The CV: What You Should Know
CV (Curriculum Vitae) is, in essence, a resume. Its purpose is to, in a
clear and concise manner, communicate relevant information pertaining to your
career as a physician – your academic and professional history. In a nutshell,
your CV is your marketing tool and provides a clear snapshot of your experience.
What is relevant and what is not?
How do you organize your CV? Let’s start at the beginning.
Sections / Headings:
Following are the primary sections
most commonly included in a CV. When beginning the process of creating your CV,
gather any and all information pertinent to these headings. Don’t organize them
until after you’ve compiled all of the information. It’s important that you
include any and all information that is relative to your future career as a
physician, so while you’re in the gathering phase, leave no stone unturned.
(In Order)
Contact Information (full name, current/permanent address,
all phone numbers, fax number, email address)
Post Graduate Training (Internship, Residency, Fellowship,
etc; include Employer Name, Employer Location, Specialty Area, Dates)
Education (School, school location, degree earned,
graduation date)
Professional Experience
Research (Publications, Case Presentations; cite any awards
or honors associated with said research)
Licensure/Board Certification
Professional Memberships
Academic Awards/Honors
Determining Relevancy:
The goal of your CV is to
provide a prospective employer with a written picture of you and your skills as
a physician. You want to include just enough detail, yet without going overboard
with information that is unnecessary. Avoid personal information, hobbies, and
such.
In addition, you may be inclined to include all of your presentations.
Aureus recommends listing presentations last in the order of your sections and
only if you are applying for an academic opportunity. Otherwise, we suggest
leaving this section out of your CV altogether.
An employer will likely be reading through many CVs and while you want yours
to stand out, you want to eliminate the fluff and items that aren’t significant.
Be clear, concise, and precise. You want your credentials and experience to
immediately resonate with the employer in a matter of seconds and unnecessary
information will cloud the aspects of your history that are the most impressive.
Formatting:
The layout of your CV is important in
communicating your message. Stylistic devices, such as boldface, italics, as
well as ensuring enough white space on the page, will improve the readability of
your CV. Items such as job titles, names of degrees, names of schools, etc.
should be easy to read. Readability equals clarity and clarity equals an
effective CV.
Your experience should be listed in reverse chronological order, most recent
to oldest. Be sure to include dates with all education and experience.
You may find that your Research section is quite extensive. Therefore, if
this section lays out longer than one page, move it to the final section of your
CV, so that other information maintains a high level of visibility.
Including an Objective
There are various schools of thought when it comes to including a written
objective in a CV. Our position is that it is unnecessary. Any narrative that
explains what you are seeking in a practice should be included in your cover
letter and your areas of specialty will be clearly communicated in the Post
Graduate Training section of your CV. Anything else such as providing the
highest degree of patient care and/or finding employment as a physician is
understood and need not be included.
References
Whether or not to include references in your
CV is also debatable. We recommend including “References available upon request”
at the conclusion of your CV.
Proofing
It goes without saying that any typographical
errors or inaccuracies may eliminate you from consideration. Be sure to check
and double check all of the details and ask several people other than yourself
to proof your CV.
How to Handle the Blemishes
If you have had past issues
with state medical license revokes, malpractice suits, etc., do not use your CV
as a vehicle to provide explanation and resolution. The appropriate place for
this is in your cover letter.
Conclusion
While there are a number of basics to
crafting a CV, it’s also very subjective. There are no hard and fast rules in
terms of what to and what not to include. Spend a significant amount of time
determining what it is you want to convey to the prospective employer and what
will speak to them about you.
The professional search consultants with Aureus Medical Group offer
personalized CV consultation to ensure you capture the attention of prospective
employers in the most effective way possible. We bring extensive knowledge and
years of experience to the search process and are here for you every step of the
way.