HOW TO WRITE A CURRICULUM VITAE

Yesterday, Vince and I attended a dinner/seminar hosted by the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA).  While the presentation was intended for physicians, particularly residents and fellows, the facilitators discussed topics such as Curriculum Vitae (CV) writing and interview preparation, which are as well applicable to any job seeker.  So for today's entry, I'm sharing those pointers I learned from the seminar, with a touch of my own quips.  I realize that this kind of information is readily available in the Internet and I wouldn't be surprised if this may sound as old news to you, but who knows what new things someone (like me!) can pick up from an old trick, right?  Plus, if you haven't done your CV in quite a while (like me again!), consider this as a refresher course ;)

HOW TO WRITE A CURRICULUM VITAE

1.  Below is a set of headings you may use as applicable:

Identification

Post Graduate

Education

Experience

Licenses and Certification

Professional Affiliations

2.  Remember to use reverse chronological order (most recent to oldest).

3.  The headings should be clear and should stand out from the other text in your CV.

4.  Use appropriate spacing and font style and size (e.g. Arial/Times New Roman 11/12).  The font style and size determines how easy on the eyes your CV will look when printed/faxed.

5.  Keep the format consistent throughout.

6.  The most important part of your CV is your contact information, so make sure that it is up to date.  Put a contact number/email address where you can be easily and directly reached.  Do not use your mom's, dad's, spouse's, neighbor's, neighbor's wife's, neighbor's wife's cousin's, neighbor's wife's cousin's girflriend's contact infos.  Of course, I'm exaggerating over the last parts there.

7.  One thing you don't want a prospect employer to see in your CV is spelling and typhographical mistakes, which pretty much reflect a "sloppy and careless" attitude.  We know by now that Spell Check is not perfect, so it is always advisable to have another set of human eyes do a final proofread of a hard copy of your CV.

Also worth mentioning is that, once distributed out, we do not have control as to whose hands our CV may end up with.  In this regard, we should exercise caution with what information we put in it.  While I have yet to know someone who puts credit card/bank information in a CV, details like Social Security Number should be excluded.

Keep in mind that our Curriculum Vitae is our passport to a job interview.  We can maximize its power by supplying accurate and precise information.

I hope what I wrote above is helpful.  Thanks for taking time to read.  I plan on writing a follow-up post and share HCA's tips on how to write a great cover letter and how to prepare for an interview, so stay tuned to learn more :)