Preparing your own CV can be a very heavy task, and it has to achieve a specific purpose, directed to the position that you are applying for. Hence, you should not be using the same CV you used for your internship application to apply for a basic traiee or advanced trainee position. 

 

Over the years, I have changed my CV may too many times. And for that reason, I do keep a master copy of all my achievements, and will tailor new ones to the position that I am applying for. As I have been informed by a panel interviewer, in Australia, your CV contributes 30% to your total score, 40% from your referees, and another 30% from the interview.

 

A few tips for writing a medical CV that I have adopted.

• A one page cover letter is important to sell yourself and convince your interviewers why you deserve the job.

• Make sure the whole document follows a similar format.

• Use professional and readable fonts- Times and Arial size 12-12.5. No comic sans please. At least 1-1.5 spacing.

• Have a cover page to insert your demographics. If you are going to insert your photo, use a professional photo/ passport photo, not ones that were taken on a holiday or ones that were posted on Facebook.

• Number the pages.

• Cut down unnecessary detail. High school details are probably not going to contribute much to your application for a registrar position.

• Have 3-4 referees- good and reliable. Know what they are going to say about you. Even if they are people of influence, if they are not going to be able to say something nice about you, then don't include them.

• Make sure they know your name. If you have a Christian name that people call you by, then include that name in your CV, and let your referees know your real name!

• Some institutions will have a special format and guidelines that they want you to follow. Please obey.