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  • Pursuing Board Roles for Doctors: Essential Tips

    Pursuing Board Roles for Doctors: Essential Tips

    Board Roles for Doctors

    If you are a doctor considering whether a board role might be for you, or are already looking for your first board position then, you likely have some questions. Perhaps you are unsure that your experience would be valued by boards, or think that without existing board experience you would not be a strong candidate, or you don’t know which companies would value you, or you just don’t know where to begin. Whatever your thoughts I am sure that you have begun to wonder HOW that transition to becoming a Non-Executive Director (NED) might take place. If some of that rings true, let me reassure you that I know from my 20+ years of experience of putting people on Boards that most doctors have lots to offer suitable Boards. 

    Why should doctors consider a board appointment?

    If you haven’t considered a NED appointment, you should.

    As a doctor there are many reasons you should consider a board appointment and for it to be part of a longer term career plan. Whilst doctors generally command higher degrees of job security and portability, we are typically seeing more and more doctors in Australia become dissatisfied with the traditional clinical career paths and health roles. Board roles for doctors can be a great way to add back in some variety and passion to your career. A board appointment can also help future proof your career, prepare for and stay relevant in retirement, support redundancy or a career change, offer the opportunity to ‘give back’, increase your ‘strategic’ expertise, diversify your network and can also offer a career in its own right (that pathway out of clinical medicine you may be craving). 

    Perhaps the benefits of board roles for doctors were best summed up in a general study from Harvard Business Review that found that serving on a board increases a professional’s likelihood of being promoted by 44% and even if they weren’t promoted their annual pay increased by 13%. Further studies have also shown that those who hold a NED appointment in addition to an executive role: have greater job security and are unemployed less, and transition between jobs more easily. 

    So the question is not ‘Should a board position be part of your career as a doctor? or ‘Is board appointment worth the effort?’ Rather, the questions you should want the answers to are ‘How do I find board opportunities as a doctor?’, ‘How do I determine the right board opportunities for me?’ and ‘How do I get appointed?’ 

    Do doctors make good board members?

    You bet. According to the Australian Institute of Company Directors AICD good NEDs have the following qualities:

    1. Good judgement
    2. Communication skills
    3. Active contributor
    4. Confidence
    5. Integrity and honesty
    6. Intellectual curiosity
    7. Discipline
    8. Genuine interest

    Compare these traits against a recent study which found that good doctors have the following qualities 

    1. are good communicators (tick)
    2. are organised and conscientious (tick)
    3. are empathetic (tick)
    4. are curious (tick)
    5. are collaborative (tick)
    6. are persistent (tick)
    7. have great bedside manner (tick)

    Compare these traits against the internationally recognised CanMEDS Framework that identify the following key roles for good doctors:

    1. Medical Expert
    2. Communicator
    3. Collaborator
    4. Professional
    5. Scholar
    6. Health Advocate
    7. Leader

     Enough said… the similarities between good doctors and good NEDs is obvious.

    Which organisation’s board vacancy is right for you?

    Medicine offers great skills. You have specialised fields on which your value is indispensable to potential employers. Be it at hospitals, clinics, private companies, teaching or research. So, my advice is to pick a business field where your particular medical knowledge gives you an advantage. This could be pharmaceuticals or aged care or medical technology. Whatever the area you want to be able to bring real knowledge as a practitioner to the field.

    But you don’t have to limit yourself to traditional healthcare organisations either. The premise that all doctors are similar is wrong. I have found there to be a massive diversity in the skill sets of doctors. Doctors can and do run companies, and do things that business people do in addition to their clinical skill sets. Further, doctors do have other interests or experience. It is too narrow to just limit yourself and your opportunities to just the medical sectors. 

    Ask yourself the following questions: What are you passionate about? What organisation can you meaningfully contribute to? Do you need to be paid? Who is going to value your connections? What is your value at board level? Answering these questions will help you to begin to narrow your focus. In turn, you will be better able to target specific organisations with a strong value proposition. This is going to make you more appointable and mean that you get a greater return on your time investment.

    How do you find a board roles for doctors in Australia?

    If you want a board appointment you need to focus your time on doing the things that will get you a return on the investment of your valuable time.

    Whether you are a doctor, lawyer, accountant, HR, IT or marketing professional or something entirely different, finding and gaining your first non-executive role is a task few are qualified for and is akin to acquiring your first job. But it does happen – time and time again – though it is often linked to the amount of effort you put in and preparing accordingly. It is also linked to doing things that work and avoiding things that do not. 

    The simplest thing you can do is often be as simple as just telling people that you are looking for a board role! So, just start by doing that. By just mentioning that you are considering board roles for doctors you might be surprised by the result. However, once you start telling people you then need to also be ready to be asked a couple of questions in return. 1. Which organisation would you like to be on the board of/are you targeting? And 2. Why do you want to be a NED? You need answers to both of these questions, otherwise you will not be taken seriously and will waste opportunities.

    Whilst just telling people you would like a board role is a great start, if you are serious about gaining a board appointment you need to consider doing more. That means understanding the board appointment framework and putting together a simple, easy to implement and sustainable plan. At Board Direction, we consider there to be three ‘Core Pillars’ of a board appointment – they are the framework of your plan.

    1. Aspiration: Firstly you need a list of organisations that you believe you could and would like to be appointed to the board of – we like a list of 12
    2. Articulation: You need a Board CV and a verbal pitch that articulates your value at board level – language that avoids referencing your motivations but rather addresses the motivations of a decision maker.
    3. Application: Applying the knowledge of what your targets are and pitch is. Most people think that means working with recruiters or responding to advertised board opportunities. However, less than 20% of all board appointments are made this way. Instead, 80% of all appointments come through informal application processes – strong ties, weak ties and direct approaches

    Other than my medical expertise, what skills are Boards looking for in Directors?

    Again. This will vary from organisation to organisation. But if you are thinking of extending your professional development into non-traditional areas there are some skill areas and experience you may want to invest in based on what we see regularly advertised. These include:

    1. Prior Governance Experience

    Obviously, if you have board-level experience, you should lead with it. But what if you don’t have prior Board experience? Consider investing in some governance training and experience. Many directors often find their way to a Board appointment through committee work. So one obvious thing you can probably do now to improve your director skill set is volunteer for committee work in your hospital or health service or College etcetera…

    2. An Executive Skill Set

    At board level, what do you do? What is your value at board level? And why is what you do more valuable than one of your competitors with similar skills? What is your value at board level? 

    People often think finance, audit & risk and legal skills are the most valuable and most often requested at board level. However, whilst still high (good news for the lawyers and accountants reading this article), the desirability of these skills is actually decreasing, and far broader skills are in demand. 

    You can think about your value in two ways: Firstly, by considering the ROI for an organisation if they were to appoint you to their board – what would you deliver them? Secondly, consider what they would lose by not appointing someone with your skillset to the board – what risks are they potentially exposed to, and what is the cost of those risks that you and your skillset can mitigate?

    3. Industry Experience and Connections

    For some organisations, many in fact, this is often the most important thing you can offer. Therefore, it is important for you to be able to evidence how your industry experience and connections will benefit the organisation for which you wish to sit on the board. 

    The introductions you provide, the brand that you bring, or the knowledge you offer that can be leveraged to expedite business growth and lead to new opportunities. These relationships can also deal with difficult situations or provide access to knowledge not otherwise available to the organisation’s executive team.

    4. Demonstrable Passion

    You must always remember that passion is the key to being able to serve on a board effectively, but so is your appointability. Board members are passionate. They are often passionate about three things: What the organisation does, What the organisation is, and How they can contribute.

    5. Cultural Fit

    For me, this is the big one, but cultural fit is difficult to define. 

    What cultural fit means for a Chair is that you are not going to risk their reputation, the board’s and that of the organisation if they were to appoint you. So, demonstrating cultural fit is ultimately about de-risking your appointment because if Chairs…

    • don’t like you,
    • don’t feel their board or stakeholders or shareholders will like you,
    • feel like you won’t work effectively with the executive team,
    • feel you won’t attend extra-professional activities with other board members,
    • feel you are going to be too quiet or loud or in any way going to cause them a headache.

    … they simply won’t appoint you. 

    Overall, continuing to broadly invest in your professional development and expanding your skill set as a doctor can help you become a more effective and valuable board member in the healthcare industry and more widely. Consider seeking out opportunities for learning and growth in these key areas to enhance your contribution to the organisations you serve.

    Gaining a Board appointment as a doctor can be simpler and quicker than you might imagine

    Over 90% of the people I work with are professionals who also want a board appointment. Whilst some do have an existing portfolio of executive and non-executive roles, most others are looking for their first appointment or some want to ‘step up’ into a more significant (often paid) board appointment. Regardless, they all face similar challenges on their road to get a seat in a boardroom and need to follow the same three step process to make it happen – including any Doctor who wishes to gain a board appointment! If you’d like some advice do contact us for a confidential consultation to see if and how we can help.

    Until then, just telling people of your board aspirations requires no fancy memberships, and no expense; it is also super simple to implement, and you may be astounded by how effective it can be.

    If you would like to get in contact with the Author of this article, David Schwarz you can head over to the Board Direction website.

    Frequently Asked Questions about Board Roles for Doctors

    Question. What’s the best way to find potential Board appointments?

    You will see Boards advertise on traditional jobs boards like Seek, but there are several other places that you will see Board appointments promoted. These include LinkedIn as well as specific Board appointment site listings.

    Advertised board opportunities often attract hundreds of candidates so whilst it is possible to get appointed this way it is unlikely. Instead, most directors find their way on to Board via a personal connections, through those they already know but more likely through people they see rarely or infrequently – they are called ‘weak ties’.  

    Question. Do you need any governance training?

    Formal governance training is not required to take up a board appointment.

    However, I often find that doctors, when considering a board appointment, underestimate the risks. There’s a decent amount that can go wrong on a board. And doctors are not immune to these risks just by virtue of being intelligent.

    So, whilst a governance qualification may not directly help you to gain a board appointment (that is what Board Direction [https://link.advancemed.com.au/boarddirection] do) it might be worth considering some further training.
    Many doctors do choose to do this training and it may even be something that is covered by your professional development leave and fund if you are a salaried doctor.

    Question. What are the eligibility requirements for becoming a director?

    Eligibility requirements vary according to the organisation and the Board you are considering.

    According to the AICD there are only 3 mandatory requirements for becoming a company director Section 201B of the Corporations Act 2001 (Commonwealth) provides that a director must:
    – Be an individual, not a body corporate
    – Be at least 18 years of age
    – Not be disqualified from managing corporations under Part 2D.6. If they have been disqualified, the appointment must be made with permission granted by ASIC under s 206F or leave granted by the Court under s 206G

    These requirements only legally extend to registered companies. But there are similar eligibility requirements for Not For Profit organisations.
    Many organisations will also require mandatory checks of your criminal history. Most care organisations will require a working with children check, as well as possibly aged care worker or NDIS worker checks.

