Curriculum Vitae CV Writing

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Curriculum Vitae (CV) Writing

• School of Medicine
• September 5, 2007
• Erin Lowery
• VCU University Career Center
• Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment
  Services
• Virginia Commonwealth University

2
Agenda

• CVs
• Purpose
• CVs vs. Resumes
• Content
• Organization and Appearance

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Purpose of a CV

• What is your purpose in writing a CV?
• To obtain an interview
• To supplement an application
• To prepare to complete applications
• To prepare a recommender/reference
• To apply for a scholarship/award/grant/fellowship
• To provide a bio
• Who is your audience/reader?
• Be strategic

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CVs vs. Resumes

• A Curriculum Vitae is used for academic,
  teaching, research, higher education and medical
  positions
• A CV tends to be more comprehensive and longer
  than a resume and contains a detailed account of
  ones background
• A CV always starts with Education
• A CV includes categories not commonly seen on
  resumes, including presentations, publications,
  research experience and interests, academic
  appointments, committees, conferences,
  fellowships, grants

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CVs vs. Resumes

• Curriculum Vitae
• Industry
• Medical Institutions
• Research Organizations
• Educational Organizations
• Format
• Detailed, descriptive
• Length
• Varies with experience

• Resume
• Industry
• Private, Non-profit
• Format
• Brief, concise, focused
• Length
• One page, maybe two

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CV Content Use the categories that fit your
experience

• Core Content Areas
• Name and Contact Information
• Education
• Honors
• Certification/Licensure
• Experience
• Research Experience
• Publications
• Presentations
• Organizations

• Additional Categories
• Objective or Professional Interest Statement
• Computer/Technical Skills
• Leadership
• Additional Experience
• Committees
• Academic Appointments
• Professional Development training, professional
  organizations, workshops, conferences
• Community Service/Volunteer
• Foreign Languages
• Interests/Hobbies

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Name and Contact Information

• Do not write Curriculum Vitae on your CV
• On top of page
• Name slightly larger font size (14 or 16)
• Contact information legible font size (11 or
  12)
• Address
• Phone number(s) (cell screen calls,
  professional voicemail)
• Email address (remove hyperlink, professional)

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Name Contact InformationExamples

• Jamie T. Student
• 907 Floyd Avenue ? Richmond, VA 23284 ?
  804.123.4567 ? studentj_at_vcu.edu
• __________________________________________________
  _____________
• JAMIE T. STUDENT
• 907 Floyd Avenue
• Richmond, Virginia 23284
• [phone]
• studentjt_at_vcu.edu
• __________________________________________________
  _____________
• Jamie T. Student
• Current Address
  studentjt_at_vcu.edu Permanent Address
• 907 Floyd Ave.
  804.123.4567 123 Lovely Ln.
• Richmond, VA 23284 Fairfax, VA 32145

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Education

• List all degrees in reverse chronological order
• MCV/VCU
• Abbreviating degrees is appropriate writing them
  out is preferred
• GPA optional for graduate or professional school
• Indicate graduation with honors
• Do not include high school graduation

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EducationExamples

• EDUCATION
• M.D., anticipated May 2007
• Virginia Commonwealth University School of
  Medicine, Richmond, VA
• (in the tradition of the Medical College of
  Virginia)
• B.S. in Biology, magna cum laude, May 2002
• The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg,
  VA
• EDUCATION
• Virginia Commonwealth University School of
  Medicine Richmond, VA
• Doctor of Medicine Expected 05/2007
• The College of William and Mary Williamsburg,
  VA
• Bachelor of Science, magna cum laude 05/2002
• Major Biology, Minor Psychology
• GPA 3.88

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Honors

• Honor Societies
• Scholarships awarded
• Other significant awards
• May separate into undergraduate and medical
  school if you have many items
• Alphabetical or reverse chronological order
• Include graduation with honors in Education
  section (cum laude, magna cum laude, summa cum
  laude)

