Online portfolios may be the most popular form of advertising your skills and experience as a medical professional. However, a good medical professional still needs a properly updated curriculum vitae. Your medical CV is more than a “very long resume”; it serves as a detailed overview of your entire career and skill set, allowing you (and your employers) to see areas that can lead to opportunities and areas that need improvement in order to advance.
Knowing what to put on your medical CV is important because it will be one of the first things employers will check when you’re applying for a new job or asking for a promotion. Here’s a quick list of essential information that any medical CV should have.
- Personal Info – Your full name, titles, permanent address and contact details. Don’t forget your General Medical Council registration number.
- Career statement – A brief paragraph that showcases your overall experience and qualifications, plus a good reason why you’d be a good hire for the position you’re applying for.
- Education and qualifications – Medical degrees and postgraduate qualifications as proof of your credentials such as membership/license exams.
- Career background – A summary of your career up to your current job. Start with your current job and work your way back till the first one. Include details such as job location, start/end dates, pay grade, and the name of your direct supervisor for each job.
- Conferences and Seminars – Medical professionals attend conferences and development courses to further improve their skills. List each course with their titles, location, date, and the name of the host organization.
- Research – Depending on your specialty, you may be involved with plenty of research projects. Include each research you participated in, complete with date, your role in the research, and even the outcome.
- Publications – Include this in your CV if you had any content published such as research journals or when teaching undergraduate students.
- IT skills – Since employers prefer tech-savvy professionals, include any IT-related proficiencies such as familiarity with software used for medical research.
- Hobbies/Interests – Don’t hesitate to put your favorite pastime in your CV. Hobbies and interests reflect how well you maintain a good work-life balance.
- References – Have two or three people from your current or previous job as reference to help back up your credibility. Make sure you include their full name, position, and contact details.
Other tips on your medical CV
- Be concise – employers wouldn’t want to read through walls of text just to find out you worked at a certain hospital for 2 years. Be detailed but straight to the point.
- Readability over flair – Don’t get too fancy with fonts. Pick easy to read fonts such as Calibri, Times New Roman, or Arial.
- Never Exaggerate – Trying to pad your achievements by claiming stuff that you didn’t do can easily get you in trouble. Be honest when it comes to info. Your integrity will speak for itself.
While it is more challenging that it looks, writing a good medical CV can be the difference between a successful application and more time staying in your current position. Keep these tips in mind and you’ll have a better chance of advancing your career as a medical professional.
