Open Spots - Resume Do's and Dont's

Resume Do's and Dont's

There is certainly no shortage of advice on how to write a resume. In fact, if you Google “resume”, you will be amazed at the number of companies trying to take your money in exchange for some generic resume tips and tools. We dare say that if you’re paying for someone to write your resume then you are not ready to apply in the first place. While undoubtedly painful, writing an excellent curriculum vitae is not hard. The amount of very helpful free information on the web is overwhelming and at the end of this article we’ll direct you to some links we feel get the point across clearly.

Don’t feel bad about reading this article though, because resume writing is not something that comes easy. Embarking on one’s resume classically entails at least two to four weeks of serious procrastination before the first attempt. Who said it’s easy to methodically enumerate your academic history, technical skills, work experience and awards? Oh. Right, we did.

Think of your resume like you think of your interview suit. There is room for individuality in both, but not that much. Let your resume stand out for the things you have done, not what you have done to it. The CV is meant to describe your academic and occupational history and depending upon your effort, may greatly improve your chances of getting the job or sink you.

Both are meant to represent YOU: When you walk into an interview, you want people to see you looking pressed and neat, pleats sharp, collar crisp. No one should be wondering where the flood is or whether your going scuba diving later in those pants. The suit you wear should be wholly conservative so as not to detract attention from you, but have a little splash of color that says “I’m not totally gray.” Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Similarly, your resume, and we don’t just mean its content, should be clean, neat, and conservative. It should be on white or off-white stationary and the font should be a conservative one. Trust us, you might be remembered for picking a “wacky” font, but you won’t be remembered well. And unless you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, don’t choose any other color paper than white or off-white (we would also apply this to your future business card choice). Choose another time to show your rebellious/kooky/retarded side.

Just as you would with any tie or blouse, look at several examples of your friends and family or any of the thousands that you can see on the Internet. See what fits with your taste, but remember, the resume is about you, but not for you – it is for all those that don’t know how great you are so keep it simple and don’t let its initial appearance skew their judgment of you in any way. Like any good outfit, your resume, too, should emphasize your positives. Choose your words carefully when you are describing yourself, don’t sound too boastful. Your resume should sound like your trying to be modest about all the great things you have done. Also, look at examples of resumes in your desired field to get an idea what others, who may be more accomplished, have on their resume. This also helps when you to find certain words or terms that show you know the field well – these words are commonly referred to as “keywords” or “buzzwords” and the readers of your resume will certainly take note if you know the vernacular of their field.

Lastly, and maybe most importantly, proofread, proofread, proofread. Nothing says ‘I don’t care about details’ like a typographical error. In this day and age of computers and spell check, there really is no excuse and that little lazy mistake will stick out like a stain on your silk blouse/tie, imparting volumes about you that may not be true.

I think we’ve beaten the interview suit comparison into a clothy pulp so let’s toss it in the hamper and move on. There are a few key aspects of doctors’ CVs that we should review, the first being your demographics. It is our opinion that your name, address, and contact info should be at the top so that it’s the first thing people see.

The next section should be your educational history. This should be chronological and should include the full name of the institutions (e.g. Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine), as well as their city and state. If you have worked as a physician or otherwise, include this in a separate section immediately below. Gussy up your job description but be honest and keep it short and sweet. There’s nothing wrong with making a boring job sound interesting but leave out that paragraph about your emotionally challenging research on critically ill nude mice and instead write “as clinical investigator, improved outcomes in murine sepsis model.” In fact, leave out ALL paragraphs. Honestly, employers and program directors do not care.

Since we’ve dipped into the employment business (i.e. OpenSpots.com) you wouldn’t believe the number of resumes we’ve errantly received. The vast majority of them left much to be desired but they did provide us with some final Do’s and Don’ts of writing your resume:

DO:

Keep it short and simple. Can we say this any more times? Maybe now you’ll get it. You don’t have to use full sentences to describe your research activity. The key is to entice them with some bait and get them to ask you about that summer studying in Stockholm.

Write a cover letter. If you are mailing or e-mailing your resume, take 5 minutes and write a personalized cover letter thanking Dr.Jacknut for this fantastic opportunity. Sending your resume without this is like giving a present without wrapping it.

Try to find something interesting and non-medical. The first thing people always ask me about on interviews is StopPAgingME.com. Then they proceed to tell me about their website, or their child’s blog. Next thing I know he’s calling his son form his desk and surfing StopPagingMe.com’s Top 5 Most Annoying Medical Terms. It helps you appear well-rounded and more importantly, more memorable.

DON’Ts

Leave out the cheesy “about me” paragraph at the top. Some of the samples that you browse on the Internet show a touchy-feely item explaining their strengths and desires. Who cares! Everyone is diligent, motivated, and has excellent organization skills. Medicine is about numbers and publications so stick to the nitty gritty.

Not all publications are worth publicizing.
It ain’t easy to get published, but listing a five year-old paper, published in a monthly thrown-away, that has nothing to do with your specialty will not help your cause. Leave it where it belongs, thrown away.

Never lie, not even a little. You may think writing ‘pending publication’ is a benign untruth that won’t come back to haunt you but when I see that on the resume, it’s the first thing I go after- and I’m not alone. It may escape the eyes of some and you may even skirt by without anyone noticing, but it will catch up with you. Someone, somewhere will see it and embarrass you with it. Always tell the truth.

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Resume Do's and Dont's

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