    Question. Are Boards specifically looking for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors?

    Question. Are Boards specifically looking for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors?
    Yes. If you are an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and a medical practitioner you are definitely going to be in demand as many Boards are seeking to address diversity and inclusivity challenges by adding Indigenous leadership onto their Boards.

    Question. I heard Boards are most often looking for females.

    Yes and no. There has been a big push for gender diversity (and diversity more widely) on boards in recent times. The last statistics we saw on this saw 48% of recent appointments made were female with the remaining 52% being male.

    Question. I have heard that LinkedIn is useful for doctors wanting to expand in to Board careers. Is this true?

    Yes. It is true that a LinkedIn profile can be helpful in obtaining a Board appointment. Many directors find out about Board opportunities via LinkedIn.

    Question. Is there a way I can get some professional help in developing my Board career?

    Yes. If you are interested in some professional coaching and advice to secure your first/next Board appointment then we suggest you sign up for our webinar.

  • How To Write A Medical CV. Updated Ultimate Guide.

    How To Write A Medical CV. Updated Ultimate Guide.

    Crafting an effective medical CV or resume is a crucial step for medical professionals in advancing their careers. In this updated guide, we delve into the essentials of creating a CV that stands out, combining our extensive experience with the latest trends in medical recruitment.

    One of the interesting aspects of medical training is that we tend to assume that doctors have the professional skills to manage their careers. However, it’s been my experience that many doctors struggle with the job application process because this has not been the focus of their training to date. So if you are feeling a bit lost as to what to write in and how to write a medical CV. Here’s an overview.

    How To Write a Medical CV. The Best Way.

    The key things to writing a successful medical CV are to:

    1. Understanding that employers spend about 6 or 8 seconds the first time they look at your CV.
    2. The final document that employers actually want is more a resume than a CV.
    3. Pay close attention to what you put on your front page. Everything that is good about you should be on the front page. This includes your basic details, short qualifications, recent work achievements and a summary.
    4. Tailor your CV to the role you are applying for. The best way to do this is provide a Personal Summary or Career Goal Statement as the first block of writing. This way you get to control the initial narrative. Not the reviewer.
    5. Don’t worry too much about page length. A good CV should be as long as it needs to be and no longer.
    6. Don’t put a photograph on your CV. This introduces unnecessary bias.
    7. Do make your name the biggest thing on the front page. That’s what you want them to remember.

    What’s The Purpose of a Medical CV or Doctor Resume?

    The aim of your CV or Resume should be to present a summary of your career, including education, professional history and job qualifications with a strong emphasis on demonstrating that you have the specific skills related to the position you are applying for.

    The person who is shortlisting candidates for interview will on average be spending only a few seconds to review your CV the first time.  Their primary aim at this stage is to determine whether your application should be considered further. Therefore, the purpose of knowing how to write a medical CV is to ensure that you develop a CV that moves you forward in the application process.  You should ensure that your CV is relevant, clear and concise.

    What Exactly Are You Writing? A CV Or A Resume.

    Let’s start firstly with defining what this document that you are writing is all about.  I’ve seen quite a few blogs and posts about how to write a medical CV or how to construct a medical resume. For example this one. But they all seem to skip a basic issue.

    Which is whether you are actually compiling a CV or a Resume? In a funny little typical Australian quirk, most medical employers ask you to submit a CV but in fact they don’t really want a CV.  That’s just what they call it.

    The Meaning of Curriculum Vitae

    Curriculum Vitae means course of life in latin. A proper CV therefore is literally a blow by blow account of everything that has occurred in your career and would stretch into several pages for many doctors.

    The Meaning of Resume

    A Resume on the other hand comes from the French meaning to interrupt and therefore is meant to be an abridged and tailored account of your career. You are tailoring your career history and achievements to best address the job you are currently applying for.

    So in fact what you are really writing is more akin to a resume. But you still need to ensure that certain information is included, in particular all your educational qualifications and history as well as all your work history.

    Where To Start With Your Doctor CV.

    The CV is bookended by the front page and the referees which come at the very end.  These are the two most important elements of a good doctor CV or doctor resume. So when someone asks me how to write a medical CV, the obvious starting point for my explanation is with the front page.  We will discuss this in more depth and then move on to the other elements.  

    First it may be helpful to illustrate what I am talking about.  The letters in the image indicates different parts of your CV.

    Diagram: The importance of the front page is illustrated above

    A – Your name should be the most prominent item on your CV

    B – A qualification summary helps the employer to quickly determine whether you are eligible for the position.  It also means you don’t need to put your education history on the front page.  Its also a good idea to include your medical registration number. If you are an International Medical Graduate you could also include your english test results and visa status.

    C – Provide contact details to make it easier to get in touch.  A mobile phone number and a professional email (which you check regularly) are key.

    D – A career statement or personal summary is crucial. Think of it as an executive summary where you get to control the narrative of your career.

    It should demonstrate why you are a good candidate for the job by drawing on key items in your CV. You should also show how you can add value to the employer. If using a career goal summary format try to set your career horizon 2 to 5 years into the future.

    E – Employers are most interested in your work history. This should be written in reverse chronological order. Don’t waste space listing too many details of the position (i.e. specific dates of rotations and job responsibilities) instead use this as an opportunity to highlight your achievements with additional narrative.

    F – If you have worked more than 2 or 3 jobs already you probably will not have space for education history on your first page. If you do have space try to ensure you once again make this section relevant to the post and supportive of your career statement.

    The Front Page.

    The Front Page is where you should focus your effort most. So its best to at least start here. Remember you can always make a draft of this bit then fill in other remaining elements and then come back to it.

    Don’t worry too much about formatting for now.  Just open a word document and concentrate on the content and the order.  Try to keep all your formatting, text and styling to a minimum so that you can do that at the end.  That way you will have a more consistent look.

    Alternatively, you can use one of the many online CV builders that are available. I recommend VisualCV because it is free to use and if you want to upgrade to one of their slightly nicer templates you can do so for a few dollars.

    6 to 8 Seconds To Review Your CV.

    Whats all this fuss about the front page? Well, studies show that experienced recruiters spend only a few seconds reviewing your CV (or resume) on the first pass and that most of this time is spent on the first page.

    The front page is therefore extremely critical. It should be where you put all your best information.  This makes it easy for the person reviewing your CV to determine that you are worthy of a more deeper review. Which in most cases means progressing to the interview phase.

    The Front Page should consist of the following elements (see the hot-spotted image):

    • Your Name – which should be the biggest thing on the page because you want them to remember your name*
    • Your contact details – you want them to be able to find you
    • Your short qualifications
    • A career statement or personal statement
    • Your work history in reverse chronological order

    If you have any space left. Which most doctors do not. You can start to account for your educational history. Again in reverse chronological order.

    I’ve written before about the importance of the career statement. But remember this is where you can highlight all the other good things that are worthy of being on your front page.  The things that are buried on pages 2, 3, 4, 5 etc… because you are following the rule of work history first, then education history.

    Your Name Is The Hero. Not Your Photo.

    For an in-depth explanation as to why photos are not recommended on medical resumes go here.  The 3 main reasons are that photographs can unnecessarily bias the reviewers impression of you as a candidate, are seen by many panel members as breaking an informal rule AND take up a lot of that valuable 6 to 8 seconds that the reviewer spends reviewing your CV the first time.

    What you do want to stand out on the page is your name.  This seems an obvious point.  But I have seen plenty of CV and resumes where the applicant used a small heading for their name.  If you are going to go big with any font and any styling (sometimes a dark background header with your name in white looks good, but don’t go too crazy) then make it your name.  You want the reviewer to remember it AND when they go back through that pile of CVs the next time be able to easily find it.

    Lots of Narrative Please!

    Its important to talk about yourself in your CV.  Control the narrative from the start with your career goal statement.  But don’t switch straight over to bullet points for the rest of your CV.  There are probably some really memorable moments in your work career and education and they deserve a sentence or two if they relate to the job that you are aiming for.

    Too often on CVs and Resumes candidates waste valuable space listing all the job specifics (e.g. dates and locations and role responsibilities) whilst not talking about what they achieved or learnt in the role.

    Try not to bore the employer.

    In most cases you can safely assume that the employer knows what an Intern does on a daily basis.  So use the opportunity to talk about the unique things you did as an Intern.

    For example, perhaps you are aiming for a specialty trainee position in emergency medicine and one of the selection criteria is about rapid decision making.

    Perhaps in your intern or resident role you had an opportunity to demonstrate rapid decision-making? Maybe you worked one doctor down for a significant period so had to bring those skills to bear.  If so, write about this element of your work history and relate it to how it will help you in the new role.

    “Nailing” Your Personal Summary Section.

    Your personal summary section (or Career Goal Summary if you prefer this approach) is arguably the most important section of your CV or resume.

    Writing a personal summary for your medical CV is a strategic exercise in controlling your professional narrative. This concise, introductory segment empowers you to set the stage for your entire CV, allowing you to steer the focus towards your most compelling attributes and experiences. It’s an opportunity to succinctly articulate your career objectives, strengths, and unique selling points, framing your profile in the light most favorable to your aspirations.

    By carefully crafting your personal summary, you can guide the reader’s perception, ensuring they view your experiences and qualifications through the lens you’ve designed. This deliberate shaping of narrative is particularly important in the medical field, where differentiating oneself in a sea of highly qualified professionals is crucial.

    This concise section allows you to highlight your most significant achievements, skills, and experiences, setting the tone for the rest of your CV. It’s particularly beneficial for illustrating how your background aligns with the specific needs of the role and the organization. Moreover, a well-crafted personal summary can differentiate you from other candidates by showcasing your individuality and professional ethos.

    The V.E.G. Approach to Personal Summarys.

    My favourite mnemonic for aiding in crafting your Personal Summary is the V.E.G. appeoach.

    Value in the Personal Summary:

    • Integrating ‘Value’: You should always lead with the key value you bring to the role. For instance, achievements like implementing a telehealth system or leading health outreach programs can be highlighted to show how you as a candidate can lead and enhance the team.

    Ease of Transition:

    • Highlighting ‘Ease of Transition’: It’s important to allay any fears the panel may have that this job is “too big a step up” for you. Provide examples of how you have mastered key aspects of the new job in your current or previous roles.

    Gratitude in the Application Process:

    • Expressing ‘Gratitude’: Finally it’s important to finish your personal summary by conveying a sense of passion for the role and gratitude for the opportunity. What do you like about the job or the team or the hospital? How will this job help you out? Panels will generally award jobs to candidates they feel will be grateful.

    Talk About Your Achievements.

