Personal Trainer: What is the cost of hiring?

Why recruit a personal trainer?

You might find that many of your clients are looking for a more personalised fitness training experience from your fitness business. An on-site personal trainer will be able to guide them through routines without injury, and can adapt to your clients’ preferred training styles. They can flexibly tailor their programme for clients looking to train competitively or just to reach their own personal best as part of group training.

Qualities of a great personal trainer:

• communicates well with your clients to find the best training options for them
• has training qualifications in both fitness instruction and personal training, gained via a recognised training body
• is an inspirational asset to your fitness instruction team, both physically and psychologically.

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance personal trainer

If you run a gym, a full-time personal trainer will be appealing to your regular clients who are looking for additional training that is right for them. A qualified personal trainer can help your gym to stand out from the crowd, offering specialised training tailored to your clients. However, you might wish to recruit a personal trainer on a freelance basis if you are unsure whether there will be enough work to keep them busy full time.

What are the different types of personal trainer?

Which personal trainer is right for you or your fitness business will depend on what services you need or are looking to offer. Consider conducting a survey with your clients to find out what other personalised fitness services they would be interested in. They might be looking to improve their performance in powerlifting, running, pilates or yoga.

• Gym Instructor: creates ongoing training plans for your fitness centre customers.
• Boot Camp Instructor: builds fitness plans based on military fitness training, and may be ex-military personnel themselves. 
• Lifestyle Trainer: can help coach you or your clients in healthy eating and lifestyle counselling alongside fitness plans.
• One-to-one Personal Trainer: provides fitness training to gym-goers in one-to-one sessions.
• Performance Personal Trainer: useful for athletes looking to train competitively for a triathlon or a running competition like a marathon.

Where to find a personal trainer?

To find the right personal trainer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Advertising in a local social media fitness group: Find qualified instructors by joining and posting an advertisement in a local social media fitness group.
• Networking with fitness professionals: Find a reputable personal trainer via fitness professionals who currently work for your gym.
• Advertising in a local jobs bulletin: Post ads in your local jobs bulletins, such as in shops, cafes and job centres.
• Via fitness trainer professional websites: Contact fitness trainers directly via their own professional websites.

Post your job online: Try posting your job for a personal trainer on Indeed to find and attract quality personal trainer candidates.

Skills to look for in a great personal trainer

A great candidate for a personal trainer role will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• teaching skills 
• ability to communicate step-by-step instructions
• understanding of the human body and injury avoidance
• ability to push themselves as well as motivate your clients
• excellent focus and concentration skills
• good communication and customer service

Writing a personal trainer job description

A thoughtful description is important for finding qualified personal trainer candidates. A personal trainer job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your job description for a personal trainer, consider including some or all of the following keywords to strengthen the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms resulting in clicks on jobs for personal trainers, according to Indeed data:

• personal trainer
• fitness
• gym
• strength and conditioning
• fitness instructor
• sport
• strength conditioning
• personal training

Interviewing personal trainer candidates

Strong candidates for personal trainer positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• qualifications and prerequisite training
• training specialisations, such as strength conditioning or endurance
• teaching skills
• how to handle a situation in which a customer is injured
• personal interest in your company

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of personal trainer interview questions for examples (with sample answers).