CV Boost Tips

How to boost your CV?

The information and advice given below offer a start in preparing an effective document.

In this presentation, we will focus on the content, and not the format of a CV.  The CV format will be discussed in a separate presentation.

General Rules

  • Your CV is the first contact you may have with a prospective program director, so strive for a CV that establishes a favorable image of your professionalism in the mind of the reader.
  • Keep in mind that your CV is your “advertisement” for an interview.
  • Maintain a concise and a comprehensive information level at the same time.
  • It should emphasize your areas of strength and create an interest about you that is sufficient enough for a personal interview.
  • Review and revise the document. As important as the information provided, your C.V. should be edited for proper grammar, correct spelling and appropriate punctuation.

  • Stay chronologically consistent when presenting information. If you elect to present the most current information first, stay with that order through all sections.

  • Be clear, consistent and organized. Bear in mind that the person reading your CV will be reviewing hundreds of other CVs. Ideally, the potential interviewer <span;>will want to know more about an experience listed on your CV, prompting them to invite you for an interview.

  • DO NOT LIE!! State your skills, qualifications, and experience as positively as possible without misstating the truth.

  • DON’T ADVERTISE NEGATIVE INFORMATION: The resume<span;> is the wrong place to advertise that you were laid off, fired, or had an extended illness. Never state why you left a position; simply list the dates of employment.

 

How Can You Develop a Good CV for Residency?

Residency program directors will review your CV to determine whether you will be a diligent resident, a good addition to their program, and potentially even a leader in their field. Here are some tips to boost your CV.

  • Avoid gaps in your CV even if you are not working, you can volunteer anywhere.
  • Research and Publications:  It is extremely important to participate in research; journal articles, books, chapters in books, abstracts, etc.

  • Research and Publications: It is extremely important to participate in research; journal articles, books, chapters in books, abstracts, etc.
  • USA Clinical Experience: It is preferable to be engaged in activities that prepare you to be a diligent resident, and familiar with the USA medical system e.g externship, observership, elective, etc
  • Awards, and accomplishments: It shows commitment to success among your peers.
  • Languages: It helps if you speak Spanish.
  • Hobbies and interests: The interviewer will ask “Does the applicant have any interests in common with my faculty, my residents, or myself? (This could easily become a main topic of conversation in the interview.)
  • Memberships in honorary or professional societies.