    I’m hammering the point here a bit.  But it is important to sell yourself.  Try to put down at least one important thing that you did in your most recent 2 job roles. If you can back this up with hard statistics. Like “implemented a new pre-admission protocol that reduced the number of patients needing to be re-scheduled for day surgery by 10%” that’s even better.

    But maybe its just a compliment your received from a grateful family or something unique your consultant wrote about your performance on your end of term report.

    Think also about what things you did that were special in medical school and write about one or two achievements there.  Anything that shows leadership or organisation or teaching skills is good.  So examples might be being secretary for a club or tutoring pre-clinical students.  For the former you can talk about what the aims of the club were and what was achieved that year.  For the latter you can talk about how many students you tutored and if you do have some teaching evaluations you can talk about these as well.

    The Order. And The Rest.

    The expected and recommended order on a Doctor CV is as follows:

    • Details (name, contacts, registration, short qualifications),
    • Career Summary,
    • Work History (Achievements) most recent job first and following in reverse chronological order,
    • Education History, again most recent qualification first,
    • The Rest,
    • Referees.

    With “The Rest”. Its totally up to you what you put how you list it and in what order. 

    If your teaching achievements sell you best then put this next. If its your skills put that next etc…

    Some other headings you may wish to consider using are:

    • Teaching
    • Professional Development
    • Publication
    • Academic Achievements
    • Extra Qualifications
    • Qualifcations
    • Certificates
    • Volunteer Work
    • Research
    • Skills
    • Publications
    • Quality Improvement
    • Leadership and Management
    • Committees
    • Presentations
    • Conferences
    • Languages
    • Computer Skills

    But again. I emphasis you don’t need to use all of these.

    Don’t Worry Too Much About Research If You Haven’t Done Much.

    Many trainee doctors fret that they don’t have 10 peer review publications to list on their CV and that this will count badly against them.  For most of the jobs that you are applying for research will at best be a secondary consideration.  The panel will probably be more worried if they see a CV that has an excessive amount of research listed.  As they will get the impression that you may be more interested in research than looking after the patients on your team.

    There is no rule that says you have to put the word “Research” as a heading on your CV.  You could for example use something else like “Publications” which gives you a bit more breadth to talk about your academic profile.  For example maybe you have presented a poster at a conference.  That’s a publication.  Even blog posts are now becoming recognised as scholarly activities.

    You can also focus on related areas such as quality improvement. Perhaps you were involved in an audit as well as teaching (for e.g. grand rounds presentations).  There’s lots of scope here.

    And as I say. Not having much research rarely counts against a candidate.  The only situation that it might count against you is in college selection where sometimes points are awarded for having certain qualifications or amounts of publications.

    Referees.

    Referees are arguably the most important aspect of your CV. Especially if you make it through to the interview round.  Your referees should be contacted to provide some information about you.  This information is gold and should be treated as more important than the actual interview itself.

    This is the reason why referees are placed last on the CV. It makes them easier to find. 

    Experienced recruiters know to weight the value of a well taken reference or set of references above the quality of your interview performance. This is because studies show that references have greater predictive validity in selection. 

    Sadly, many of the doctors you will encounter on selection panels do not know this fact and place too much emphasis on the interview performance. But this does not mean that they are not interested in your referees. They are. 

    Who should I choose for my referees? 

    In most industries, your first referee will be your current supervisor or manager and your second referee will generally be you’re the previous supervisor or manager. Medicine is a little different because trainee doctors are rotating around frequently and are interacting with several supervisors and managers on a regular basis.

    There are three key principles that I outline to trainee doctors when selecting referees.

    The first is recency, the second is relevancy and the third is diversity.

    Recruiters will generally want to speak to someone who has recently worked with you, preferably your current manager. In some circumstances this is a requirement. Some good options for this might be your Director of Training, Director of Medical Services or Medical Workforce Unit or JMO Manager.

    You also want at least one referee who is relevant to your chosen future career. For most this generally means one Consultant who is a Fellow of the Specialty College you are aiming to enroll with. Some doctors in training try to have 3 College Fellows listed as their only referees and worry if this is not the case. It can be incredibly hard to collect 3 good referees from one College and I actually don’t recommend this approach. You are far better off focusing on obtaining one College referee who has actually supervised you in a term. Most trainee doctors will have a chance to work one term in their preferred specialty before applying for posts. 

    So who else might you ask to act as a referee? 

    This is where diversity is a consideration. There may be a Consultant from another specialty who you got on well with in their term. If so, it’s a good idea to put them down. Other options include: Nurse Managers, Senior Allied Health Professionals and Advanced Trainees. The key consideration here is that these should be people that you have worked with who have gotten to know you reasonably well. 

    I would also recommend that at least one of your referees is male and at least one is female. 

    By having a diverse list of referees you are telling the selection panel that you value teamwork and the roles of others in the team and also that you are able to get on well with a range of different people in the workplace.

    By having a diverse list of referees you are telling the selection panel that you value teamwork and the roles of others in the team and also that you are able to get on well with a range of different people in the workplace.

    Anthony Llewellyn

    Are there some referees I should avoid or seek out? 

    As a trainee, you may be worried that a certain referee may be tougher than another referee or that some referees carry more wright because of their name, reputation and connections. 

    There is really no hard and fast way of knowing whether a referee is more or less likely to improve your chances of an interview or successful job application. Gut feel is probably your best ally here. If you feel that you have established a good authentic working relationship with a referee, they are likely to give you a good reference or at worst a balanced one. 

    Personally I would avoid any referee that infers that their name on your CV will carry some sort of additional weight. 

    How many referees do I need? 

    The short answer is 3. The panel will be required to contact at least 2 referees and they usually only collect 2. The third referee is there in case one of your other 2 referees are not able to be contacted. There is no rule that says you have to stop at 3 referees. You can list more and it may be sensible to add a couple of more referees if you feel that this enhances your candidacy. Extra referees can for example demonstrate your ability to be a team player by listing additional referees from a range of areas of medicine and a range of disciplines. 

    More than 5 or 6 referees is probably excessive and you should also be mindful of the order in which you list your referees. 

    How to order and list your referees.

    Remember that the first two people listed on your CV as a referee are the ones that will be contacted first for a reference. So you should generally order your list of referees in the order that you would prefer them to be contacted. However, if one of your referees is someone you have not worked with in over 12 months then you should either rethink using them as a reference or put them a bit further down your list (3 or 4 or 5). 

    You should list your referees as follows: 

    [Prefix] [First Name] [Second Name], [Job Title] [Organization], [Location] 

    e.g. Dr Sandy Duncan, Head of Department of Medicine, St Cliffs Hospital, Sydney 

    You may wish to add relevant qualifications (e.g. College Fellowship) if this clarifies the nature of the referee better. But you don’t need to list all of their qualifications. You generally do not need to provide a physical address or postal address. 

    If possible list a mobile phone number and email address as this makes the job of the person taking a reference much easier. 

    Referees available upon request.

    Sometimes you may see the words “Referees available upon request” listed on a CV. This might occur for example when applying for more senior training or consultant posts. It is generally done when you may wish to ensure that you speak to your referees prior to them being contacted by someone from the selection panel, for example where there might be some sensitivity around you leaving your current role

    What Is the Optimal Length For a Doctor CV or Resume?

    If you look for advice online about Resume length you will quickly be told that a resume should be no more than 2 pages.  This is however unrealistic for most doctors. Because we tend to move jobs initially once a year when starting out we tend to accumulate a lengthy work history fairly quickly.  Along with this also normally comes publications or extra professional development which is worth including. 

    The optimum length for a doctor CV or resume should be as long as it needs to be and no more.  Practically getting it down to 2 pages is unrealistic. Most doctors can comfortably restrict their CV to a maximum of 4 pages. But again the emphasis is on what information needs to be provided. Not how much.  Your emphasis should always be on relevance and creating a narrative that sells you to the employer, so if that means going a little longer in length then that is fine.  So long as you spend most of your time refining your front page.

    Tips For Ensuring That Your Doctor CV (Resume) Stands Out In A Good Way – How To Write a Professional Medical CV.

    • As long as it needs to be — Your CV should give the reader enough information for them to explore relevant points during the interview. Most are able to manage this in 4 pages but remember that quality is much more important than quantity.
    • Do not waste valuable space — Don’t include a cover sheet or index in your CV.  Don’t be overly inclusive in relation to specific rotation dates and job duties unless this aids your application. 
    • Easy on the eye — Avoid using too many fonts and lots of different formatting styles (such as bold, underlining, and italics) as this will draw attention away from what matters the most in your CV—the content. Use the same font throughout. A “sans serif” style font, such as Arial is best as these are easier to read. Ensure that the layout, spacing, and structure of your CV are consistent throughout and do not differ from section to section.
    • Avoid block after block of text — It is better to present your skills and achievements in a given section as bullet points rather than paragraph after paragraph of solid text as this can be off-putting and daunting to the reader.  However, this does not mean that you cannot still use a narrative approach.  The aim of a good CV is to make your experience and achievements leap off the page.
    • Do not make things up — Your CV is a statement of fact, and if it is found to include information this can be very bad for your career.

    *Never include a photo on your CV. Unless this is mandated.

    Related Questions.

    What is a Career Goal Statement?

    A Career Goal Statement is a summary of you as a candidate. What you are looking for and how you can bring value to the role and the employer.  For further details check out this post.

    Is there a recommended formula for referees?

    For most posts its recommended that you get a mix of referees.  At least one referee should have supervised or managed you in the last 6 months.  Have at least one consultant from the specialty you are applying for.  Try to have a mix of male and female and strongly consider having at least one referee who is outside of the medical profession.

    Do I need anything else other than a CV to apply for a job?

    The things you will generally also need to put in a job application are a cover letter and you will need to complete a form.  Normally this form is online as part of the employer’s erecruitment system. If you have written your CV and cover letter well you probably have all the information you need to fill in the application, including addressing the selection criteria.

    How long should my Medical CV be?

    Your CV should be as long as it needs be. But no longer. Remember to only including information that is relevant to the job you are applying. For example, if its a clinical role with not much research it’s probably best to shorten up your research section to recent and relevant activities.

    Don’t sacrifice page length for aesthetics. If you need an extra page so it looks well set out then use that extra page.

    As a basic rule of thumb most RMOs and Registrars will be able to get their CV to 4 pages. Most Advanced Trainees and Consultants might need 6 to 8 pages.

    How often should I update my Medical CV?

    Short Answer. Each and every time you apply for a new position.

    Try to keep a “master CV” somewhere with all your experiences and achievements. LinkedIn can be useful for this.

    Review your master CV alongside your most recent CV. Make a copy of this recent CV and update it for the new job adding in relevant components from your master CV.

    Can I include volunteer experiences and hobbies on my Medical CV?

    Yes you can. But try to show how these are relevant to your ability to perform the job. Some volunteer experiences and hobbies will be more obvious for this than others.
  • Medical Student Resumes A Written And Video Guide

    Medical Student Resumes A Written And Video Guide

    This is an evolving blog and vlog post specifically about how to write a medical student resume put together by request from a number of medical students who have contacted me asking for this type of information.

