The new year is finally here, which means many residents, fellows, and practicing physicians will start their job search for employment later this year. One important aspect of any physician job search is creating or updating their Physician CV. If you are one of those physicians who need to create or update your CV, make sure that you are familiar with how a CV should be.
Keep formatting the same throughout.
Your CV is a representation of you, so you want to make sure that if you are boasting your organizational skills, you want to make sure that you are proving it with your CV. I have come across multiple CVs that have multiple variations of date formats, font types, or font sizes. Use the same font type throughout the entire CV, keep all headers formatted the same, and format dates and years the same throughout.
Organize the information to make sense.
Even though there is no set order for the sections in your CV, make sure that the order your presenting makes sense. For instance, if you are still in training, you should not have your education and training listed on the last page. As you are entering the information into each section, also remember to keep the information in reverse chronological order. This means that you will need to list the information from the most recent start date to the least recent start date. This allows employers to easily read through the information without having to search to decipher the correct order.
Include the information they need.
Job opportunities often include specific certifications, licensure, or requirements for the opportunity, so make sure that you are not omitting that information from your CV. Include past experiences that are relevant to the opportunity that you are applying to. You do not need to include positions that are non-medical like Target sales associate unless that is explaining a gap in your employment or training. This allows your CV to focus on the information that physician recruiters are interested in.
Keep it brief.
In certain sections of your CV, like the job experience section, you will need to give a brief description of your duties. Make sure that as you are writing these descriptions that you are keeping them to 3 or fewer sentences, or a few bullet points. You do not have to list out every task and responsibility, but those that are most relevant to the opportunity you are applying to. By keeping your descriptions brief, it will also help to keep your CV at a readable length.
Keep it readable.
Your CV should range anywhere between one and five pages, depending on your experiences. Some CVs are longer due to extensive locum tenens positions or research, but you do not want your CV to go over five pages. If you notice that your CV is longer than five pages due to one of the previously mentioned reasons, opt to label the section, "Selected Locums Positions" and list those that are most recent or most relevant to the opportunity. The same goes for research and publications on your CV. Keep the full list of past positions, research, or publications in a separate document that you can send over when requested by the recruiter.
Looking for more CV tips? Check out the PracticeMatch Career Resources. You can also reach out to us for a free Physician CV Review!