Your CV
Much has been written about the use of CVs in
medical recruitment. Whatever the application process used, your CV
is still an important tool in the recruitment process whether it is
asked for at application stage or as part of your portfolio during
interviews and assessment centres. The purpose of a CV is to
present relevant facts in a professional way to a prospective
employer. Therefore, it is vital you update it
regularly. A CV should not be a life story but just
one of a range of marketing tools that will help you secure
employment, no matter what stage of your career. A CV should be
tailored for each new specialty or role you are applying for. Use
positive language and aim for a confident tone.
Sections to include in a medical CV
- Postal address
- Telephone
- Email
- Personal identity
- Names (first name(s), surname)
- Date of birth (optional)
- Nationality (including visa status if relevant)
- Gender (optional)
- Career summary
- Education and qualifications, dates, institution, location,
course, prizes, other achievements
- Membership of professional organisations (GMC, royal medical
college, MDU, etc)
- Courses, conferences attended
- Career plan and how the job will help you achieve it
- Work history (date, position, employer, location, duties, and
achievements)
- Summary of skills and achievements
- Presentations at meetings
- Clinical audit and/or research undertaken
- Published articles, books and research
- Additional information—useful skills (information technology,
languages, etc) that do not fit elsewhere
- Hobbies—leisure interests and activities
- Referees—names and contact details of two people (unless this
is asked for elsewhere in the application process)
Preparing your CV
In addition to the general format and basic
information, the following principles will help you to begin
preparing the document and making it relevant to the
role.
Relevance
Find out what the post or specialty
involves and show how your knowledge, experience and skills are
relevant. Your CV should give evidence of your ability to fulfil
the requirements of the post, which will be outlined in the person
specification for the role.
As well as listing facts, consider adding some comments, e.g. for
the work experience heading, try to split this into “clinically
relevant experience” and “other” experience. In the “other”
section, point out the relevance of the non-clinical skills you
have acquired. If you are changing specialty, link your previous
experience to the knowledge and skills you need for the new
discipline.
Order
Based on what you know about the specialty,
decide what is most relevant. Put that information first and give
it the most space. Generally this is also the most recent
experience too, therefore write dates in reverse chronological
order so that this is seen first. The amount of space you allow a
topic indicates the weight you want the selector to give it. Devote
more space if the subject matter is important: if it isn't as
relevant don't dwell on it. For example, don't take a separate line
for each secondary school exam and then only one line for your time
on the foundation programme.
Format
Aim for a professional-looking CV. It should
be consistent in layout, with a good balance of text and
space. Use clear and consistent formatting and any hard
copies should be printed on good quality paper.
Your CV should be neat and tidy, with all the information easy
to find. There are conventions for a medical CV so don’t be too
creative with style and layout. Capital lettering and bold print
can be used to separate out different sections. Bold print and
italics can be useful to highlight important points. Underlining is
best avoided, as it makes text more difficult to read. Don't go
overboard with special effects, use them sparingly.
Use the tab key rather than the space bar to indent information to
create a neat effect. Placing the dates at the left-hand side, with
the rest of the information 'tabbed' in a few centimetres, can be
an effective way of setting the information out neatly and making
the details easy to pick out.
Attention to detail
Spelling and grammar must be perfect. Check it
over carefully, using a UK English spellcheck. If you are unsure,
ask a friend or colleague to give you a second opinion. Also, take
care with dates. Make sure every year is accounted for and it is
clear when you began and ended posts to avoid any unexplained gaps
in your employment history.
Covering letter
Unless otherwise specified, a CV used to apply
for a post will always need a covering letter which introduces you
and summarises the main points you hope will attract the
employer.