    In my experience, many medical students are at a bit of a loss composing a resume in their final years of medical school. There may be a number of reasons for this but high amongst these reasons is the fact that for many it’s their first experience at doing something like this. So before I dive into the details and specifics lets me give you my key tips on how you can get a good medical student resume together.

    1. It’s really helpful to start with a template. Problem is there are not too many that are specifically for medical students. So I’ve supplied you one at the end of this post (to encourage you to read the whole way through).
    2. It’s best to not get caught up with particular headings or what should go where. Just start writing in the sections that you can and get the juices flowing. Leave your personal statement to the very last.
    3. Understand that employers spend only a few seconds the first time they see your resume. So in order to maximise its impact, you need to ensure that important matters are on the first page.
    4. Personal statements can be tricky to construct. Especially the first time you try to do it. For most of us, it’s hard to talk ourselves up. In this article, I have provided a personal statement formula that works well for most doctor’s

    So, if you are a medical student and would like some help with your resume you are in the right place.  And look even if you are not a student you may find some of these tips useful so please feel free to keep reading as we dig a bit deeper.

    What Is Unique About the Medical Student Resume?

    There are a number of unique features of the medical student resume. And I should clarify we are talking here about the one that you put together at the end of your medical school years.  The one you need for your intern application.

    A key unique feature of the medical student resume is that it can be a struggle to show big points of difference at this point.  You might be lucky to have won some awards or have a higher than normal grade point average in your medical school.  But generally, most medical students have the same types of experiences and learn the same things in medical school.  So, this can make it really hard to stand out.

    On the positive side, there is generally less emphasis on the importance of your resume at this point. The key reason for this is that from an employer perspective you have not been tested as yet through work experience. Work experience is a key thing that most employers look at on any candidate’s resume.

    So with a similar educational experience and lack of any work experience (at least as a doctor), it can seem hard to stand out.

    Or can it?

    Describing Competencies Can Boost Your Resume.

    I recently gave a seminar to some 4th-year medical students (students in their penultimate year) at my local university. The talk was about the importance of being well-rounded in one’s medical career and being able to demonstrate a range of competencies on your resume.

    Being able to articulate your competencies and demonstrate evidence for them is a really good way to shine on your resume. The problem is many medical students and doctors alike don’t know what competency is. Which is a real shame as competencies underpin much of what is currently occurring in medical training.

    The framework I like for describing competencies is the CanMEDS framework. I’ve done a few more extended videos about CanMEDS so here’s one of those videos if you want some further details.

    But suffice enough to say, CanMEDS is a thoroughly well-tested model that says that what we are looking for in a good doctor is someone who is not only a medical expert but has strengths in the areas of communication, collaboration, advocating for patients and good health outcomes, scholarship (i.e. teaching, learning and research), being a leader and of course being a professional.

    All good so far when I spoke to my students about this concept.  They could all see that there was more to being a doctor than their medical knowledge and skills.

    BUT they asked me.  How can we actually demonstrate that we have competencies in those areas?

    What are the opportunities we have between now and graduation where we can develop these other competencies more or demonstrate our proficiency?

    Fair enough question.

    So let’s take one of these competencies.  Let’s take communication.

    I have deliberately chosen communication as it can be an extremely difficult competency to write about in a resume.  Yet it’s almost always there as a key selection criterion.

    Lots of doctors (not just medical students) will just write that they are very effective communicators.

    I am a highly effective communicator

    Typical statement seen on a doctor resume which frankly means nothing.

    But so what. Who says?  Where’s the evidence?

    Well. If you think about it for a minute. In medical school, there are actually plenty of opportunities to demonstrate your capability as a communicator and collect evidence for your resume.

    You just have to be strategic and have a bit of a plan.

    If you just rely on what the medical school says to guide your learning you are going to miss these opportunities that I am now going to point out for you.

    Communication Opportunity Number 1.

    Communication Training sessions.

    Most medical schools these days incorporate specific sessions or training around communication.  Engage in these sessions.  Find out what the curriculum or learning outcomes are for them.  Write these learning outcomes down in a logbook or a diary somewhere.

    Go into these sessions with a specific goal in mind.  If, for example, you feel that you want to work on counseling patients, as part of your communication training.  Tell the teacher of the workshop this at the start and ask if there is a specific opportunity in the session for you to practice this aspect of your communication.

    Write a short reflective piece about what you learned as a reminder and reinforcer.

    Now. When it comes to putting your resume together you suddenly have something substantial to write.

    For example,

    as a communicator, I was trained and assessed in my medical school training to be an effective and patient-centred listener and communicator. I learnt the benefits and utility of various communication techniques, including both open and closed questions.  I learnt how to successfully handle difficult communication challenges, such as breaking bad news or enquiring about suicide. A personal goal for me in all of this was to achieve high-quality counselling skills, which I am pleased to say I was able to achieve so that I am competent in a range of counselling situations for interns, including discharge planning, the impact of lifestyle on health, and discussing common medications and their possible side effects.

    Communication Opportunity Number 2.

    End of Term Reports.

    Most medical schools will require that you get some sort of end-of rotation or end-of-term supervisor report. Use these to collect feedback and information about your communication strengths and weak points.

    I would encourage all medical students to start out each rotation again with a few clear learning goals in mind.  If communication is one of these.  Make sure that this is clear to the consultant and the trainee doctors and other team members that you are working with.

    Be as specific as possible about what it is that you are wanting to work on.  And encourage them to be as specific as possible.

    So again, going back to our previous example. Perhaps you want feedback on your counseling skills. Say this upfront and your team will most likely help construct opportunities to practise these skills and get feedback.

    At the end of this rotation and others.  You will then hopefully have meaningful comments in your supervisor reports which you can use on your resume.  Check with your supervisor about your end-of-term reports before the term wraps up.  Make sure that you are provided with plenty of written feedback.

    Then when it comes to putting together your resume.  You have more to write about.

    For example,

    across my last 2 clinical years of medical school, my supervisor reports consistently showed that I excelled in communication.  I was signed off as competent in being able to gather a relevant history, make appropriate file notes, complete an effective discharge summary, conduct a handover and do basic patient counselling.

    Communication Opportunity Number 3.

    So, my final opportunity for you to both enhance your communication and demonstrate it on your resume might be seen as a little bit more unorthodox than the last 2 suggestions.

    But I’d encourage you to consider this one.

    As someone who has interviewed thousands of doctors over time for various jobs.  There are few things that speak more highly about someone’s communication skills than actual patient feedback.

    Very few doctors bother to gather feedback from patients about things like communication.

    So here is a really great opportunity for you to stand out.

    Think about putting together a short survey or questionnaire for the patients you are seeing.  Make sure of course that you consider issues of consent and privacy. It’s probably best not to collect any demographics or even case details.

    Whenever you see a patient ask them if they would mind filling out a quick survey about your communication.

    Very quickly you will be able to compile a useful set of data and information that will probably show you your areas of strength (which you can now point out on your resume) and areas for improvement.

    For example,

    During medical school I also conducted a survey of 20 patients who indicated that I was an effective listener, was able to communicate in lay language and that they would be more than happy with having me as their intern.

    So there you go.

    Some tips about how to talk about your communication on your CV.  Some of these you may be able to act based on existing data that you have collected.  Some may require you to think about the remainder of your medical student days.

    Personal Statements

    One of the most crucial elements of any resume is your personal statement or what is sometimes referred to as your career goal statement.

    If you don’t know what a personal statement is. It’s that piece of narrative text that normally immediately follows your name and brief details on your resume and summarizes you as a job applicant.

    Other names for personal statements are:

    • Personal summary
    • Personal profile, and
    • Career goal statement

    Now. If you have watched any of my videos about CVs and resumes you will know how important I view your personal statement to be. It’s possibly the most important part of your resume.

    And personal statements are even more important. If that’s possible. When it comes to medical student resumes.

    This is because you have no formal on-the-job experience as a doctor. Which is normally the next most critical part of your resume.

    Benefits of Personal Statements on Medical Student Resumes.

    So, let’s talk first briefly about the benefits of a personal statement and we will go over how you should construct your personal statement.

    The benefits of a personal statement really boil down to one big thing, which is your ability to control the narrative of your resume.

    Think about it. If a prospective employer has not met you before. And they are reviewing your resume along with a bunch of others. Having a quick snappy well-written summary at the top of your resume is like gold to them.

    It saves them time by giving them key things that they need to know.

    Think of it as the abstract on a research paper or an executive summary on a report. How many times have you read one or other of these and then not even bothered reading the rest of the paper or report? Or possibly just skimmed the rest. I’m betting it’s at least 9 times out of 10.

    People only have limited memories and like it or not they are going to try to simplify you. To make it easier on them. So what is better than to control this simplification through the use of a well-constructed and controlled statement on the top of your resume?

    Why not control the narrative of your career rather than them making it up by hopping all over your CV?

    And even if they do know you. Which happens a lot in medicine. The summary is still going to help them in that simplification. As they really know everything about you.

    So that’s why a personal statement is crucial.

    Let’s now talk about how to construct one.

    How to Construct a Personal Statement for Your Medical Student Resume.

    So, in order to construct your personal statement, you are going to need a few other things as well.

    First. You should ideally have written at least the first draft of your resume already. You need that. Because personal statements should link to the other components of your resume.

    Secondly. You should also ideally have a position description. Now, this may be hard depending on where you are located. If you are in Australia or New Zealand you are normally applying for an intern position at a number of locations across these two countries so there may not be a clear job description. In the UK it may be a similar issue applying for foundation posts. For residency applications in North America, there may be a job description available for the post.

    Normally there is some form of document that has the selection criteria on it. Which is what we are looking for.

    What we are endeavouring to do is match our best strengths to the job and tailor our resume and statement as much as possible.

    So, once you know what the key things the employer is looking for. Think about the key strengths or key skills that you have in your resume which match these criteria.

    We have already talked about one of these in our previous topic about talking about communication in your resume.

    Communication almost always comes up as a key selection criterion for intern and resident posts. It’s so crucial that you have good communication skills.

    A Formula for Great Personal Statements.

    My formula for personal statements is as follows:

    First off start by telling them what you can offer them. What value you do you bring. It’s really important that you lead with this first. Employers are looking for people who can add value to their organisation even if it is future potential. You are being respectful by offering something first.

    So for example as a medical student you might say something like:

    I have recently graduated from one of Australia’s most innovative medical school training programs where I developed strong clinical capabilities along with excellent communication and teamwork skills as evidenced by high ratings in communications workshops and excellent supervisor reports which I have listed in my resume.

    It’s important that you provide some measure justification for your strengths even if it is referring to someone independent, particularly with something like communication.

