The specific signals an experienced psychologist (phd / psyd) hiring panel grades on during the eight-second scan.

• Degree + license + specialty

  'PhD Clinical Psychology; licensed CA #12345; ABPP Board-Certified Neuropsych' beats 'psychologist.'

• Population + caseload

  Adult / adolescent / child / couples / geriatric + caseload + setting.

• Modalities + evidence-based practice

  CBT + DBT + EMDR + ACT + IFS + Emotion-Focused + trauma-focused + Prolonged Exposure.

• Testing + assessment

  For neuropsych + child: WAIS + WISC + WMS + Delis-Kaplan + MMPI-3 + neuropsych battery.

• Publications + grants + academic

  Peer-reviewed pubs + NIH grants + academic affiliations.

• Supervision + training role

  Postdoc / practicum supervisor + academic teaching.

1. 1

   Open with PhD/PsyD + license + specialty

   Degree + license + board + setting.

2. 2

   Quantify caseload + testing

   Caseload + assessment volume + population.

3. 3

   Surface modalities + certifications

   Named modalities + specialty certifications.

4. 4

   Name publications + grants + academic

   Publications + grants + faculty + supervision.

5. 5

   Close with credentials + academic history

   APA-accredited program + internship + postdoc.

Each follows the [verb] [object] [number] structure hiring managers grade against. Copy them as a starting point, swap in your own numbers, and read the annotation to understand why each one works.

• Caseload

  Population: adults 18-75 (primarily 40-70); active caseload 22 clients (14 neuropsych assessment referrals + 8 individual psychotherapy); 62 completed neuropsychological evaluations FY24 (avg 8-12 hour batteries per patient).

  Why it works: Age + case count + testing volume.

• Modalities

  Modalities: trauma-focused CBT + Prolonged Exposure + CPT (primary trauma); EMDR (EMDRIA-certified 2022, 84 hrs consult); ACT + IFS (secondary).

  Why it works: Named modalities + certifications.

• Assessment

  Assessment: WAIS-IV + WMS-IV + WCST + Delis-Kaplan + Trail Making + Rey-O + PAI + MMPI-3 + PCL-5; 62+ interpretation + report authorship / year with average 14-day turnaround.

  Why it works: Named batteries + volume + turnaround.

• Publications

  Publications: 14 peer-reviewed articles (7 first-author) in Neuropsychology + Journal of Traumatic Stress + Neuropsychology Review; 2 book chapters; NIH R01 co-investigator on 'Cognitive Aging in Veteran Populations' (2 yrs); presented at APA + INS + ISTSS.

  Why it works: Count + journals + grants + presentations.

• Supervision

  Supervision: currently supervising 2 postdoctoral neuropsychology fellows + 4 doctoral practicum students at UCSF; core faculty in PGSP-Stanford PsyD Consortium neuropsych track; lecturer for 'Advanced Neuropsychological Assessment' (28 grad students / year).

  Why it works: Supervisees + faculty + course.

• Academic

  Academic appointment: Assistant Professor of Neurology, UCSF (0.4 FTE); Memory and Aging Center faculty; participates in weekly multidisciplinary case conferences with neurology + geropsych + speech-language.

  Why it works: Rank + FTE + center + conferences.

• Practice

  Private practice: adult neuropsych + trauma (0.6 FTE); paneled with Aetna + Anthem + Cigna + Medicare + TRICARE; sliding scale for 4 pro bono clients (veterans).

  Why it works: FTE + panels + pro bono.

• Outcomes

  Clinical outcomes measurement: PHQ-9 / GAD-7 / PCL-5 every 4 weeks; 78% clinically significant change on trauma cohort at 12 sessions (n=48 across 3 yrs).

  Why it works: Instruments + change + n.

• Service

  Community + service: APA member; INS (International Neuropsychological Society) member; SIT (Society for Clinical Neuropsychology) — Division 40 APA; ABPP-CN examiner (2024-)

  Why it works: Memberships + service roles.

• Consultation

  Consultation: 4 forensic neuropsych consultations FY24 (personal injury + capacity + fitness-for-duty); 2 IME-quality evaluations for LA County VA.

  Why it works: Case count + types.

• Arc

  Career arc: PhD Palo Alto University 2019 (APA-accredited) → APA-accredited internship at VA Palo Alto → 2-yr Neuropsychology postdoc at UCSF Memory + Aging Center → licensure 2021 → ABPP 2023.

  Why it works: Full academic pipeline + timeline.

• Language

  Bilingual: Spanish (heritage fluency); administers assessment batteries in Spanish for 22% of forensic + memory clinic patient volume.

  Why it works: Language + volume.

Same intent, two phrasings. Read why the right column lands on the keep-pile and the wrong column doesn't.

Patterns our writers see most often when reviewing psychologist (phd / psyd) resumes — each one disqualifies candidates faster than weak experience does.

• Mistake

  Resume vs CV confusion.

  Fix

  Academic + hospital = CV format (long); practice = 1-2 page resume.

• Mistake

  License / ABPP absent.

  Fix

  License + board + state on line 1.

• Mistake

  Assessment vague.

  Fix

  Named batteries + report volume.

• Mistake

  Modalities lumped.

  Fix

  Named + cert + hours.

• Mistake

  Publications without journals.

  Fix

  Journal + authorship + year.

• Mistake

  No supervision framing.

  Fix

  Fellows + practicum + core faculty.

• Mistake

  Grants missing.

  Fix

  NIH / NSF / VA + role + year.

• Mistake

  Outcomes buried.

  Fix

  PHQ / GAD / PCL + change.

Strong verbs lead strong bullets. Replace generic openers (worked on, helped with, was responsible for) with the specific verb that matches what you actually did.

ATS pipelines weight your Skills section as a structured list. Include 15-25 of the items below if they match your experience — not soft skills.