer to this question carefully. Explain why a position as a personal trainer appeals to you by elaborating what your motivations are.
Make sure to brush up on your knowledge of the fitness industry, such as current trends in fitness and why they matter. This can benefit you during an interview and show that you truly have passion for and interest in what you do.
7. Create Your Own Work Experience Portfolio
As an up-and-coming personal trainer, you don’t always have to wait for opportunity or experience to come to you. You can create your own portfolio of experience.
A good way to do this is to offer your personal training services to friends and family members to help them achieve their health and fitness goals. You can either help them in person or even offer your services online. Sure, no one wants to work for free, but you might find that your family members are willing to pay a small fee to help you get started in your career! However, don’t lean on this expectation.
Expand Your Health and Fitness Knowledge
Landing the best personal trainer jobs takes time, effort, and dedication. Remember that this is a popular career choice today and the competition out there is pretty stiff. It’s super important to build a great resume, build up your experience, and network, network, network.
It also doesn’t hurt to expand your expertise in health and fitness in order to become a knowledgeable, seasoned professional. This is where this blog can help! Explore the rest of this site for more.
