Developing a Strong Curriculum Vitae (CV) in Healthcare

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Top Contributors - Wanda van Niekerk and Jess Bell  

Curriculum Vitae

‘Curriculum Vitae’ stems from the Latin ‘course of life’ and is often shortened to ‘CV’.

CVs are sometimes used interchangeably with ‘resume’ which is more popular in North America, but there is a general difference between the two. Typically, in European countries, a CV is approximately two pages long. This can change depending on the job application requirements, or indeed the geographical area in which the job is based in. A resumé, on the other hand, stems from North America and is often a one-page summary of someone’s career history depicting "a short account of one’s career and qualifications." It is important to remember that a CV is not the sole criterion for a position, but rather an entry ticket to a holistic application process.

Contact/Personal Details

The first item on the CV, should be the name which should typically be formatted in larger and bolder font size. Other essential requisites include your:

• e-mail address (It is preferable to include an e-mail address with an affiliation as it can appear more professional.)
• location
• telephone number

In general, avoid including your date of birth, marital status or nationality. These are items that should have no impact on your job application, therefore avoid inclusion.

Sometimes, some CVs include a LinkedIn profile address. Only include this if the LinkedIn profile tells the employer more than what is outlined in the CV. Your LinkedIn should be an extension of your CV, so it can include supplementary information that you may not have room in the CV for otherwise.

Profile/Summary

This is a section that is not always included, but can be useful if you are a new graduate or if you are changing career direction. Some key items to consider:

• Avoid being vague in your profile.
• Tailor it to your experience.
  • Ask yourself:
    • 'If I was any of my classmates/colleagues, could they copy and paste this profile?'
    • "What makes me stand out?
• When you are describing core skills that apply to the job being applied for, have you backed them up with evidence?
• Keep it to three sentences:
  • Who I am:
  • Skills (Backed up with evidence):
  • Call for Action (What I am seeking):

Poor example: I am a Physiotherapy student who is hard-working, driven and passionate about Physiotherapy. I am a strong communicator and work well in a team. I’m excited to start my career as a Physiotherapist and look forward to hearing from you.

Good example: I am a final year Physiotherapy student at the University of Physioplus, with a first class honours grade average. I have strong skills in communication and innovation, as evidenced by distinction grades in these competencies during my last placement assessment. I am seeking employment as a Physiotherapist in Acute Therapies as I am eager to develop my knowledge and skillset in this area following on from a recent placement at Physioplus Hospital.

Education

Your education should be in reverse chronological order, meaning that your most recent degree or achievement is first. Avoid listing all your modules and accompanying grades. Instead, if you have completed your degree, include your overall grade. If you are in the middle of completing the programme, you can write ‘Current grade average:’, and include what your current grade is. Avoid using phrases such as ‘Aiming to achieve X grade’, as there is no evidence to back this up. Using your current grade average is best practice.

When listing your degrees, name the degree first, followed by the institution from which you were awarded the degree. For example, ‘BSc (Occupational Therapy), University of Physiopedia’.

Experience

Similar to Education, experience should be in reverse chronological order, meaning that your most recent job roles are first. To keep consistent, list the job role first, followed by the organisation for which you worked. Some roles may have involved similar experience, but try to avoid repetition where able. If the job being applied for is a clinical position, it may be useful to list your clinical experience under one heading. Likewise, if the job being applied for was an academic position, research or teaching experience could be front-ended in the CV under its own heading.

Achievements

If applicable, list any major achievements, honours or awards received in reverse chronological order.

Skills

Skills are typically divided into ‘soft’ skills and ‘hard’ skills. Soft skills include skills such as communication, teamwork, planning, innovation. Hard skills, on the other hand, can be more technical such as Java, data analysis using SPSS, Microsoft Excel.

Scholarly Activity

Where applying for roles in academia, or where research may be a core responsibility of a role, scholarly activity can be included e.g., publication list, oral or poster presentations, etc. In addition, research metrics such as h-index or i-10 could support scholarly impact. Where publication or congress/conference lists are long, consider adding them as supplementary information. In recent years, alternative metrics, also known as altmetrics, measures public engagement with research activity and are actively being considered as another valuable metric to assess academic activity.

References

It is good practice to include references (usually 2 to 3). Consider the job applied for and potential referees who may be suitable. For example, if applying for an academic role, ensure to include at least one referee that has an academic background. At a minimum, include the referee’s full name (with title if relevant), job role or relationship to you (e.g., Supervisor), and organisation, with work email address. It is good practice to ask a referee permission to include their details on your CV.

Layout

The presentation of a CV is important. In an eye-tracking study by Ladders Inc, in 2018, findings indicated that employers spent an initial 7.4 seconds screening a CV. Common CV mistakes to avoid:

1. Bad grammar
2. Spelling mistakes
3. Poor formatting
4. CV longer than two pages
5. Casual tone
6. Use of jargon
7. Unusual font style or size
8. Exam grades listed in full
9. Generic interests listed such as cooking or reading
10. Lack of activities related to personal development

Automated Screening

In line with advancements in technology, some organisations use automated systems to process the initial screening of CVs. These systems typically screen for keywords and phrases which relate to the role and organisation in which you are applying.

• Keywords:
  • While many may be tempted to list keywords in their CV, it is important that there is context. For example, an automated machine may pass a CV which states, ‘I’m a team-player, with excellent communication, problem-solving abilities, innovation and initiative’, however this will mean very little to a recruiter who then sieves through the shortlisted applicants. Therefore, consider the job description for the role and highlight key responsibilities and skills, and then thread these into your experience and education to provide context. As described in the course Developing a Strong Curriculum Vitae in Healthcare, it is important to back up and support skills with evidence and experience.
• Accuracy
  • Interestingly, as this software becomes more sophisticated, some systems can fact check via the internet, to ensure what is listed on your CV is correct online e.g., on LinkedIn. Ensure that information online is accurate.
• Spelling and Grammar
  • Proof read your CV to ensure no spelling or grammatical errors
• Format
  • Ensure that the file that you upload is the correct format (e.g., PDF if specified). Some systems may reject specific formats or misread others.
• Acronyms and titles
  • It is impossible to know if a system is programmed to search for an acronym, full title, or both. Therefore, it may be useful to consider both. For example, ‘I am a Senior Occupational Therapist (OT)’.