    The second part is that you need to show them why this position is a natural next step or fit for you. Now, this is relatively easy to do for a medical student resume. But there is an opportunity to personalise things a bit.

    For example,

    In seeking this internship opportunity, I would strongly welcome the opportunity to work in your hospital as I feel that I have already developed a strong understanding of the organisation through my 12 months on placement.

    Finally, you want to leave them with a personal reason for why you feel you are a good fit for this particular job. Now, this may be a little bit hard if your resume has to be submitted to a number of hospitals at the same time. So, it might be a little difficult to personalise it down to that level. But if you can then do so.

    One way of achieving this is to make your personal statement a career goal statement.

    Converting from Personal Statement to Career Goal Statement.

    So, we can do this by finishing off our personal statement by talking about where we see this job helping us or taking us into the future (let’s say in about 3 to 5 years time).

    For example

    Working at this hospital will, in particular, give me a strong opportunity to develop my passion for general medicine as it is one of the few tertiary facilities in the State that has retained a general medicine department. Ultimately, I would love to do my basic physician training at your institution.

    If you can point out something that’s good about the hospital and make reference to seeing yourself working there for a good while then employers love that.

    So that’s one example of a medical student resume personal statement.

    Because it can be hard to craft one of these the first time. Let me leave you with a couple of more examples.

    Example of A Personal Statement for a Doctor Targetting a Rural Internship.

    I offer a commitment to rural medicine.

    Example of a Personal Statement for a Medical Graduate Targetting a Hospital With a Particular Program.

    Referees.

    Now that you’re entering the final years of medical school, it’s time to start preparing for your transition to becoming a “real doctor”. In Australia, we call this the internship. But you might refer to it as other things like your residency or foundation program. Depending on where you are in the world.

    Now the requirements for applying for an intern post vary a little bit depending on where you are applying.

    But one thing that most of you will need to consider is having referees for your application.

    So in this section, I’m going to talk about.

    • How to go about finding referees.
    • What sort of referees you should consider.
    • And of course how to list your referees on your resume.

    References are required for intern applications in most States and territories of Australia. But they’re not required in New South Wales if you’re going through the general application system. But if you are applying for the rural preferential system, they are required.

    So basically, most Australian medical students need referees.

    What exactly is a referee?

    Basically. A referee is someone who agrees to have their name and contact details listed on your application and resume so that the selection panel can contact them to ask questions about you.

    These questions might just to confirm that you are who you say you are. Or may go quite a bit deeper seeking to validate things you say about yourself on your application and get a better feel for how you operate from another person’s perspective.

    So, it’s pretty important to choose your referees wisely. More about this soon.

    Now the first thing you should be thinking about before you get to selecting referees is to be thinking where you might be applying for with your internship and checking out all the requirements that there are including what sort of documents you may need to submit.

    In general, you will need to submit the names of at least two people who can vouch for the fact that you’ve been a medical student and preferably talk more about you than that.

    It’s generally wise also to have a third referee just in case.

    In most cases, it’s ok for your referees to be supervisors that you’ve worked with, a faculty member or even something like a professional staff member. It’s best to have at least one medical professional as a referee.

    In a few cases, there may be requirements are for all of your referees to be medical professionals, particularly in certain other countries. So again, you need to check out the actual requirements.

    How to Approach Potential Referees As A Medical Student.

    So here’s my suggestion for how you should go about collecting referees.

    After you’ve completed a placement or rotation, you should consider approaching your supervisor to ask if they would be happy to act as a referee for you.

    Explain to them carefully that you don’t need them to do anything at this point.

    It may even be that they just need to be listed as a name on your application. Just write down their contact details including:

    • The correct spelling of their name
    • Their title or position in the hospital or facility
    • Their best email and phone number

    Is preferable to get a mobile or cell number, if they’re happy to give this. Tell your referee that you may need to contact them in a few month’s time to act as a referee. Make sure they don’t get too carried away now and start writing you a letter of reference (unless you truly think that you may use this).

    In my experience, in most cases, referees for internship posts are not actually contacted or just quickly contacted to verify you are who you say you are.

    Now. Before you end this rotation. Think about the other members of the team. Who did you get on well with? Who did you respect? Could they also be a good potential referee?

    Think about specialty trainee doctors, Nurse Managers and Allied Health staff.

    Repeat the step you just went through with your supervisor to ask these people for a reference.

    Pretty soon in a very little amount of time, you will have a bunch of options for referees for your resume and application.

    Does Brand Recognition Matter for Medical Student Referees?

    Now. Some people say it’s a good idea to collect the names of well-known people as your referee. You might call this going for “brand recognition” on your resume.

    In my experience, particularly for the internship applications, it makes little difference whether you have a well-known person on your resume.

    What is more important are a few other matters.

    Recency, Relevancy and Diversity Matter More for References on Medical Student Resumes.

    When selecting your referees it’s a good idea to think about 3 key points

    • Recency
    • Relevancy
    • Diversity

    Let’s unpack that a bit more.

    Recency

    Recency is about having referees with up to date knowledge of your performance. As a medical student, you probably have a number of options here. Try to ensure that your referees have had some contact with you in the last couple of years. And in particular, make sure that one has had a good view of your performance in the last 12 months.

    Relevancy

    Relevancy is about someone speaking to the role that you are going into. Amongst your referees, you ideally need one or two who have an idea about the job you are going to perform. Clearly, for a prospective intern, this means having at least one medical referee. But think about this more deeply. Are you perhaps applying for a rural internship? If so, it really makes sense to have at least one rural doctor as a referee who can attest to your aptitude for rural medicine.

    Diversity

    Diversity. is probably the most often overlooked of the criteria. You don’t need to have all doctors on your resume. And these doctors don’t need to be all-male consultants over 50. A good way to show that you can work well in a diverse health team is to have a range of referees on your resume. At least one male and female is a good start. But think also about registrars, as well as nursing staff, allied health and managers. Often these people get a much better look at you than a consultant. So make a more effective referee anyway.

    How to Know If A Referee Will Be a Good Referee.

    I am often asked how to tell whether a certain referee will be a good referee. The best way to assess whether someone will act as a good referee for you is the direct approach. Ask them.

    Ask them what they would say about you if approached for a reference. Most people will be honest with you. If someone feels like that they can’t give you a great reference they will probably say so. And you will likely learn something vital about yourself in doing so.

    It’s worth noting, however, that you probably don’t want someone as a referee who tends to be really overenthusiastic about your performance (to the point where you don’t feel you merit at all their praise). This may come across as lacking in authenticity when they are rung up.

    From a recent literature review, I was involved in there was some small (limited) evidence that choosing a more junior or younger referee may provide a more positive reference. But honestly, I wouldn’t make this the key criteria for choosing your referee. Because as I say the evidence was small in its significance at best.

    Finally, you are probably wondering how to go about listing your referee on your resume.

    How to List Your Referees On Your Medical Student Resume

    Example of how to list your referees

    Basic Physician Trainee example:

    Dr Michael Reeves (FRACP) Cardiologist and current supervisor, Regional Hospital, Regional City 0444 555 666 777, email@advancemed.com.au

    Of note, you want the name, their title, where they work and a mobile number and email address for contact. You don’t need to include all of their qualifications. But anything that relates to your job application (in this case we are wanting to become a Fellow of the RACP) can go in. If it is unclear from your work history how this person knows you make sure this is explained as well.

    So remember:

    • Recency
    • Relevancy
    • Diversity

    Describing Your Education and Other Achievements

    One thing that is unique about a medical student resume over other doctors resumes is the absence of work history. Or at least the absence of medical work history. It’s one of the rare situations where it generally makes sense to put education next after your personal statement.

    But don’t forget to include any substantial work history. That job you did in a previous life as a management consultant for Deloitte’s might just be the big thing that stands you out over other candidates.

    In terms of describing your education history. Much the same as for your work history. You should see this as an opportunity to highlight your ability to perform and achieve.

    Don’t just put down a list of your medical curriculum requirements. This is boring and the employer will just assume that you did the same thing as everyone else at your school.

    Try to find opportunities to show that you can stand out and did more.

    For example, was there a particular clinical rotation where you were given some additional responsibility? Or perhaps took on a small audit for the unit. Or did you take on a leadership role in your medical society and did you actually achieve something in that role?

    Be SMARTE

    Use the acronym SMARTE to describe your achievements.

    SMARTE stands for

    • Specific task or Situation: describe the actual task including specific details. Create a “mental picture” of the accomplishment.
    • Measurable details and Metrics: quantify the accomplishment use facts, figures, dates, and percentages.
    • Actions taken and your Actual role: talk about your actual involvement in the change, were you in charge? did you take on a key role? did you show initiative? Acknowledge team contributions wherever possible (Medicine is a team game) but make it clear that you made an active contribution to the teams’ success.
    • Results achieved and deliverables defined: describe the overall outcome or final product, it’s overall quality compared to some important benchmark, inform the reader if you received any positive recognition for the work.
    • Timeframe to accomplish the task and the Team involved: talk about the time to create the outcome and the other members of the team. Especially if you met your objectives in a period of time that was under pressure (where it often was) or earlier than expected. And if you displayed good teamwork skills in getting other members on board.
    • Environment, culture and underlying circumstances: talk about the challenges that may have been present in the environment and how you overcome barriers.

    Now not every achievement will have all of SMARTE in it. But the more the better.

    Here is an examples

    During my Cardiology term as a final year medical student, I was placed on one of the State’s busiest units.  On a weekly basis I was regularly helping the intern to clerk 24 inpatients along with attending the weekly general outpatient clinic, 2 stress test sessions per week (some of which I was permitted to conduct under supervision) and following the registrar for an average 2 consults per day. I learnt a lot during this time.

    Now not everyone has hard cold factual achievements that they can list under their work history.  But even something like being praised in a supervisor report for something is better than you just providing a list of responsibilities.

    If you have learnt and developed certain skills or capabilities then its also ok to put these down.

    My paediatric term in combination with the APLS course I attended helped me to become comfortable in managing sick children.

    Don’t forget it doesn’t have to be about your academic work. It could be:

    That you managed to get your research project accepted to a peer reviewed publication.

    Or that you dedicated extra time to developing up a teaching program in your school.  But if you have don’t just say you started a program. How many students did you have? How many teaching sessions did you provide etc…

    In terms of extra things. There are a few don’ts or things to avoid.

    Don’t put down extra responsibilities without talking about the achievements.

    A classic is being a member of a certain committee.  If that committee did nothing the year you were on it (as many do). Best not to put this down as you have basically just shown that you like to contribute to inefficiency.

    If however that committee fixed something important then take some credit for this.

    Putting It All Together

    Once you have the content of your Resume pulled together you should first go back and review your personal statement and make sure it fits with the rest of your resume and has all the gems in it.

