How to Get a Job as a Pelvic Floor OT (Even Without Experience)

OTs in Pelvic Health Podcast · 25 min listen

You're ready to serve your people. You're ready to get a j-o-b as a pelvic floor OT. So let's talk about the how.

I've been teaching OT Pioneers since 2018, and my students tell me this is one of their biggest questions. Here's the honest answer: the job you want may not be posted, the gatekeeper may say no, and you may not have the experience the listing asks for. None of that has to stop you.

"Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can do what others can't."

— Jerry Rice

What follows is the story of how I got my first pelvic health job, what I learned from it, and the single most effective tool I've found for getting hired without the experience on paper: the OT Showcase Portfolio.

How I got my first pelvic health job

Three things I took from that

Gatekeepers aren't the final answer. In my case it was HR, but it can be anyone in the process. Don't let them slam the door. Find a creative way around them. Be respectful of the process, and also don't be shy about kicking down whatever stands between you and the opportunity.

Passion will take you further than you think. Remember what she said to me: you're energized, and it's infectious. People want to be around people who are inspired and who inspire. You're almost certainly one of those people. So show up, ask questions, add to the conversation, and demonstrate why you deserve a seat at the table.

Move on when it isn't a match. Not every open job is right for you, and that's completely okay. It's the same instinct that tells you a relationship isn't working, or that a client would be better served by a colleague with different expertise. In the job market, it means recognizing that an environment isn't one where you'll thrive.

Honestly, there are probably more of those than not. It's wonderful to shine a light for people who simply don't know that OTs are a terrific fit for pelvic health. But it isn't your job to fight a battle where you aren't seeing eye to eye, aren't getting support, or have to constantly prove yourself. In those cases the person isn't open to learning.

When that happens, I say to myself: thank goodness I found out now. Time to go find or create an environment where I'm a valued part of the team. Because you are.

How to stand out: the OT Showcase Portfolio

Now let's get concrete. You may be wondering how to get noticed when you're up against people with more experience. Here's what has worked for so many of my students in OT Pioneers and OT Elevate.

An OT Showcase Portfolio is something you build that showcases your passion, your creativity and your resourcefulness, and gives a hiring manager a far more accurate view of you as a practitioner than a resume can.

Think about it. You may not have a lot of experience, but you know things. And that knowledge almost certainly isn't coming to life on your resume. So the hiring manager can't see the benefit of hiring you.

If you don't have the exact experience they're looking for, why should they take a risk on you? Very often they won't — unless you make it easy for them to see that it isn't a risk at all.

So your job is to take what you know, demonstrate how you'd apply it in real life, and bundle it up in a way that's easy to hand over.

What it looks like in an interview

Say you've taken OT Pioneers, so you've learned how to perform an internal exam, but you've never done one on a client.

Get creative. Perform the exam on yourself. Create an intake form for yourself. Document your findings. Prescribe a set of exercises, and film yourself doing them.

Now imagine the hiring manager asks: have you ever performed an internal exam?

A "no" closes the door and ends the conversation. The second answer is an open invitation for the hiring manager to ask more questions.

They get intrigued. They find you creative, resourceful and passionate. And that is what distinguishes you.

What makes a portfolio work

It looks professional. This is work you're doing on your own, and it still needs to be polished. If you film a video, make it well done. You don't need expensive equipment, but don't film with your bed in the background or your kids walking past. If you're writing documentation, make it well formatted, easy to read, and clear about the steps you took.

It shows resourcefulness. Don't shy away from having limited experience — embrace it. Create a contrast between yourself and everyone else in the same position by showing you took the initiative to get everything you could out of everything you had. That makes you memorable.

It has an interesting twist. Some people hear "make it interesting" and their creative juices dry up like water on hot pavement. All I mean is one extra element that makes it distinctive. Say you keep a bladder diary, document it, and chart how your water intake affects your bladder. Now add something: go out and interview strangers, asking them how often they think people are supposed to pee and how much water they should drink. Cut the interviews into a sixty-second reel that demonstrates how badly basic education around behavior modification is needed.

Plenty of people can keep a bladder diary. How memorable are you when you pair it with street interviews? Exactly.

Finding your idea

Don't be intimidated about coming up with one. You have a treasure trove at your fingertips: your own experience, the experience of friends and family, and case study examples.

As you've been learning about pelvic health, some topic has probably caught your interest — incontinence, painful sex, postpartum recovery, something. Pick one. Then ask yourself: do I have personal experience with this? Do I know someone living with it right now?

Those answers are the basis of your portfolio.

You're limited only by your creativity. But creativity is hard to summon under stress, so here's what I'd do. Find an isolated hour, sit down with a notebook and a cup of tea, and write down the first ten ideas that come to you. Don't self-censor. Don't judge as you write. Don't ask yourself "but how?" Just get them onto paper.

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

— Albert Einstein

That quote is written above my desk, and it recenters me every time.

Then give it a day. Sit on it. Come back to your list and work out which idea is compelling, which one you can actually do in a reasonable amount of time, and choose one. Don't get into analysis paralysis. Make a decision and start. That's what builds momentum, and momentum is what gets results.

Choosing your format

Your topic and your strengths should decide this.

Whatever you choose, get at least one person to review it before it goes anywhere — someone who will give you critical, honest feedback. They don't need to write you an essay. They just need to answer a few questions:

•  Does it look professional?
•  If it's video, do you come across as energetic? Are there awkward pauses or unclear bits? Is the sound okay? Is anything in the background distracting?
•  Is the flow of information clear, concise and well thought out?

It's hard to be that self-aware about your own work. That's exactly where your reviewer earns their keep.

Getting it into the hiring manager's hands

You've made it this far. Now for the exciting part. How do you actually get them to look at it?

The strategy depends on which of two situations you're in.

If you already have an interview booked, you get to wow them in person. If your portfolio is written, print it on nice stationery and get it bound at the printer with a title page. Give it an engaging title. If you know the hiring manager's name, put "Created for ___________" on that title page. Don't just tell them about your work — show it to them.

If it's video or audio, send it ahead of the interview, or as a follow-up with your thank-you note. If you go with the follow-up, mention the work during the interview and tell them to expect it.

If you don't have an interview yet, your goal is to spark curiosity, get the interview booked, and dismantle their hesitation before it forms. Package it up the same way, and drop it off in person.

Include a short cover letter explaining your interest in the role, why you did this extra work, and asking for a time to meet. Don't be afraid to be direct: I would love the opportunity to discuss the current role with you, and how the extra work I've done makes me a stellar resource.

Networking matters, but you'll still need to overcome objections and paint yourself as the person they want to hire. Building an OT Showcase Portfolio does exactly that, and it tilts the odds in your favor.