How I got a job as a Kinesiologist in Ontario

After graduating from Kinesiology, like a lot of students, I didn’t do a lot of volunteering or get any clinical experience. If I could go back, that’s one thing I wish I would have done. After I graduated, other than the in-class labs and practical’s, I had no experience in real world situations or how it really worked outside of a classroom. So after a busy summer working at a soccer camp I decided to look around and try to volunteer or shadow some local Kinesiologists. I started by looking at the London Health Science Centre (LHSC). I emailed their volunteer services and inquired about any volunteer or shadowing opportunities with a Kinesiologist. After getting a TB testing and police check I ended up getting an opportunity with a Kinesiologist in the Hand and Upper Limb clinic at St. Joseph's Hospital.

There I got to see how a Kinesiologist works in a physiotherapy treatment setting. I was also introduced to a T.E.N.S machine, different types of hot and cold packs, ultrasound and some basic hand and upper limb rehab exercises. After a few weeks volunteering at the clinic I was able to understand what a Kinesiologist does in supplement to a physiotherapist. Before moving on from this experience I wanted to research where other Kinesiologists work in London. To find out where other Kin’s worked in London I accessed the ‘Find a Kin’ registry found on the COKO website. From there I messaged every clinic that a Kinesiologist was working at to see if any volunteer or shadowing experience was available. If I couldn’t contact the clinic I would try to send a personal email to the Kinesiologist themselves to see if they would take me on so I could shadow them.

After about 74 sent emails I only got a handful of replies. One physio clinic quickly responded to me and said they do take kin students for shadowing or volunteering. I looked into the clinic and saw they had various Kinesiologists working across London so I thought this would be an awesome place to get some experience. After the email I was able to quickly set up a phone call with one of their clinic managers to talk about different times of availability. At the time my work and school schedule conflicted with their kin schedule. After that phone call we kept in contact through email to see what might work. In the meantime, I was looking on indeed for other kin opportunities. There was one for a kin/admin assistant where I would mainly work as admin and sometimes help the physio with exercises. Not ideal but I saw this opportunity as a head start. I figured I would learn how to run the admin desk if I ever decided to start my own business. Anyways I went to the interview and I had a feeling I wasn’t what they were looking for. After the interview I wasn’t too bummed that I didn’t get the job but I continued to look around.

After about a week of not hearing anything, I received an email that another clinic was looking to hire a new kin and they would contact me after to see if I could shadow them. I saw this as my opportunity to jump in and ask if I was able to interview. To my surprise, the clinic manger set me up with an interview the next day. Fresh out of my previous interview, I was well prepared to answer the interview questions. After my interview I was set up to shadow a Kinesiologist at another clinic to see if I could do the job. Having the experience from the Hand and Upper limb clinic I was able to thoroughly complete the tasks with the Kinesiologist. The next day I received a response back and I was back at the clinic to sign my papers to be confirmed as their new Registered Kinesiologist.

I do consider myself lucky to have obtained this job, but I also feel like I had to put in my own work to make this lucky situation happen. I was in the right place at the right time by being persistent and creating my own luck by emailing and doing my own research. I easily could have sat back and just mindlessly applied to other kin jobs without any experience but I knew if I wanted to get a job I needed to put myself out there and take whatever I could get. Next post I’ll talk about my first experience working as a Kinesiologist in a physio clinic.

Hopefully this helps,

Spencer at Kinformation

Looking to write the next Registered Kin Exam? Join the Registered Kinesiology Exam Prep Facebook group to gain more insight about what to expect: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RegisteredKinExamInfo/ 

Are you a Registered Kinesiologist in Ontario and enjoyed this article please share to bring awareness to what kinesiology is. Join our online community of other Registered Kinesiologists in Ontario at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RegisteredKinesiologistsOfOntario/ 

** NEW AS OF 2024 **

Join our Kinesiology Community here: 

Kinesiology Community Link