You passed the boards. The license is on its way or already in hand. Now comes the part no DPT program fully prepares you for: the search for new grad physical therapist jobs. Three years of clinical education has to turn into your first paycheck as a licensed therapist.
August and September are the busiest months of the year for new grad hiring in rehab therapy. NPTE results land in July, and licenses process over the following weeks. Facilities that held positions open all summer suddenly have a fresh pool of candidates. That timing works in your favor, but only if you move with a plan. Here is what we tell every new grad who comes to us at Radius.
Why Fall Is the Best Window for New Grad Physical Therapist Jobs
Facilities plan around the NPTE and licensure calendar. Outpatient clinics, hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies all know when the new class becomes employable. Many of them time their openings to it. On top of that, fall is when patient volumes climb back up after summer. It is also when facilities push to fill seats before year-end budgets close.
The practical takeaway: the best roles get claimed between August and October. Waiting until “after the holidays” to get serious means competing for what is left, not what is best.
Choosing Your First Setting: What Each One Actually Teaches You
Your first setting shapes your clinical habits more than any rotation did. There is no single right answer, but there are honest tradeoffs. We broke down the full landscape in our guide to rehab settings and how they differ, and here is the short version for a first job:
Outpatient orthopedics gives you volume and variety. You will sharpen manual skills and clinical reasoning fast. Ask hard questions about productivity expectations and mentorship before you sign, because clinics vary widely on both.
Skilled nursing facilities often pay new grads the most and hire the most aggressively. You will build competence with complex, medically involved patients. The flip side is documentation load and, in some buildings, pressure on minutes. Vet the employer, not just the setting.
Acute care hospitals offer structured mentorship, exposure to the full medical team, and a foundation that keeps doors open for the rest of your career. Pay often starts lower than SNF but the training value is real.
Home health pays well and offers autonomy, but most agencies prefer a year of experience first. If you are drawn to it, plan it as a year-two move.
For new grad SLPs and OTs, the same logic applies: pediatrics, schools, SNF, and acute care each build a different clinician. Pick for the skills you want in two years, not just the salary you want in month one.
What Employers Actually Screen For
After placing rehab professionals across the country for years, we can tell you the hiring managers’ shortlist rarely changes:
License status and timeline. If your license is still processing, say exactly where it stands. Employers can work with “expected by September 5.” They cannot work with vague.
Clinical rotations that map to the job. Your outpatient ortho rotation is your resume headline when applying to outpatient ortho. Lead with the relevant one, including patient populations and caseload numbers.
Coachability. New grads are hired for trajectory, not polish. In interviews, the candidates who win talk about what they learned from their toughest rotation, not just what went well.
Commitment signals. Turnover in year one is expensive, and hiring managers know it. Being able to explain why this setting and this facility, specifically, beats a generic “I am open to anything” every time.
Salary Expectations for New Grad Physical Therapist Jobs
Pay for new grad physical therapist jobs varies more by setting and geography than by anything on your resume. The APTA publishes workforce data worth reviewing, but the ranges below reflect what we see in live searches. As a general 2026 picture: SNF and home health sit at the top of the new grad range. Outpatient and acute care start lower but often carry better mentorship and long-term upside. Rural facilities frequently offer sign-on bonuses, relocation assistance, and loan repayment support that meaningfully change the math.
Do not negotiate against a number you found on a forum. Ask about the full package: continuing education budget, licensure reimbursement, PTO structure, productivity expectations, and mentorship. A first job with $4,000 less base salary and a real mentor is usually the better deal.
Five Moves That Separate You From the Rest of the Class
- Apply before you feel ready. Facilities hire on pending licenses all the time. Waiting for the physical license to arrive costs you the best weeks of the hiring season.
- Make your resume clinical, not academic. Caseload sizes, diagnoses treated, documentation systems used. Cut the coursework list.
- Ask your clinical instructors for introductions. Most first jobs in this field still come through people, not portals.
- Interview the facility back. Ask who will mentor you, what the first 90 days look like, and what happened to the last new grad they hired. The answers tell you everything.
- Work with a recruiter who specializes in rehab. A good one knows which facilities actually invest in new grads and which ones burn them out, and that intel never shows up in a job posting.
Where Radius Fits In
We are a healthcare recruiting agency focused on permanent placement, and rehab therapy is one of our core specialties. Our recruiters fill new grad physical therapist jobs, along with OT, SLP, and assistant roles, at facilities across the country right now, including partners that offer relocation assistance and structured mentorship for first-year clinicians. There is never a fee for candidates.
If you are starting your search, explore our therapist staffing services or reach out and tell us what you are looking for. We would rather help you find the right first job than a fast one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for PT jobs before my license is issued?
Yes. Most facilities will interview and extend offers to candidates with a pending license, with a start date tied to issuance. Include your expected licensure date on your resume.
What is the highest paying setting for new grad physical therapists?
Skilled nursing and home health typically offer the highest starting pay for new grads, while outpatient and acute care tend to start lower but offer stronger mentorship and career flexibility.
How long does it take a new grad PT to find a job?
During the fall hiring window, new grad physical therapist jobs often move from application to offer in two to four weeks for prepared candidates.
Should a new grad use a recruiter?
A specialized recruiter costs candidates nothing and adds market knowledge you cannot get on your own, including which facilities genuinely support new grads. It is worth a conversation even if you also apply directly.
The Radius Team is the recruiting staff of Radius Staffing Solutions, a nationwide permanent-placement healthcare staffing firm. Our content draws on live search data across nursing, rehab therapy, imaging, lab sciences, pharmacy, advanced practice, mental health, dental, and healthcare management. Every article is reviewed by Anthony Romano, Partner & Director of Recruitment, with 15 years in healthcare staffing.
