CV writing 101: Tips for resident physicians entering job market

When residents or fellows apply for post-training positions, the packet of information they submit is likely to contain a cover letter and curriculum vitae (CV). 

Whereas a resume highlights a person’s experiences and skills in one to two pages, a CV is a comprehensive chronological story highlighting one’s education, skills, experiences, academic pursuits and achievements.

Two veterans of medical education provided tips for trainees preparing their first-ever CVs. One of the themes: Don’t try to reinvent the wheel. Learn with the AMA about the key elements of a CV.

The fact that a CV isn’t restricted in length doesn’t mean its author should go over-the-top in exposition, said Barbara G. Jericho, MD, a retired anesthesiologist in Chicago who spent years working with residents and fellows and has written about how to construct CVs. 

To be most effective, Dr. Jericho believes your CV should be a comprehensive yet succinct document.

“It’s very important to have a CV that is easily read,” she said. “So, having a lot of words and paragraphs should be discouraged. For example, if someone did research at an institution, the CV should include a line or two discussing their research, not an entire paragraph. One can expand on skills and experience during an interview.”

“When I talk to residents about this process, I point out that everybody has different buckets they can fill to make themselves a more competitive applicant,” said Michael G. Kavan, PhD, associate dean for student affairs at Creighton University School of Medicine, in Omaha, Nebraska. “But you need to fill each bucket, at least a little.”

Those buckets are:

• Education, which includes undergraduate, medical school, residency and fellowship.
• Research experiences, including presentations, abstracts, and publications. 
• Community service, which should focus on work with people, especially those from historically marginalized populations.
• Leadership roles—these can be at any level.
• University or hospital service, such as work on committees or anything else that can demonstrate an understanding of how organizations work.
• Volunteer service within professional societies, such as the AMA or the Association of American Medical Colleges, which shows you are familiar with current issues in the health care community and demonstrates your experience working with other health professionals. 

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Once you’ve drafted your CV, you might find that you don’t especially like how it looks—that you might be missing experience in one or more of those key areas. 

“If you’re in that position, look at what's realistic,” Kavan said. “For example, if you're applying to academic programs and you really want to get into academia, but your research experiences aren't that great, at least get involved with something. You may not get a presentation or a publication out of it, but at least you can talk about your current experience.”

Another thing you can do is look for easy wins. 

“You hate to do this just to do it, because you want to be genuinely committed to whatever you’re doing, but this a great opportunity to get out and do a one-off community service experience—work at a health fair for a day, or go to a clinic that serves underserved populations for a day or two. Those are things you could do pretty quickly, and you can then talk about them and put them on your CV. That could make for pretty rich conversations during interviews,” Kavan said.

Still another: Talk about it.

“For most people, if you have holes, I think it’s OK to be honest about them,” he said. “You could talk about how you weren't initially interested in something, but with your most recent experience, you’ve become much more motivated to work in that area.”

Dive deeper:

• What final-year residents value most in their job searches
• Job interviewing tips for physician employment
• Evaluating a prospective physician employer
• Final-year residents: Are you up to speed with your job search?
• Understanding physician employment contracts

While a CV is going to highlight your academic background, some aspects of that background are going to be more applicable to certain positions.

“What each employer looks for in a CV may vary,” Dr. Jericho said. “The CV should highlight elements relevant to the sought-after position. If a position involves leadership or education skills, you likely honed those skills during your training, and you should highlight those skills in your CV. Also, positions may be seeking skills that relate to your subspecialty training.”

Your CV is listed in chronological order. It is very much a history of what your career has been. Your cover letter and interview can tell the story of where it is going.

Coming out of training, your CV might not be expansive. But as your career evolves, Dr. Jericho said it’s not uncommon for CVs to be 20 pages or longer.

“The story of a CV is the chronicle of a career,” Dr. Jericho said. “As a career evolves, additional areas of expertise and areas of interests evolve. This should be reflected in a CV to show the growth of an individual.”

Given the dry nature of CVs, some applicants might be tempted to insert something unconventional or playful. Kavan recommends against this.

“This is not the time to be funny or cute,” he said. “This is a time when you want to get in and get out without damage. The only way I've seen people damage themselves in this process is by trying to be funny. I've been in this position for 28 years and looked at thousands of CVs, and I’ve probably seen one that was funny—that worked—and the applicant has done really well. I don't think any of us should go in thinking that we have the talent to do that.”

In other words, conventional is good.

“It's just like how you show up to an interview in terms of your apparel. You want to be pretty conservative—play the part, play the role. If you show up with a top hat and a cane to be different or noticed, that might fly one out of a million times, but I certainly wouldn’t take that risk,” he said.

If you’re entering the job market, it makes sense to seek advice from people who have previously done so or who may even be able to make hires.

“The more eyes you have on your CV the more feedback you get,” Dr. Jericho said. “Mentors or colleagues may review your CV, yet a resident physician may also have their adviser or attending physicians review their CV. The more perspectives someone has on their CV, the more it can be improved.”

Kavan agreed, noting that a good editor can save you some embarrassment.

“You need to have other eyes on it—but not too many, because too many cooks ruin the stew,” he said. “Find somebody in a professional position who's used to reading these things, like a program director or an assistant program director. You want to make sure you didn't miss anything or say something that comes across in the wrong way.”

As impressive as your accomplishments may be, one typo can stand out more than any of them.

“You get one chance. If you have spelling errors or items are incomplete, then this may adversely influence the reader’s impression of you,” Dr. Jericho said.