I wanted to share some tips for creating an excellent CV. I thought this might be helpful as PGY-2s start thinking about writing their CVs over the summer for jobs/applications. It’s easier to slowly add a line or two over time rather than to frantically create one over 3 days.
Formatting:
Keep it organized and professional. Use a simple font and clean headers. Don't try to be original.
Put the most important stuff at the top.
Order it in reverse chronology – most recent at the top for each section.
As a general rule of thumb, try to keep your resume within 1 page. However, your CV can be longer since it is more comprehensive. In medicine, they’ll ask you for your CV, but if you’re applying for something corporate, then they will likely want your resume. (Or both.)
Be consistent throughout with your formatting.
Save the doc / send it as a pdf
Label your pages with your last name & page #.
Use bullet points, and try to keep things succinct.
The sections:
Of course, start off with some of your personal information. At the minimum, include your name, phone number, and best email address.
Organize your CV by having clear headers. As a resident, it’s appropriate to start off your CV with a “Training and Education” header with your residency, medical school, and undergraduate schools listed.
Presentations & lectures: include your morning reports, M&Ms, grand rounds presentations, etc. If you’ve presented at national conferences, include that too! Consider breaking out your presentations & lectures as “National” (where you presented at conferences) and then “regional/local” (Maimo/med school presentations.)
Publications: designate if it’s peer reviewed vs non-peer reviewed. Use proper citation style.
Include your residency & leadership activities. You can group them however you find appropriate, but take some time to brag about your chiefdom, research and QI projects, and extra-clinical stuff (e.g. event medicine, scholarly tracks, med school clubs, etc.) The majority of my interviews were spent on talking about this section. If it's still in progress, just say where you are in the process.
Awards - Gold Humanism, AOA, etc.
Professional affiliations - SAEM, ACEP, etc.
Certifications - don't ask me why, but they want your random certs listed like ACLS, ATLS, etc.
Include a hobbies section! People want to get to know you, and it’s okay to be honest and quirky. It can be endearing and a great ice breaker.
Other random tips:
For each project or leadership related bullet point that you have, make sure you include the following:
What was the deliverable
Who was it for
What was the impact
Your methods
Tailor it to the job. For example, I created a little bucket called “International experiences” since I was applying for a Global Health fellowship. Remember, a community job CV will look different from an academic position.
Unless it’s super notable, I think high school is too far back to include. But the cool stuff you did in college or med school is great.
Final touches:
Get feedback. I sent my resume to 5-6 friends, and 3-4 attendings before ultimately submitting it. You don’t have to take everyone’s advice, but you’ll find most tips to be generally helpful.
Be neurotic - people use your CV as a harbinger for your attention to detail and your professionalism. Keep your grammar, spelling, and formatting perfect.
