Start with your CV/Resume

Mitzi Norris, PhD Office of Institutional Academic Affairs

University of Mississippi Medical Center

• Context• Cosmetics• Content

CV/Resume

• What is a CV?• Curriculum vitae• Resume• Vita

Context

• What is the difference between a CV and a resume?• CV is usually longer• CV for academic position

Context

• What does a CV/resume do?• Paints a word picture• Describes who you are• Documents your accomplishments• Helps you get an interview/position

Context

“It is what it is.”

Context

• Must be ACCURATE• Paper trail• Possible dismissal from program• Misrepresentation• Publications – cite accurately

Context

• ERAS • Dean letter writer• Reference letter writers• Interviewer• External rotations

Who Needs a Copy?

• Context• Cosmetics• Content

CV/Resume

• 1-2 pages • Balanced page – text and white space• Quality paper

• White, gray, or ivory• 20-24 pound paper

Cosmetics

• Margins• 1 – 1 ½ “• 1 ½” at the top (?)• 1” at the bottom

• Parallel• Word type (verb, adverb, noun)• Style

• Font• Underline/Italics/Bold/All caps

Cosmetics

• Font• Size: 11-12• Style: Serif (Times New Roman) or San serif (Arial)

• No more than two styles• Can use san serif for headings• Serif is described as easier to read• Don’t use crazy font

Cosmetics

• Organization• Underline/Italics/Bold/All caps

• Use bold or all caps sparingly – look at overall design

• Don’t use ALL!!• If more than one page include header or footer• Page numbers if needed (>2 pages)

• Emphasis • Use sparingly

Cosmetics

Cosmetics - Density

DensityLine Spacing

• Don’t use “Resume” or “Curriculum Vitae”• Can section off contact information with a

horizontal line• Can use columns• Bullets – To use or not to use

Cosmetics

• Context• Cosmetics• Content

CV/Resume

• Contact • Education (exclude high school)• License/Certification• Honors/Awards• Work Experiences• Activities• Other information

Content

• Contact information • Name – resolve any discrepancies

• Documents in maiden name• Use middle name

• Address – current and permanent• Phone – professional

• Appropriate message on voice mail

• Email - professional

Content

• Education (most recent first)• School (college and med school)• Location• Date of graduation (anticipated)• Degree

• Can include majors, minors, concentrations

• Academic distinction• Summa cum laude, magna cum laude

Content

• License/Certification• USMLE• BLS, CPR (give expiration date)• EMT, RN (give expiration date)

Institute for Healthcare Improvement http://app.ihi.org/lms/onlinelearning.aspx

Teaching in Medical Education: Residents as Teachers http://www.umc.edu/Education/Academic_Affairs/Academic_Counseling/Teaching_in_Medical_Education/Teaching_in_Medical_Education_Home.aspx

Content

• Honors/Awards• Academic awards• Scholarships• Honor organizations• Special Schools (Honors College)• Community service awards

• Eagle Scout

Content

• Work Experience• List dates

• Must account for time

• Types of work to include• Full time• Medically related• Volunteer experiences

• Use action verbs• MAKE AN IMPACT

Content

• Distinguish yourself• What you have done/not what you will do

• Describe skills• Document success

• Measurable results• Add depth• Avoid understatement

Action Verbs/Narrative

• Assisted with children reading groups

• Coordinated reading groups at a local child care center. Supervised six volunteers and developed weekly schedule.

Action Verbs

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/543/02/

• OWL categories of action verbs• Communication skills• Creative skills• Data/Financial skills• Helping skills• Management/Leadership skills• Efficiency skills• Technical skills

Action Verbs

• Activities• Include memberships in organizations• List leadership positions• Describe using action verbs

Content

• Work with homeless shelter.

• Developed an organization that provides assistance to area homeless shelters by organizing food and coat drives at least annually. Organized an annual holiday football game to raise money for the homeless shelter. The group has been in existence for 3 years and has raised $12,000.

Action Verbs

• Other information• Publications

• Include thesis• Cite accurately• Cite appropriately – APA or other format• Types of citations

• “In press” – list acceptance date• “Submitted” – list submission date

• Take copy of published articles or acceptance letters

Content

• Other information• Research

• List title, hypothesis, time period, mentors• “Manuscript in progress”• Take confirming documents to interview

• Significant presentations• Take copy of published abstract or meeting

program

Content

• Other information• Military Experience• Language proficiency

• Be prepared to converse

• Outside Interests• Choose wording

• Outdoors vs hunting• Political organization vs Democratic Party

• Make sure you have recently participated• Read a book• Been in a race

Content

• Add headings if you have significant information• Leadership• Scholarship (separate from “Awards”)

Content

• Check spelling• Print and read• Have someone knowledgeable read

• Copy edit• Familiar with your achievements

• Keep updated

• Start NOW!

Check!

• Emphasize strengths• Clear • Concise• Accurate• Use action words

Final Thoughts

• Document your accomplishments• Give the reviewer some insight into your

personal attributes • Provide the interviewer something to ask

about

A good CV/resume will…

Chambler, AFW, Chapman-Sheath, PJ, Pearse, MF. A model curriculum vitae: what are the trainers looking for? Hospital Medicine, 1998 April; 59(4): 324-326.

Emory University School of Medicine http://medicine.emory.edu/research/documents/Action%20Verbs.pdf

Iserson, K.V. (2006) Iserson’s getting into a residency: A guide for medical students (7th Ed.) Galen Press, LTD: Tucson, Arizona.

Patel, MV, Pradhan, BB, Meals, RA. Misrepresentation of research publications among orthopedic surgery fellowship applicants. Spine (Phila Pa 1976), 2003 Apr 1; 28(7):631-6.

Purdue Online Writing Lab http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/641/01/

Wordpress http://contemporesume.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/is-your-resume-sabotaging-your-job-search/

References

Questions?

mnorris@umc.edu