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HonorsExample

• HONORS
• Medical School
• Deans Merit Scholarship (2006-2007)
• Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society (inducted 2006)
• MCV Alumni Association of VCU Scholarship
  (2004-2006)
• Undergraduate
• Samuel L. Wurtzel Scholarship (2000-2004)
• William and Mary Athletics Scholarship
  (2000-2003)
• Phi Beta Kappa (inducted 2003)
• Order of Omega Honor Society (inducted 2003)
• Golden Key International Honour Society
  (inducted 2002)
• Deans List (all semesters)

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Experience

• Focus on relevant experience
• Include significant experience obtained before
  medical school
• Include volunteer/community service completed
  during medical school
• Do not include experience that is part of the
  Medical School curriculum
• Include work experience that explains time gaps

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Experience

• May divide into additional categories
• Relevant Experience
• Additional Experience
• Research Experience
• Teaching Experience
• International Experience
• Health Care Experience
• Volunteer Experience or Community Service

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Experience Descriptions

• Elaborate on your relevant experience
• Use bullets, avoid paragraphs
• Begin descriptions with strong, descriptive
  action verbs
• Include complete but succinct descriptions
• Avoid the use of personal pronouns
• Focus on skills and accomplishments rather than
  including a comprehensive list of job duties
• For less relevant experience, focus on
  transferable skills

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Action Verbs

• Use strong, descriptive action verbs to describe
  your experience
• If it is a current experience, use the present
  tense
• If it is a previous experience, use the past
  tense
• Avoid gerunds (-ing)
• Vary your action verbs (refer to action verb list
  in CV guide)
• Avoid duties include or responsible for
• Refrain from using handled or dealt with when
  referring to people

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Medical Action Verbs

• Examine
• Perform
• Interpret
• Prescribe
• Administer
• Diagnose
• Counsel
• Evaluate
• Treat
• Confer
• Monitor
• Assess

• Refer
• Specialize
• Repair
• Consult
• Communicate
• Document
• Teach
• Implement
• Supervise
• Manage
• Collaborate
• Plan

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ExperienceExample

• EXPERIENCE
• Fan-Free Clinic Richmond, VA
• Medical Clinic Assistant January 2007-Present
• Assist physicians - take vital signs, obtain
  patients medical histories and conduct physical
  exams.
• SMILE Program Richmond, VA
• Volunteer August 2005-May 2006
• Served as a buddy to children during and
  following cancer treatments.
• American Medical Student Association Washington,
  DC
• Intern, Health Policy and Politics May-August
  2003
• Conducted research on medical malpractice.
• Scheduled and conducted lobby visits.

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Community Service/VolunteerExample

• COMMUNITY SERVICE
• Chesterfield Youth Center, Richmond, Virginia,
  October 2006-June 2007
• Tutored underprivileged children in math and
  science
• Coordinated a community health fair with a team
  of volunteers
• Camp Bruce McCoy, Chesapeake, VA, May-June 2006
• Took an interdisciplinary team approach in
  working with campers with traumatic brain injury
• Adapted activities for a variety of functional
  levels
• Habitat for Humanity, Newport News, VA, July 2005
• Collaborated on a team to build affordable homes
  for low-income families

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Research Experience

• Institution or organization and department
• Principal investigator, supervisor or advisor
• Research topic or title
• Your title/role
• Dates (months and years)
• Short description of project and your role

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Research Action Verbs
Invent Investigate Locate Manage Measure Monitor
Organize Perform Research Review Solve Summari
ze Supervise Survey Study Teach Test

• Analyze Assess
• Clarify Collaborate
• Collect Compare
• Conduct Determine
• Consult Disprove
• Document Evaluate
• Examine Extract
• Formulate Gather
• Identify

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Research ExperienceExample

• RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
• National Institutes of Health Summer Research
  Fellowship Program
• National Cancer Institute, Center for Cancer
  Research Bethesda, MD
• Research Assistant 05/2005 08/2005
• Principal Investigator Frank Balis, MD
• Assisted with a clinical research study of cancer
  patients
• Conducted interviews of patients and assisted in
  conducting physical exams
• The University of Texas at Austin, Department of
  Health Physics Austin, TX
• Research Assistant 06/2004 05/2005
• Project Title The Leaching of Cesium-137 from
  Cement-Based Matrices
• Supervisor Dr. Anthony Stark
• Investigated the effect of cement-based matrices
  on the inhibition of radioactive leaching
• Collected and performed statistical analysis of
  data