    Then its time to assemble. It’s essential that you compile it in a way that ensures that the most important information is presented first. In particular that you maximise what is on your first page. As this is the page that employers will spend most of their time on.

    Things that should go on your first page include:

    • Your name, which should be the biggest thing.
    • Short qualifications
    • Contact details
    • Personal statement
    • Education history

    You may have other things you wish to include but these generally will come on the next pages.

    There are lots of options for doing this but either an online CV-builder or a document template will probably ensure that you stick to a simple and professional style and format.

    Templates that have 2 columns often work better as they allow you to set out information well but increase what is included on the first page.

    In terms of online CV builders here are 3 that we recommend:

    VisualCV

    Resume.Io

    novoresume

    A Medical Student Resume Template

    Click here to go to a related post where we have a template waiting for you.

    Related Questions

    Question. Am I limited to listing just one strength in my personal statement?

    Answer. No. But you will probably find it hard to provide strengths for all of the criteria. So it’s best to limit yourself to 2 to 3 at the most. Otherwise, you lose their attention and also stop them from focusing on where you want to be. Remember this is determining the narrative that you want them to remember you by. So you have to decide if you want to be known as a medical graduate with a strong research background or perhaps the medical graduate who used to be a management consultant. Try not to confuse them too much.

    Question. How long should a personal statement be?

    Answer. You should try to make it as brief as possible. Get someone else to read it for you. If you can use one word rather than three go for the one word. As a general rule for a medical graduate, I wouldn’t do more than a couple of paragraphs filling up the top 1/3 of your front page. But its all relative and as you go on further in your career you may want to devote more front-page real estate to your personal statement.

    Question. Is there anything I should not put in my personal statement?

    Answer. The main thing to avoid is statements or claims that you don’t back up in your resume. For example, if you say that you have excellent clinical skills then you should at least list the key ones you have developed under education. As I say statements such as “a strong focus on high-quality communication” or “strongly valuing teamwork” get quite cliched and grate on experienced employers. Don’t add something in like this unless you can really back up how you have demonstrated it in your career so far.

  • The Benefits Of A CV Check – Why You Should Get Your CV Reviewed. Medical CV Australia.

    The Benefits Of A CV Check – Why You Should Get Your CV Reviewed. Medical CV Australia.

    The Benefit of a CV Check or Resume Review

    As we enter the new academic year for medicine in Australia and New Zealand many doctors are thinking about whether they might be applying for a new position in 2020.

    Yes. It’s that competitive in some situations. That even before you have commenced your current job you are thinking about the next.

    One thing that is vital to ensuring you progress smoothly through the job application process and gain an interview is a powerful CV or resume. We have written about this already here and here and here.

    You might even be considering getting some expert assistance with developing your CV.

    But before you do. Consider whether it’s not worth the effort to construct this vital document yourself and get it checked or reviewed rather than handing over the entire enterprise to another party.

    Why have your CV reviewed rather than engage a professional CV writer?

    There are a number of reasons why a CV review might be the better option for you.

    Firstly, you can probably find someone with expertise in your own hospital who is happy to review your CV for free. Barring that a professional CV review is a much more affordable option if you want to go down the paid route. (Around $100 for a review versus $300-$500 and more for a CV writing service).

    Secondly, by constructing your CV yourself you get a deeper understanding about your own career. Including your strengths, capabilities, weaknesses and what value you can bring to future employers. This is all useful stuff when it comes to the interview.

    Thirdly, when you engage a professional CV writer you still have to provide the content and this can be quite a lengthy process where you may feel like you end up writing most of the CV yourself anyways.

  • Medical CV Australia. Is it a CV or a Resume?

  • How To Write A Medical CV. The Ultimate Guide.

    How To Write A Medical CV. The Ultimate Guide.

    Crafting an effective medical CV or resume is a crucial step for medical professionals in advancing their careers. In this updated guide, we delve into the essentials of creating a CV that stands out, combining our extensive experience with the latest trends in medical recruitment.

    One of the interesting aspects of medical training is that we tend to assume that doctors have the professional skills to manage their careers. However, it’s been my experience that many doctors struggle with the job application process because this has not been the focus of their training to date. So if you are feeling a bit lost as to what to write in and how to write a medical CV. Here’s an overview.

    How To Write a Medical CV. The Best Way.

    The key things to writing a successful medical CV are to:

    1. Understanding that employers spend about 6 or 8 seconds the first time they look at your CV.
    2. The final document that employers actually want is more a resume than a CV.
    3. Pay close attention to what you put on your front page. Everything that is good about you should be on the front page. This includes your basic details, short qualifications, recent work achievements and a summary.
    4. Tailor your CV to the role you are applying for. The best way to do this is provide a Personal Summary or Career Goal Statement as the first block of writing. This way you get to control the initial narrative. Not the reviewer.
    5. Don’t worry too much about page length. A good CV should be as long as it needs to be and no longer.
    6. Don’t put a photograph on your CV. This introduces unnecessary bias.
    7. Do make your name the biggest thing on the front page. That’s what you want them to remember.

    What’s The Purpose of a Medical CV or Doctor Resume?

    The aim of your CV or Resume should be to present a summary of your career, including education, professional history and job qualifications with a strong emphasis on demonstrating that you have the specific skills related to the position you are applying for.

    The person who is shortlisting candidates for interview will on average be spending only a few seconds to review your CV the first time.  Their primary aim at this stage is to determine whether your application should be considered further. Therefore, the purpose of knowing how to write a medical CV is to ensure that you develop a CV that moves you forward in the application process.  You should ensure that your CV is relevant, clear and concise.

    What Exactly Are You Writing? A CV Or A Resume.

    Let’s start firstly with defining what this document that you are writing is all about.  I’ve seen quite a few blogs and posts about how to write a medical CV or how to construct a medical resume. For example this one. But they all seem to skip a basic issue.

    Which is whether you are actually compiling a CV or a Resume? In a funny little typical Australian quirk, most medical employers ask you to submit a CV but in fact they don’t really want a CV.  That’s just what they call it.

    The Meaning of Curriculum Vitae

    Curriculum Vitae means course of life in latin. A proper CV therefore is literally a blow by blow account of everything that has occurred in your career and would stretch into several pages for many doctors.

    The Meaning of Resume

    A Resume on the other hand comes from the French meaning to interrupt and therefore is meant to be an abridged and tailored account of your career. You are tailoring your career history and achievements to best address the job you are currently applying for.

    So in fact what you are really writing is more akin to a resume. But you still need to ensure that certain information is included, in particular all your educational qualifications and history as well as all your work history.

    Where To Start With Your Doctor CV.

    The CV is bookended by the front page and the referees which come at the very end.  These are the two most important elements of a good doctor CV or doctor resume. So when someone asks me how to write a medical CV, the obvious starting point for my explanation is with the front page.  We will discuss this in more depth and then move on to the other elements.  

    First it may be helpful to illustrate what I am talking about.  The letters in the image indicates different parts of your CV.

    Diagram: The importance of the front page is illustrated above

    A – Your name should be the most prominent item on your CV

    B – A qualification summary helps the employer to quickly determine whether you are eligible for the position.  It also means you don’t need to put your education history on the front page.  Its also a good idea to include your medical registration number. If you are an International Medical Graduate you could also include your english test results and visa status.

    C – Provide contact details to make it easier to get in touch.  A mobile phone number and a professional email (which you check regularly) are key.

    D – A career statement or personal summary is crucial. Think of it as an executive summary where you get to control the narrative of your career.

    It should demonstrate why you are a good candidate for the job by drawing on key items in your CV. You should also show how you can add value to the employer. If using a career goal summary format try to set your career horizon 2 to 5 years into the future.

    E – Employers are most interested in your work history. This should be written in reverse chronological order. Don’t waste space listing too many details of the position (i.e. specific dates of rotations and job responsibilities) instead use this as an opportunity to highlight your achievements with additional narrative.

    F – If you have worked more than 2 or 3 jobs already you probably will not have space for education history on your first page. If you do have space try to ensure you once again make this section relevant to the post and supportive of your career statement.

    The Front Page.

    The Front Page is where you should focus your effort most. So its best to at least start here. Remember you can always make a draft of this bit then fill in other remaining elements and then come back to it.

    Don’t worry too much about formatting for now.  Just open a word document and concentrate on the content and the order.  Try to keep all your formatting, text and styling to a minimum so that you can do that at the end.  That way you will have a more consistent look.

    Alternatively, you can use one of the many online CV builders that are available. I recommend VisualCV because it is free to use and if you want to upgrade to one of their slightly nicer templates you can do so for a few dollars.

    6 to 8 Seconds To Review Your CV.

    Whats all this fuss about the front page? Well, studies show that experienced recruiters spend only a few seconds reviewing your CV (or resume) on the first pass and that most of this time is spent on the first page.

    The front page is therefore extremely critical. It should be where you put all your best information.  This makes it easy for the person reviewing your CV to determine that you are worthy of a more deeper review. Which in most cases means progressing to the interview phase.

    The Front Page should consist of the following elements (see the hot-spotted image):

    • Your Name – which should be the biggest thing on the page because you want them to remember your name*
    • Your contact details – you want them to be able to find you
    • Your short qualifications
    • A career statement or personal statement
    • Your work history in reverse chronological order

    If you have any space left. Which most doctors do not. You can start to account for your educational history. Again in reverse chronological order.

    I’ve written before about the importance of the career statement. But remember this is where you can highlight all the other good things that are worthy of being on your front page.  The things that are buried on pages 2, 3, 4, 5 etc… because you are following the rule of work history first, then education history.

    Your Name Is The Hero. Not Your Photo.

    For an in-depth explanation as to why photos are not recommended on medical resumes go here.  The 3 main reasons are that photographs can unnecessarily bias the reviewers impression of you as a candidate, are seen by many panel members as breaking an informal rule AND take up a lot of that valuable 6 to 8 seconds that the reviewer spends reviewing your CV the first time.

    What you do want to stand out on the page is your name.  This seems an obvious point.  But I have seen plenty of CV and resumes where the applicant used a small heading for their name.  If you are going to go big with any font and any styling (sometimes a dark background header with your name in white looks good, but don’t go too crazy) then make it your name.  You want the reviewer to remember it AND when they go back through that pile of CVs the next time be able to easily find it.

    Lots of Narrative Please!

    Its important to talk about yourself in your CV.  Control the narrative from the start with your career goal statement.  But don’t switch straight over to bullet points for the rest of your CV.  There are probably some really memorable moments in your work career and education and they deserve a sentence or two if they relate to the job that you are aiming for.

    Too often on CVs and Resumes candidates waste valuable space listing all the job specifics (e.g. dates and locations and role responsibilities) whilst not talking about what they achieved or learnt in the role.

    Try not to bore the employer.

    In most cases you can safely assume that the employer knows what an Intern does on a daily basis.  So use the opportunity to talk about the unique things you did as an Intern.

