A Curriculum Vitae (CV) serves as an important means of helping you to secure an interview or a job. Although many medical job applications such as the foundation program are submitted online without the need for a CV, it still remains important when applying to surgical training, any consultant posts, general practice training, portfolio assessments and other professional engagements.
This article aims at providing comprehensive insight into how an individual from the medical profession can draft an ideal Curriculum Vitae for his or her professional endeavours.
Contents Of A Medical CV
The contact information of the candidate is always located at the top of the Curriculum Vitae. Such information typically includes your full name, your contact number and other necessary details such as your email address, etc.
Since the Curriculum Vitae is a professional document, the candidate may or may not provide certain personal information regarding age, marital status, children, and health. However, some recruiters may specifically require such information for the application to be valid. It is important to understand what the recruiter is looking for prior to drafting the CV.
This is an extremely important aspect of the CV that highlights the candidate’s educational qualifications. The norm for writing this section is usually to write the academic qualifications in reverse chronological order i.e. the latest qualification first. In this manner, usually, one’s schooling details come last on the list. Irrespective of the sequence in which qualifications are listed, care must be taken to ensure that the entries are consistent- the name of the institution, year of graduation, marks/grade point average and course details should be mentioned for all.
This is the crux of the document where you as a medical professional shall have to lay down your experience of working in the sector. Professional experience may be covered under two primary heads i.e. Internships and full-time roles.
Employment experiences, too, have to be listed systematically in reverse chronological order so that it becomes simple for the recruiter to understand. For every experience, the following has to be mentioned:
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The name of the company/organisation you worked at e.g. Apollo Hospitals
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The designation you worked with i.e. your job title e.g. Junior Doctor
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The duration of your employment i.e. start date and end date
Furthermore, in order to give the recruiter further insight into the position, you may choose to give an overview of major duties, successes and achievements, crucial learnings, etc. involved with the position. However, the entries should be consistent in the sense that there should be more or less equal amount of details for every work experience from start to finish.
- Professional Affiliations
This section should include your current membership in professional organisations such as medical guilds or associations. You may include any significant appointments and/or elections to positions or committees, indicating the appropriate date for each position listed as well as any significant activities completed under your guidance or leadership.
- Co-Curricular Achievements
This section in the CV allows you to flaunt your accomplishments related to the field but outside the scope of core academics. This may include paper publications, accolades won in a competition, presentations, research activities, etc.
For publications, you shall have to mention the name of the paper, the date on which it was published, the name of the publication platform (may be a journal, digest, or website page). Furthermore, an ideal practice is to hyperlink the address where the publication can be viewed.
Mentioning these will substantiate your skills and expertise in the eyes of the recruiter and earn your application brownie points.
This is another skill that is vital for doctors, so include any teaching experience either formal or informal at any level, the topics and audience taught and what you gained from it.
Towards the end of the CV, you may mention certain individuals from the same field who will vouch for your credibility as a professional. These are called references and the recruiter may reach out to them to discuss your candidature.
In this section, it is important to include their name, their position, their telephone number and their email address.
Formatting Guidelines To Keep In Mind
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Use a professional font such as Times New Roman or Ariel.
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Your name should be bold and in a larger font than the rest of the resume.
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Keep font size to 12 points and set margins to no less than 0.5 inches all around.
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Use past tense in describing past positions and use present tense for your current position(s).
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Use bold text to highlight sections and make the document easy to read.
Do’s And Don’ts For A Medical CV
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Do not include your photograph in your CV; the practice now stands outdated.
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It is of paramount importance to remain chronologically consistent when presenting information in your Curriculum Vitae. If you choose to mention the current information first, the same pattern should be followed across all the sections without a section. In this way, the reader will not end up getting confused.
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The formatting of the Curriculum Vitae is crucial for impact. Good formatting makes sure that the document is easy on the eyes and that the information stands up.
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Focus on professional short and simple sentences, use active words when referring to skills, and focus on positive aspects.
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Refrain from making double entries for any information. Even though it may be done with good intentions, the reader is likely to interpret repeated information as an attempt to ‘inflate’ your CV. This practice is known as ‘padding’ in professional circles.
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Do not lie, exaggerate, or include something that you would not want to discuss in an interview.
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With each application, you should look at the person's specifications, qualifications, and skills required and tailor your CV to highlight those requirements.
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There is no documented rule on how many pages your CV should be. However, the ideal practice is to restrict the document to a maximum of two full pages for maximum impact. You may have credentials that may easily fill 4-5 pages, but you shall have to pick what is most relevant and leave out the rest.
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Before you turn in your CV for consideration, make certain that the final version of the document has been thoroughly proofread. In fact, the proofreading must be done not just by you but by a professional who is experienced in these matters and can quickly point out the mistakes in the document (such as important things left out or presented in a confusing manner).
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Make sure you’re scrupulously accurate about dates, job titles, and names of advisors and employers.
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Refrain from using abbreviations anywhere in your CV (except perhaps for the name of a degree such as MBBS or MD) as you cannot possibly expect the recruiter to know what they stand for.
MedBots.in wishes you all the best!