How to hire athletic trainers

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Apply protective or injury preventive devices, such as tape, bandages, or braces, to body parts, such as ankles, fingers, or wrists.
• Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians.
• Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication.
• Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms.
• Conduct an initial assessment of an athlete's injury or illness to provide emergency or continued care and to determine whether they should be referred to physicians for definitive diagnosis and treatment.
• Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted.
• Instruct coaches, athletes, parents, medical personnel, or community members in the care and prevention of athletic injuries.
• Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: Master's degree]
• Strong active listening, critical thinking, monitoring, speaking, active learning and reading comprehension skills
• Working knowledge of medicine and dentistry, customer and personal service, psychology and therapy and counseling
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $62,520 a year.
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for athletic trainers

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to apply protective or injury preventive devices, such as tape, bandages, or braces, to body parts, such as ankles, fingers, or wrists. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to clean and sanitize athletic training rooms. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Describe a decision at work where the obvious answer was wrong. How did you work out the better choice?
7. How do you keep track of your own work quality during a busy shift or week? Give an example of catching a problem early.
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What athletic trainers do

• Apply protective or injury preventive devices, such as tape, bandages, or braces, to body parts, such as ankles, fingers, or wrists.
• Assess and report the progress of recovering athletes to coaches or physicians.
• Care for athletic injuries, using physical therapy equipment, techniques, or medication.
• Clean and sanitize athletic training rooms.
• Conduct an initial assessment of an athlete's injury or illness to provide emergency or continued care and to determine whether they should be referred to physicians for definitive diagnosis and treatment.
• Evaluate athletes' readiness to play and provide participation clearances when necessary and warranted.
• Instruct coaches, athletes, parents, medical personnel, or community members in the care and prevention of athletic injuries.
• Perform general administrative tasks, such as keeping records or writing reports.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningCritical ThinkingMonitoringSpeakingActive LearningReading ComprehensionMedicine and DentistryCustomer and Personal ServicePsychologyTherapy and Counseling

Education, experience and outlook for athletic trainers

• Typical education to start: Master's degree (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Job outlook: +12.7% over ten years, much faster than average · about 2,400 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay athletic trainers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See athletic trainers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Exercise Trainers and Group Fitness Instructors
• Physicians, All Other
• Exercise Physiologists
• Physical Therapist Assistants
• Recreational Therapists
• Coaches and Scouts
• Occupational Therapists
• Physical Therapists
• Chiropractors
• Psychiatric Technicians

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.