I’m Dr. Hassan, a Board-Certified Physiatrist and Independent Practice Owner. I help physiatrists start and grow their own profitable practices so they can achieve financial independence and live without limits.

Does your CV stand out from the crowd? Job hunting is challenging these days. Employers get flooded with applications for every opening and may spend as little as 10 seconds screening the CV. Here are some suggestions that can help your CV stand out from the crowd and ensure that you get called in for an interview:

Formatting your CV 

  1. Hit the highlights first. Put your most important data up on the top right, after your name and contact information. A brief and compelling summary of your qualifications and skills will get the reviewer’s attention and display what you can do for the company based on your credentials and accomplishments.
  1. Air on the conservative side. Take it easy on the formatting tricks. Use bold and italics sparingly so that the text is easy to read. A clean and professional appearance is usually the safest approach.
  1. Be consistent. Make your document easy to scan. Use a consistent layout that makes your CV easy to follow and find all the vital information at a glance, like company names, dates, titles, and accomplishments.
  1. Leave lots of white space. It’s good to keep your CV to one page but even better if you do that while maintaining standard margins and 11-point fonts. Use bullets and leave some space between lines to make your CV look more inviting.
  1. Consider a combination format. You may hear some experts advising that you use a functional design to stretch skills rather than work history. Surveys show that many employers still want to see the conventional reverse chronology, so try using both in two different sections to cover all your bases.
  1. Take the multimedia route. Consider supplementing your traditional paper CV with a video or digital contact. Give people a link to your professional website or blog or use your LinkedIn profile.

Writing your CV

  1. Emphasize keywords. Read the job posting carefully and integrate the keywords into your CV. If your CV gets screened by an automatic tracking system, this will help it rank higher.
  1. Customize your CV for each position. These days the competitive job market favors personalizing your CV as much as possible. Try to adapt your language to what you know about the company’s culture and the kind of candidate they seek while still being authentic about your true identity.
  1. Quantify your accomplishments. The contribution you made in previous jobs is likely to be the most crucial factor in helping you get your next job. Focus on how you improve patient care, patient outcomes and increase revenue.
  1. Use action words. As you’re describing your accomplishments, try to start each bullet with a verb. This makes you sound more dynamic and makes your CV more interesting to read.
  1. Be concise. Try to pack lots of information into as few words as possible. Avoid any repetition or empty jargon. Keep your sentences short.
  1. Proofread everything. Print out a copy of your CV to proofread. Read it backward and forward. Give it to at least one friend or family member because a fresh pair of eyes may spot typos that have become invisible to you.

 

The job market is tough. But a CV that looks good and quickly demonstrates your strongest selling points can help you rise to the top of the stack. Give yourself the best chance to succeed by crafting a CV that will make your prospective employer want to learn more about you.

It’s always important to look the part for any job interview or practice. Check out our blog here on how you can best look the part for your career.

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I am Dr. Hassan, board-certified physiatrist and independent practice owner. I help psychiatrists start and grow their own independent practice so that they can achieve financial independence and live without limits. We all have student loans we all want to get rid of them. Go to http://businessofrehab.com/studentloan to download the free guide that walks you through the steps to get rid of your student loan debt.

Attention, Physiatrists! Stop leaving money on the table. Sign up for the free video series: How To Build A Profitable Practice in 90 Days or Less: http://www.sixtytosuccess.com

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