    For example, perhaps you are aiming for a specialty trainee position in emergency medicine and one of the selection criteria is about rapid decision making.

    Perhaps in your intern or resident role you had an opportunity to demonstrate rapid decision-making? Maybe you worked one doctor down for a significant period so had to bring those skills to bear.  If so, write about this element of your work history and relate it to how it will help you in the new role.

    “Nailing” Your Personal Summary Section.

    Your personal summary section (or Career Goal Summary if you prefer this approach) is arguably the most important section of your CV or resume.

    Writing a personal summary for your medical CV is a strategic exercise in controlling your professional narrative. This concise, introductory segment empowers you to set the stage for your entire CV, allowing you to steer the focus towards your most compelling attributes and experiences. It’s an opportunity to succinctly articulate your career objectives, strengths, and unique selling points, framing your profile in the light most favorable to your aspirations.

    By carefully crafting your personal summary, you can guide the reader’s perception, ensuring they view your experiences and qualifications through the lens you’ve designed. This deliberate shaping of narrative is particularly important in the medical field, where differentiating oneself in a sea of highly qualified professionals is crucial.

    This concise section allows you to highlight your most significant achievements, skills, and experiences, setting the tone for the rest of your CV. It’s particularly beneficial for illustrating how your background aligns with the specific needs of the role and the organization. Moreover, a well-crafted personal summary can differentiate you from other candidates by showcasing your individuality and professional ethos.

    The V.E.G. Approach to Personal Summarys.

    My favourite mnemonic for aiding in crafting your Personal Summary is the V.E.G. appeoach.

    Value in the Personal Summary:

    • Integrating ‘Value’: You should always lead with the key value you bring to the role. For instance, achievements like implementing a telehealth system or leading health outreach programs can be highlighted to show how you as a candidate can lead and enhance the team.

    Ease of Transition:

    • Highlighting ‘Ease of Transition’: It’s important to allay any fears the panel may have that this job is “too big a step up” for you. Provide examples of how you have mastered key aspects of the new job in your current or previous roles.

    Gratitude in the Application Process:

    • Expressing ‘Gratitude’: Finally it’s important to finish your personal summary by conveying a sense of passion for the role and gratitude for the opportunity. What do you like about the job or the team or the hospital? How will this job help you out? Panels will generally award jobs to candidates they feel will be grateful.

    Talk About Your Achievements.

    I’m hammering the point here a bit.  But it is important to sell yourself.  Try to put down at least one important thing that you did in your most recent 2 job roles. If you can back this up with hard statistics. Like “implemented a new pre-admission protocol that reduced the number of patients needing to be re-scheduled for day surgery by 10%” that’s even better.

    But maybe its just a compliment your received from a grateful family or something unique your consultant wrote about your performance on your end of term report.

    Think also about what things you did that were special in medical school and write about one or two achievements there.  Anything that shows leadership or organisation or teaching skills is good.  So examples might be being secretary for a club or tutoring pre-clinical students.  For the former you can talk about what the aims of the club were and what was achieved that year.  For the latter you can talk about how many students you tutored and if you do have some teaching evaluations you can talk about these as well.

    The Order. And The Rest.

    The expected and recommended order on a Doctor CV is as follows:

    • Details (name, contacts, registration, short qualifications),
    • Career Summary,
    • Work History (Achievements) most recent job first and following in reverse chronological order,
    • Education History, again most recent qualification first,
    • The Rest,
    • Referees.

    With “The Rest”. Its totally up to you what you put how you list it and in what order. 

    If your teaching achievements sell you best then put this next. If its your skills put that next etc…

    Some other headings you may wish to consider using are:

    • Teaching
    • Professional Development
    • Publication
    • Academic Achievements
    • Extra Qualifications
    • Qualifcations
    • Certificates
    • Volunteer Work
    • Research
    • Skills
    • Publications
    • Quality Improvement
    • Leadership and Management
    • Committees
    • Presentations
    • Conferences
    • Languages
    • Computer Skills

    But again. I emphasis you don’t need to use all of these.

    Don’t Worry Too Much About Research If You Haven’t Done Much.

    Many trainee doctors fret that they don’t have 10 peer review publications to list on their CV and that this will count badly against them.  For most of the jobs that you are applying for research will at best be a secondary consideration.  The panel will probably be more worried if they see a CV that has an excessive amount of research listed.  As they will get the impression that you may be more interested in research than looking after the patients on your team.

    There is no rule that says you have to put the word “Research” as a heading on your CV.  You could for example use something else like “Publications” which gives you a bit more breadth to talk about your academic profile.  For example maybe you have presented a poster at a conference.  That’s a publication.  Even blog posts are now becoming recognised as scholarly activities.

    You can also focus on related areas such as quality improvement. Perhaps you were involved in an audit as well as teaching (for e.g. grand rounds presentations).  There’s lots of scope here.

    And as I say. Not having much research rarely counts against a candidate.  The only situation that it might count against you is in college selection where sometimes points are awarded for having certain qualifications or amounts of publications.

    Referees.

    Referees are arguably the most important aspect of your CV. Especially if you make it through to the interview round.  Your referees should be contacted to provide some information about you.  This information is gold and should be treated as more important than the actual interview itself.

    This is the reason why referees are placed last on the CV. It makes them easier to find. 

    Experienced recruiters know to weight the value of a well taken reference or set of references above the quality of your interview performance. This is because studies show that references have greater predictive validity in selection. 

    Sadly, many of the doctors you will encounter on selection panels do not know this fact and place too much emphasis on the interview performance. But this does not mean that they are not interested in your referees. They are. 

    Who should I choose for my referees? 

    In most industries, your first referee will be your current supervisor or manager and your second referee will generally be you’re the previous supervisor or manager. Medicine is a little different because trainee doctors are rotating around frequently and are interacting with several supervisors and managers on a regular basis.

    There are three key principles that I outline to trainee doctors when selecting referees.

    The first is recency, the second is relevancy and the third is diversity.

    Recruiters will generally want to speak to someone who has recently worked with you, preferably your current manager. In some circumstances this is a requirement. Some good options for this might be your Director of Training, Director of Medical Services or Medical Workforce Unit or JMO Manager.

    You also want at least one referee who is relevant to your chosen future career. For most this generally means one Consultant who is a Fellow of the Specialty College you are aiming to enroll with. Some doctors in training try to have 3 College Fellows listed as their only referees and worry if this is not the case. It can be incredibly hard to collect 3 good referees from one College and I actually don’t recommend this approach. You are far better off focusing on obtaining one College referee who has actually supervised you in a term. Most trainee doctors will have a chance to work one term in their preferred specialty before applying for posts. 

    So who else might you ask to act as a referee? 

    This is where diversity is a consideration. There may be a Consultant from another specialty who you got on well with in their term. If so, it’s a good idea to put them down. Other options include: Nurse Managers, Senior Allied Health Professionals and Advanced Trainees. The key consideration here is that these should be people that you have worked with who have gotten to know you reasonably well. 

    I would also recommend that at least one of your referees is male and at least one is female. 

    By having a diverse list of referees you are telling the selection panel that you value teamwork and the roles of others in the team and also that you are able to get on well with a range of different people in the workplace.

    By having a diverse list of referees you are telling the selection panel that you value teamwork and the roles of others in the team and also that you are able to get on well with a range of different people in the workplace.

    Anthony Llewellyn

    Are there some referees I should avoid or seek out? 

    As a trainee, you may be worried that a certain referee may be tougher than another referee or that some referees carry more wright because of their name, reputation and connections. 

    There is really no hard and fast way of knowing whether a referee is more or less likely to improve your chances of an interview or successful job application. Gut feel is probably your best ally here. If you feel that you have established a good authentic working relationship with a referee, they are likely to give you a good reference or at worst a balanced one. 

    Personally I would avoid any referee that infers that their name on your CV will carry some sort of additional weight. 

    How many referees do I need? 

    The short answer is 3. The panel will be required to contact at least 2 referees and they usually only collect 2. The third referee is there in case one of your other 2 referees are not able to be contacted. There is no rule that says you have to stop at 3 referees. You can list more and it may be sensible to add a couple of more referees if you feel that this enhances your candidacy. Extra referees can for example demonstrate your ability to be a team player by listing additional referees from a range of areas of medicine and a range of disciplines. 

    More than 5 or 6 referees is probably excessive and you should also be mindful of the order in which you list your referees. 

    How to order and list your referees.

    Remember that the first two people listed on your CV as a referee are the ones that will be contacted first for a reference. So you should generally order your list of referees in the order that you would prefer them to be contacted. However, if one of your referees is someone you have not worked with in over 12 months then you should either rethink using them as a reference or put them a bit further down your list (3 or 4 or 5). 

    You should list your referees as follows: 

    [Prefix] [First Name] [Second Name], [Job Title] [Organization], [Location] 

    e.g. Dr Sandy Duncan, Head of Department of Medicine, St Cliffs Hospital, Sydney 

    You may wish to add relevant qualifications (e.g. College Fellowship) if this clarifies the nature of the referee better. But you don’t need to list all of their qualifications. You generally do not need to provide a physical address or postal address. 

    If possible list a mobile phone number and email address as this makes the job of the person taking a reference much easier. 

    Referees available upon request.

    Sometimes you may see the words “Referees available upon request” listed on a CV. This might occur for example when applying for more senior training or consultant posts. It is generally done when you may wish to ensure that you speak to your referees prior to them being contacted by someone from the selection panel, for example where there might be some sensitivity around you leaving your current role

    What Is the Optimal Length For a Doctor CV or Resume?

    If you look for advice online about Resume length you will quickly be told that a resume should be no more than 2 pages.  This is however unrealistic for most doctors. Because we tend to move jobs initially once a year when starting out we tend to accumulate a lengthy work history fairly quickly.  Along with this also normally comes publications or extra professional development which is worth including. 

    The optimum length for a doctor CV or resume should be as long as it needs to be and no more.  Practically getting it down to 2 pages is unrealistic. Most doctors can comfortably restrict their CV to a maximum of 4 pages. But again the emphasis is on what information needs to be provided. Not how much.  Your emphasis should always be on relevance and creating a narrative that sells you to the employer, so if that means going a little longer in length then that is fine.  So long as you spend most of your time refining your front page.

    Tips For Ensuring That Your Doctor CV (Resume) Stands Out In A Good Way – How To Write a Professional Medical CV.