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Publications and Presentations

• Include published articles
• Publication year or in press if accepted but
  not yet published
• Use correct medical bibliographic citation
• Include relevant presentations, including poster
  presentations at conferences or association
  meetings
• Include presentation title, name of conference
  and association, location, audience, and date

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Publications and Presentations Examples

• PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS
• Stark, A.E., P.L. Jeffries and J.T. Student.
  2005. The leaching of cesium-137 from
  cement-based matrices. Journal of Health
  Physics, 142(5) 1492-501.
• Presented at the Annual Conference of the Health
  Physics Research Society, Washington, DC, April
  23-25, 2005.
• PRESENTATIONS
• Fillmore, P.D., P. Gerding and J.T. Student.
  Effect of an intra-corneal fluid interface
  following keratotomy on intraocular pressure
  measurement by applanation. Association for
  Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, April 25,
  2006.

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Organizations

• Focus on relevant organizations
• Highlight leadership positions
• Include memberships in professional organizations
  and student organizations related to field
• Include years of membership
• Can be combined with Honors or another section
• List in reverse chronological order or
  alphabetically

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OrganizationsExample

• ORGANIZATIONS
• American Medical Student Association (member
  since 2005)
• President, local chapter (2007-present)
• VCU School of Medicine, Honor Council
  Representative (member since 2005)
• Richmond Academy of Medicine (member since 2005)
• Medical Society of Virginia (member since 2005)
• American College of Physicians (member since
  2004)

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CV Organization and Appearance

• Consistent organization is critical to an
  effective CV
• The appearance and organization of the CV is just
  as important as the content
• Skim
• in less than 10 seconds

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CV Organization

• Avoid templates
• Consistent organization
• Use horizontal space
• Balanced page
• Fill the page
• White space between sections and entries
• Use tabs, not space-bar to indent
• Use print preview
• If you use more than one page, include Name,
  Page avoid stragglers on all subsequent
  pages

• Use bold, CAPS, italics and underlining
  strategically and sparingly
• Be consistent with heading style and margins
• Use one font style and size (except for your name
  and/or headings)
• Font Times New Roman or Arial
• Font size at least 11
• Margins at least 1.0 inch
• Avoid paragraphs
• Use bullets, not dashes
• Avoid numbering your sections

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CV Appearance - Proofread

• Use all periods or no periods at the end of
  bullet points
• Dashes used in dates consistent size,
  consistent spacing
• Check for spelling and grammatical errors
• Spellcheck does not check words in all caps
• Avoid personal pronouns

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CV Appearance - Final Copy

• Avoid graphics, pictures (exception picture
  included in residency application), color ink
• Print on laser printer
• Use high quality, 100 cotton paper in white or
  off-white
• Dont staple or fold
• Dont print on both sides of paper
• If mailing, use large envelope

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References/Recommenders

• References page not necessary for residency
  application because recommendation letters are
  required
• For future job searches
• List 3-5 professional references on a separate
  document following the CV
• Copy and paste your contact information at the
  top of the page
• When listing references include name, title,
  organization/institution and department, business
  address, phone number, and email
• Dont write References available upon request
  on your CV
• ALWAYS ask permission from person giving you the
  reference
• Inform your references of the positions youre
  applying for so they are prepared
• Offer your references/recommenders a copy of your
  CV

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ReferencesExample

• REFERENCES
• Judy Smith, M.D.
• VCU School of Medicine
• Department of Neurology
• 417 N. 11th St.
• Richmond, VA 23219
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• jsmith_at_vcu.edu

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VCU University Career Center

• Erin Lowery
• erlowery_at_vcu.edu
• University Student Commons
• Monroe Park Campus
• www.students.vcu.edu/careers
• Hours Monday Friday, 8 a.m. 5 p.m.