The Applicant with the Best CV Wins!

1. The Applicant with the Best CV Wins! Jorge Garcia, MD R3 Orientation June, 2002 .

2. How to prepare your CV: • We will review the standard form for physician CVs. • Contrast this to the Cover Letter. • Spend 15-20 minutes completing these documents and obtaining feedback.

3. “Please send us your CV and we will get back to you…” The CV and cover letter provide the first impression. First impressions are the most important.

4. The CV serves two functions: • It introduces a potential employer to your qualifications based on education and experience. • It serves as a reference tool for employers: license numbers and certification dates.

5. Your CV…your life. • Includes all meaningful education. • All prior employment. • Other experience that enhances your value to an employer. • Certifications and licenses.

6. Make it professional: • The “CV” already has an established style: best to stick with this style. • Keep it dry and simple. • It is best to keep the document in formal structure and language.

7. Cover Letter • Send this with your CV: it is the counterpoint to the dry CV: make your cover letter personal & interesting. • Use this to introduce yourself as a person: • Exactly who you are. • How you learned about the position. • Why you would be a good fit.

8. “YOUR” CV is a public document. • Employers will send out your CV to all kinds of offices and people. • All the information must be perfectly correct. • Exaggerations eventually bite back. • It needs to be free of errors: • Ask a friend to proof read it. • It needs to be up to date. • Will need to be revised each time you submit it.

9. Presentation matters. • Organized in a simple and traditional way. • White paper and large font that copies and faxes well. • On line CV.

10. Your Complete Name, MD • Accurate, current address. • Seattle WA, 98112- • phone: • Pager: • email:

11. EDUCATION • Chronologic order, most recent listed first. • School name, month and year of graduation and degree earned. • List honors associated with degree. • Don’t mention high school.

12. Post Graduate Education (RESIDENCY and FELLOWSHIPS) • This can be a separate heading, or part of the general education section. • Again, month and year of graduation. • State affiliation: “University of Washington School of Medicine, Family Practice Residency Network.”

13. Honors and Awards • List all awards and honors that you have received not previously mentioned. • Make sure they are relevant to the position for which you are applying.

14. Professional Society Memberships • List all memberships, and year joined. • Include any committees in which you participate.

15. Employment Experience • Most recent listed first: Place, position, and time employed. • Residents should only list those that are meaningful to your employer, and that inform your medical practice. • For future CVs, leave no time holes: account for all years since residency.

16. License and Certificates • This is very important, and some authors recommend it after the address section. • Medical license number for each state, and the number, date of expiration. • AAFP Board Certification date: “Board Eligible” is fine until exam results are available. • DEA number and date of expiration.

17. Publications • This is less important to positions in clinical practice: make it brief. • For faculty and academic posts, this should be fully fleshed out. • May include relevant publications in lay press.

18. Languages • List languages and degree of fluency. • Be accurate.

19. Other Qualifications • Include this section only if you have some meaningful non-medical qualifications: • Pilot’s License. • Computer Skills. • Citizenship if not American.

20. Extracurricular Activities • Community activities that are not medical: Big Brother/ Big Sister; School Board; Charitable Organizations. • Some advocacy groups may be listed: Physicians for Social Responsibility, Docs Otta Care...

21. Things to leave out: • Humor. • Unique style. • Personal information: marital status, number of children, sports, hobbies, military experience… • Save these for cover letter.

22. Things to leave out: • “References available on Request.” • You need to have your references list in mind when you submit a CV, but don’t include the names on the CV. • Make sure you talk to your references before you use their names.

23. Section Headings • Bold • Larger Font

24. Font • Standard Fonts are best, especially for online versions.

25. Short and simple • Don’t ever pad your CV. • Remember that every one will eventually see it. • It should be easy to copy, easy to read quickly.

26. Master CV • It might be good to first write a totally complete CV, listing EVERYTHING in detail. • This can be updated as you work through your career. • The CV you send will be distilled from the master to fit the particular job.

27. Cover Letter: • This is the necessary companion of the professional CV. • This is where you can introduce humor and humanity. • The letter should reflect your unique personality.

28. Before you even send the letter: • Investigate the position. • Call everyone you know who knows anything about it. • Administrative people, front desk people, nurses…all can be informative.

29. Investigate • What patients are seen? • How many? • What are the patient demographics? • Insurance base?

30. Investigate • Who are the current doctors? • What is the turnover in the medical staff? • Why exactly are they looking to hire a new doctor? • What qualities and attributes do they need in the new doctor?

31. Investigate: • Some information may allow you to forgo an interview. • Note the names of all your informants, as you can make your eventual interview more personal.

32. Cover Letter • It may be the only thing your interviewer will read. • Again, short and sweet: not more than one page. • It should be specific: to the particular director, for the particular position. • You can’t have a standard cover letter.

33. Cover Letter • Mention how you heard of the position. • Sometimes you can mention the people you know who are already employed there: make sure they would give you a good reference. • Describe the key elements of the position, so that the director knows you understand what they need.

34. Cover Letter: • Talk about yourself in professional and personal terms: Who you are. • Why exactly you are a good match for the position. • Mention things you can add the practice: skills, experience, language. • Emphasize your interests where they coincide with their needs.

35. Cover Letter: • This is the place to be emphatic. • If able, you can make it humorous. • As with the interview, be personal and honest.

36. Cover Letter • Don’t repeat elements of the CV, except in the broadest of strokes. • Mention exactly when you can start: This is often what gets someone a job! • State when and how you can be reached, and if they should not call you at your current employment.

37. Time to write: • Use the template or use your current CV. • Write a cover letter to an “ideal job.” • Pair up with another resident or faculty to get feedback.