13Mar 2025

Author Wendy Roofe

How to Create a Physician CV That Will Stand Out

resident-working-on-a-physician-curriculum-vitae-(CV)-from-template

Writing a physician curriculum vitae (CV) can be a difficult task, especially for an early career physician. How can you craft a physician resume that will land you an interview when residents and fellows with similar experience are also vying for the same jobs?

Overall, it is imperative to keep your physician CV succinct while showcasing how you differentiate from other applicants. Volunteer work, special projects, and academic teaching with medical students are all solid attention-grabbing elements that you should include. Like a cover letter, your CV should also be tailored to suit the position.

To create the outline below, we surveyed our recruiters for their top physician CV suggestions based on medical employer feedback:

PHYSICIAN CV TEMPLATE

CONTACT INFORMATION

In the contact information section, at the top of your CV, include:

  • Your full name
  • Your job title
  • Phone number
  • Personal email address
  • LinkedIn profile
  • (Optional) Professional website
  • (Optional if relevant to your profession) Other social media handles

PERSONAL STATEMENT/OBJECTIVE/PROFILE

Keep it short, a two to four sentence paragraph at the top of your CV. The purpose is to provide the practice a synopsis of your career, list your top skills and achievements, and show your prospective employer what you can contribute.

  • 2-3 skills
  • 1-3 achievements
  • What do you hope to accomplish in your new role?

PRACTICE EXPERIENCE

List your applicable past and current positions in reverse chronological order. In each entry, include:

  • Position
  • Company Name
  • Dates Worked
  • Up to 6 bullet points outlining your responsibilities
  • Key Achievements

 

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EDUCATION

In reverse chronological order, include:

  • Residencies and Fellowships
  • Dates
  • Degree/Subject
  • The name of the institution

For example:

2016-2019 Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship, Harvard Medical School

2010-2013 Internal Medicine Internship and Residency, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Menter

2007-2010 M.D. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Place your education section above your work experience for entry-level CVs with little work history. You can add:

  • Your honors
  • Your dissertation title
  • Relevant coursework
  • Your best achievements
  • Extracurricular activities
  • Leadership roles

SKILLS

  • 4-8 skills relevant to your career
  • Soft skills
  • Job-specific skills and procedures
  • Indication of your proficiency level (Basic, Advanced, Expert)

DO NOT INCLUDE

  • Salary requirements and reasons for leaving a previous commitment
  • Personal information such as physical address (just include a mailing address) or date of birth
  • Your work email address or any other current business-contact info
  • Your photo
  • Your marital status
  • Conference attendance
  • References, unless required you can list “References Available Upon Request”
  • Past positions that have little or nothing to do with the position you’re applying for

PHYSICIAN CV FORMATTING

  • Traditional black font with a white background
  • One font choice with one or two font sizes, preferably 11 or 12 point
  • Standard, legible fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Cambria, Bookman Old Style, Open Sans, Helvetica, or Georgia
  • Simple and easily scannable for important details

CV Writing Suggestions:

  • Instead of “in charge of,” consider using “directed 20 residents/employees to…”
  • Rather than “responsible for” use “improved…”
  • Change “worked with” to “collaborated on a team that…”
  • Advanced
  • Delivered
  • Maximized
  • Produced
  • Any words that are prevalent throughout the position description

A CV could also include:

  • Professional Certifications (State License(s), Board Certifications)
  • Professional Memberships
  • Languages
  • Additional Training and Courses
  • Publications
  • Awards
  • Blogging and Influencing
  • Volunteer Experience

Related Resource: Evaluating a Job Offer Beyond Salary

FINAL PHYSICIAN CV TIPS

  • Send the file as a PDF
  • Use your last name and first name to label the document (ex: Smith-Jane-CV)
    • Do not name it something generic such as “myCV” which can easily get lost in a batch of submissions
  • Ask others within and outside of the medical industry to proofread for any errors or unclear language

PHYSICIAN CV EXAMPLE – free download

Looking for more physician CV examples? Click here to download a medical physician CV template.

 

 

Need more help revising your physician CV? Contact the consultant specializing in your subspecialty. Their assistance is always free to job seeking physicians.

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