    • As long as it needs to be — Your CV should give the reader enough information for them to explore relevant points during the interview. Most are able to manage this in 4 pages but remember that quality is much more important than quantity.
    • Do not waste valuable space — Don’t include a cover sheet or index in your CV.  Don’t be overly inclusive in relation to specific rotation dates and job duties unless this aids your application. 
    • Easy on the eye — Avoid using too many fonts and lots of different formatting styles (such as bold, underlining, and italics) as this will draw attention away from what matters the most in your CV—the content. Use the same font throughout. A “sans serif” style font, such as Arial is best as these are easier to read. Ensure that the layout, spacing, and structure of your CV are consistent throughout and do not differ from section to section.
    • Avoid block after block of text — It is better to present your skills and achievements in a given section as bullet points rather than paragraph after paragraph of solid text as this can be off-putting and daunting to the reader.  However, this does not mean that you cannot still use a narrative approach.  The aim of a good CV is to make your experience and achievements leap off the page.
    • Do not make things up — Your CV is a statement of fact, and if it is found to include information this can be very bad for your career.

    *Never include a photo on your CV. Unless this is mandated.

    Related Questions.

    What is a Career Goal Statement?

    A Career Goal Statement is a summary of you as a candidate. What you are looking for and how you can bring value to the role and the employer.  For further details check out this post.

    Is there a recommended formula for referees?

    For most posts its recommended that you get a mix of referees.  At least one referee should have supervised or managed you in the last 6 months.  Have at least one consultant from the specialty you are applying for.  Try to have a mix of male and female and strongly consider having at least one referee who is outside of the medical profession.

    Do I need anything else other than a CV to apply for a job?

    The things you will generally also need to put in a job application are a cover letter and you will need to complete a form.  Normally this form is online as part of the employer’s erecruitment system. If you have written your CV and cover letter well you probably have all the information you need to fill in the application, including addressing the selection criteria.

    How long should my Medical CV be?

    Your CV should be as long as it needs be. But no longer. Remember to only including information that is relevant to the job you are applying. For example, if its a clinical role with not much research it’s probably best to shorten up your research section to recent and relevant activities.

    Don’t sacrifice page length for aesthetics. If you need an extra page so it looks well set out then use that extra page.

    As a basic rule of thumb most RMOs and Registrars will be able to get their CV to 4 pages. Most Advanced Trainees and Consultants might need 6 to 8 pages.

    How often should I update my Medical CV?

    Short Answer. Each and every time you apply for a new position.

    Try to keep a “master CV” somewhere with all your experiences and achievements. LinkedIn can be useful for this.

    Review your master CV alongside your most recent CV. Make a copy of this recent CV and update it for the new job adding in relevant components from your master CV.

    Can I include volunteer experiences and hobbies on my Medical CV?

    Yes you can. But try to show how these are relevant to your ability to perform the job. Some volunteer experiences and hobbies will be more obvious for this than others.
  • Doctor CV Templates – Avoid Using Them At All Cost

    Doctor CV Templates – Avoid Using Them At All Cost

    We review some of the official Doctor CV Templates for Australia and New Zealand and give you our findings

    As someone who advises a lot of other doctors about medical job applications I am often asked for advice about CV templates.

    So I thought that I would review these for you and give you my thoughts. 

    The key question here is whether it is better to use the template or not?

    Overwhelmingly my advice is to not fill in the template. Your CV or Resume  (and we really ought to be calling it a Resume because employers do not wish to see the full box and dice) needs to stand out to improve your chances of being progressed to an interview. 

    So why reduce your chances by submitting a document on an official doctor CV template so that it looks the same as a number of other people applying?

    There is an obvious exception. In some circumstances, you are required to use the template. So in this case you should obviously do so.

    Notice I am saying “don’t fill in the template”. Which is not the same as not reading it. This brings me to my first key point.

    If we look at the majority of these CV templates they are really asking for some pretty basic information which would generally be covered in any typical CV format by an Australian trained doctor. If you took your time to complete your CV properly.

    In fact, many of these templates bear a remarkable similarity to the AHPRA template guidelines. Which if we read the purpose of this particular template on the AHPRA website is a “guide to what you should include in the curriculum vitae that you provide to AHPRA as part of your application [for registration]”. This document was particularly written with international health professionals in mind. To ensure that they provide AHPRA with the information it requires to make a determination about registration.

    Note here that the AHPRA template refers to being a guide and the MINIMUM amount of information required, which many of the other Australian State CV templates do as well, including Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and South Australia. NSW Health does not have a template. I could not find one for the ACT or the Northern Territory. Only Victoria has a compulsory CV template, with various variations for different jobs using the PMCV match system.

    In New Zealand, the ACE RMO template (the one you fill in to apply for an intern position) is also a guide. I did find that the Auckland Doctors recruitment site (which would possibly be the biggest recruitment group for trainee doctors in New Zealand) does have a compulsory template.

    An interesting observation is that very few of these templates suggest or request a photo, which I am not a fan of. Even in Victoria, where the intern template is compulsory, the inclusion of a photo was voluntary in 2018.

    So by all means read what is required, ensure that what you write clearly covers this (I suggest using the same headings where possible) but don’t feel you need to stick to the actual template.

    Which brings me to my final observation.

    With the exception of the Queensland Health template (which gets a notable mention), all of these templates are quite ugly. You can do far better in terms of a well set out, easy to read and aesthetically appealing CV or Resume. 

  • How to Write a Medical CV Video. Medical CV Template.

    How to Write a Medical CV Video. Medical CV Template.

    We recently recorded a “how to put together a medical trainee CV video” (Resume).

    There’s tremendous interest in the topic of how to put together a medical trainee CV.  Medical students are also interested in the topic.  For many, it may be the very first time you have have to assemble a CV or resume.

    That’s why we put the call out via email and our facebook community group (lots of good stuff in there to help you with your medical career in there by the way) for folks interested in a webinar on key points for putting together a good medical trainee CV that will satisfy the needs of employers.

    So a few Mondays ago, we held a Webinar of around 40 trainees and medical students to discuss some of the key aspects of putting together your CV.

    So here it is:

    How to Put Together a Medical Trainee CV video

    This is a long video but we encourage you to watch it through entirely. By the way On Youtube, you can adjust the speed settings to listen a bit quicker if that works for you.

    A bit of a summary of what was covered in this post (all the headings here link to sections of the video if you want to fast forward):

    Overview

    Hopefully self-explanatory this gives you an overview of everything covered in this video on how to put together a Medical Trainee CV

    Why everyone says CVs are only reviewed for 6 seconds and whether you should use a photo?

    Search for more than a couple of minutes on the internet for information about CVs and you will find someone who tells you that the average first pass review for a CV is 6 seconds.  I suspect many of these folks don’t even know where that reference comes from.  Well, here it is.  The study was an eye-tracking study and whilst its got its criticism and there’s a bit of a lack of detail.  The study certainly meets face validity when you talk to people who are experienced with reviewing hundreds of CVs.  When you are reviewing applications as part of an annual medical recruitment process its not unusual to receive hundreds of CVs.  If you dig a bit further into the article, however, there’s another interesting finding.

    If you were looking for an additional reason why you should not include a photo the study provides you one.  I generally advise against photos on CVs for the following reasons.  1. Medical job applications tend to be conservative affairs.  2.  It can come across as a bit narcissistic.  3. It also removes a key opportunity to make a first impression.  If someone can see a picture of you, then they are already forming all sorts of biased opinions about you based on this photo.

    But the Ladders study adds another reason not to do it.  It distracts the attention of the reviewer from other more important information.

    2 Options for Structuring Your Medical Trainee CV

    Basically, I recommend, the following format:

    • Personal Details (include a brief qualification summary)
    • Career Goal Statement
    • Work Achievements
    • Education Achievement
    • The Rest (in whatever order represents you best)
    • Referees

    Why not Education before Work?  Because this is an employer interview and that’s what is of most interest.

    There are some circumstances where Education could or should come before Work.  This is generally when you have been educating more recently than working, for example still in Medical School or an International Medical Graduate.

    Whether to use an Employer Recommended Template or Not?

    If you look at these templates they are not overly attractive.  Filling one in will mean that yours looks like everyone else’s’.  So its hard to put together a medical trainee CV that stands out in those circumstances.  All these templates are really trying to achieve is that you provide the reviewer with a minimum amount of information.  So you can refer to them and still adopt your own style. So far, everyone I have reviewed in Australia and New Zealand is published as a guide (meaning you don’t have to use it).  Feel free to send me one that is not but so far I have looked at:

    How Talk About ‘Non-Medical’ Related Work?

    In general, its good to talk about any substantive work you have done in a previous life outside of Medicine.  Where you list this will depend on other work history and education and how much of a strength you feel this is. You can also cross-reference some things in other headings like Skills or even the career goal statement.  For example, if you were previously an Executive Assistant then you have definitely done a job in the past that required high level organisational, time management, stakeholder management and communication skills.

    The Importance of Career Goal Statements

    I could go on about the importance of these and in fact, have done so in another post and video

    Talking About Work Achievements

    Try to give some evidence for what you have achieved in your past roles.  Avoid listing common job responsibilities this will bore a CV reviewer.  They already know what OR at least think they know what an Intern does on a day to day basis.

    A Brief Discussion on Referees

    In summary:

    • Don’t fret about getting more than one College referee
    • Try to have a diverse mix (think about including at least one non-doctor and at least one male and female)
    • Make sure your first referee is a recent manager or supervisor

    Exactly How Many Referees should I have?

    3 is good.  But remember they will be contacted in the order you put them.  And the 3rd is only normally contacted as a back-up if one of the other two goes missing.

    You can have more. But probably more than 5 or 6 is starting to look excessive.

    Some Other Tips on Improving Your CV

    The biggest take-home message here is.  GET SOMEONE ELSE TO REVIEW YOUR CV FOR YOU.  Attention to detail in CVs is important.  You have probably spent a few hours putting it together and revising it.  You will probably now be overlooking a typo or formatting error.

    Audience Q&A:

    The Audience Q&A included a discussion about Cover Letters and Personal Statements.  For Personal Statements, I generally recommend a Career Goal Statement instead.  I will at some point try to write a post or do a video on Cover Letters.

    A Quick Reminder about the YouTube Channel

    I’ve decided to start a Youtube Channel.  I really would like to share with a wider audience some of the knowledge that I have gained over several years doing jobs in Medicine that I really love. But let’s face it most other doctors really hate.  I’m talking about things like medical manager roles, executive leadership roles, recruitment roles, coaching roles, committee roles and clinician engagement roles.  So some of the stuff I know is fairly unique.  I also have a network of peers that could contribute useful information in the broad are of doctors careers.

    So I’ve started out vlogging on a couple of topics.

    One is about the idea that if senior doctors could become better bosses (people managers). And if trainees could understand that being a boss is quite difficult at times.  Then we might have a positive impact on the culture of medicine.

    The other topic.  Quite relevant at this point in time.  Is the one we have been talking about.  The job application and interview preparation process.

    My current goal is 100 subscribers by the end of July.  As of the time of writing this post I was sitting at 40.  Why 100?  Well, that’s the magic number at which point Youtube lets you have your own custom channel name.

    So if you feel inclined you could really help me out by doing any or all of the following (none of which will take up more than a small amount of your time):