CURRICULUM VITAE

Your curriculum vita has to be your strongest aspect. You will be short-listed for jobs depending on this and if it does not meet the expected standard then you will not be doing yourself justice. Below we have summarised the main aspects and also given some examples. All our students have the advantage of getting their curriculum vita checked by a member of our specialist panel so that recommendations can be made.

Covering Letter

Always have a covering letter that is short and relevant. The consultant should be able to tell easily why you have written to him i.e. job or attachment. Make sure it is very polite and succinct. Check out our example.

Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum vitae is a summary of your attributes and career. To be successful it needs to answer the short-lister’s questions and meet their requirements. You need to research the post carefully so that your curriculum vita can show that you have all the required skills for that post. For example if you are applying for a medical SHO post in renal medicine then it is vital that your experience in this field from previous work is emphasised. The person short-listing will pay particular attention to this part rather than your internship experience.

Also, make sure you are applying for the right post. It is no point just blindly applying for any job. Look at your strengths and interests and home your applications. For example, if you have a lot on intensive care experience then you hold a much better chance of getting a post in this field than a medical job.

We would advise you split this up into sections to make it easier to read. Your strengths should be highlighted so that they are obvious on reading. One way of doing this is putting key-facts in bold.

Regards to the length of the curriculum vitae – this depends on your career history. However, it probably should not be more than six pages.

Now we will go through the sections of a curriculum vita

Heading

Initials, surname and one qualification

Personal details

•  Postal Address

• Telephone

•   E-mail

•  Nationality

• Date of Birth

• Gender

• Marital Status

• GMC Registration Number (N.B. - this will be the same as the GMC number you have now).

 Education and Qualifications

• Qualification, dates, and name of institution

•  At the top of the list should be the latest qualification

• If you won any scholarships, distinctions etc then always list these under the specific qualification or institution.

•  You may list all courses etc here or can write them down separately

•  If you have done any postgraduate exams make sure these are clearly stated.

• If you have not done any post-graduate exams (MRCP etc) then you may write that you intend to take these and also when (SEE EXAMPLE).

• If you have done or intend to do ALS/BLS make sure you mention this.

 Career Plan

• Write a brief line about your career aspirations, how you intend to achieve them and how this job will help.

  Career Details (Appointments)

•   Again write your most recent job at the top.

• Dates of employments, post held and name of hospital.

•  You need to write more for the job that you have done which is most linked to the post applying. Also, make your description of your current/last job very comprehensive. The person short-listing is most likely to concentrate on these two.

•      You need to make sure that your detail of your previous employment highlights specific skills that are relevant to the post applying.

•  Points to include:

•  Communication and team work skills with colleagues and nurses

• Teaching (not just you teaching others but mention that you also attended the hospital teaching sessions (eg. Audit presentations etc) on a regular basis.

• Any audits done while in that post

• Administration skills eg. Record keeping, dictating letters and computer literate

•  Leadership skills – relevant for more senior doctors

Practical Skills

• Make a bullet point list of all the skills that you are competent in. Make sure you emphasise on those skills that are relevant to this post.

• If you have only done certain skills ‘under supervision’ then make this clear.

 Research and Audit

•  Write a list of any audit/projects you have undertaken.

• If any have been published mention this.

Extracurricular Activities

• Your interests and hobbies

• If you have any unusual interests mention them

• Current employer

• Make  sure you have asked your referee that you are using their name

• If you are applying for a post for the first time in the U.K. then you may use a colleague

• Give their postal address, telephone/fax number and e-mail address.

• at least two referee details.

• Our panel of tutors will give references to candidates they get to know

CV Examples

• Covering Letter

• CV Example1

• CV Example2

• CV Example3