Intended for healthcare professionals

Career Focus

More on CVs

BMJ 2004; 329 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.329.7457.s19-b (Published 10 July 2004) Cite this as: BMJ 2004;329:s19
  1. Mark D Griffiths, professor of gambling studies
  1. Psychology Division, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, NG1 4BU EMAIL

EDITOR—Further to the tips on writing a winning CV by Sam McErin,1 I would like to share the tips that I give to my colleagues and students.

  • Be thorough but concise. Although most books say that two to three pages are adequate, some professions (including academia and the medical profession) are places where people will read through extra pages of publications, presentations, and other relevant achievements

  • Start with personal details (for example, full name, age, marital status, and contact address) but keep to a minimum

  • Construct distinct, easy to follow headings and sections. Although everyone's curriculum vitae is slightly different, categories should at least include qualifications, relevant previous posts, administration experience (for example, committee work), and other outputs (for example, publications and conference presentations)

  • Put your current position first (that is, reverse chronology throughout). What you are doing now tends to count more than what you used to do

  • Put down all relevant dates (when you did your degree, when you finished your training, when you gave the conference paper, and so on)

  • Do not write in capitals (as they are hard on the eyes)

  • Use bullet points (where appropriate). This means that the selection panel can pick out the relevant points quickly. If you have some major achievements, do not be afraid to list them

  • List particular skills. Although optional it might help to list transferable skills that you possess (for example, computer skills, special clinical skills, presentational skills)

  • Include only things that are relevant to the job. Irrelevant details (for example, your job as a shelf stacker or hotel porter) will be given little weight by the selection panel. If you want to include a list of outside interests, put them at the end

  • Write a covering letter. This is an opportunity to sell yourself and use well chosen adjectives to describe yourself. It may also be useful to outline the type of challenge you are looking for.

References

  1. Malathi M Kurre, currently looking for a job

EDITOR—I have the impression that covering letters are not being seen by the shortlisting panel and in most hospitals they are binned soon after medical personnel receives the application.1

I have had a career break following childbirth for more than a year and am now applying for senior house officer jobs in paediatrics. I have been desperately trying to get a job for six months and on professional advice have made changes to my curriculum vitae four or five times. I have drafted nearly half a dozen types of covering letters, but all the effort seems to be a waste of time as they are not even being considered. I believe that what matters most is your experience and qualifications, though writing an impressive CV can contribute to some extent to getting shortlisted.

References

  1. Jane E Graham, preregistration house officer
  1. Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester

EDITOR—Having sent off endless application forms and curriculum vitae for my first senior house officer position in August, I have to conclude that even the most aesthetically pleasing CV or handwriting gets you nowhere without the prerequisite content to sell.1 The process of shortlisting ensures that only those with additional degrees or publications or those known within the system move through to the next round.

I appreciate that shortlisting is a challenging process with so many hundreds of doctors applying for each post. I do, however, feel that the undergraduate curriculum should change if this is how the career ladder works. Having trained at Manchester University I was able to spend three months doing research. Yet over and over again they told us it wasn't about getting it published. And here I am, working my socks off as a preregistration house officer (although it's not as hard as it used to be) in a good hospital without a job to go to. So far this year I'm expected to have rustled up an audit project every three months and a couple of publications and to have begun hunting for my career rotation just a few months into my first job.

Is there a future for doctors who want to live their lives as well as flourish in their jobs? Or is TS Eliot right, you can only have perfection in life or perfection in work?

References