CV Tips for Residents (download pdf)
CV template (download Word .doc)
See also: Tips for Writing a Fellowship
Application Personal Statement
Formatting
- Keep a wide, clean margin on the entire document: 1” all around
- Use a common font, preferably sans serif
- Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman (easy to read and are not likely to be transposed into other fonts on someone else’s computer)
- 11 or 12 pt
- Always send your CV as a PDF file without any tracked changes
- Add page numbers starting on page 2 (already set up in the downloadable template above)
- Use italic, bold or underline font very sparingly
- Microsoft Word can be tricky – there are lots of default settings and automatic formatting
- If those defaults drive you crazy, Google how to override them (or email Kris Greiner!)
- Learn to use page breaks – don’t hit the “return” key a bunch of times until you get to the next page
- Insert a page break to separate sections appropriately
- Learn how to set tabs and indents
Consistency
- BE CONSISTENT in everything
- Overall formatting
- Date format: if you use “2018-2019,” then don’t switch to “2018-19” in another line or section
- Capitalizations
- Headings and subheadings
- Punctuation
- Add the same details to each entry in the same section and overall
- Example: city, state, country
Tips for CV Sections
- Starting at the Top (header and contact information)
- Licensing and Honors
- Research/Project Experience and Areas of Interest
- Teaching
- Scholarship
- Service
- Other Information (languages, hobbies)
Attention to Detail
- Before you submit, clean up all tracked changes
- Keep your CV updated! It’s easier to update as needed than try to remember everything that needs to be added once a year.
- Consistency is key! In every section!
- Check your spelling: simple mistakes convey lack of attention to detail
- Correct word use: did you use the correct “its” vs. “it’s”?
- List ALL sections in order of oldest (at the top) to newest
- Spell out acronyms: “Society of Hospital Medicine,” not “SHM”
- CVs can be reviewed by someone not familiar with your field’s common abbreviations
- Use full and correct proper names of people, organizations, schools
- One good example is “Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation”
- Many people use “Bone Marrow” - check those proper names!!
- When you save your CV, put your name and “CV” in the Word file name so others immediately know what that file contains
Help is available!
- Contact Kris Greiner, Editor, for help with creating or updating your CV (kristina-greiner@uiowa.edu)
- Ask a faculty mentor or residency director to review and give advice on what should and should not be listed