Freud's Insights on Your Personal Brand and Crafting Your CV

April 13th, 2012 2 Min read Freud's Insights on Your Personal Brand and Crafting Your CV Blog
Freud's Insights is a new blog series from our resident Freud, Johnna, a search consultant in the surgery permanent placement division. Have you ever had a conversation with a person whose body language or tone of voice motivated you to question the validity or sincerity of their words? For example, they may have been wishing you a "nice day" but from their tone of voice and folded arms, you questioned if they really meant what they said. This is how I feel when physicians tell me they are organized, but their CVs are hard to navigate due to poor organization or missing information. I feel the same way when doctors tell me they have modern skills and send me CVs with old typefaces, old-fashioned formatting, or worse — typos — since virtually all modern word-processing packages offer spell-check capabilities. The appearance of a CV should reinforce what you articulate about your skill set, strengths, and personal brand. Beyond the appearance, the content also has to reinforce what you want to convey about yourself. Some physicians include too much information; others too little. A good CV is not only easy to navigate, but it also includes the information that a potential employer will look for, including:
  • Personal information: Name, contact information (home address, cell phone number, email address)
  • Education and training
  • Work history
  • Certifications
  • Licenses and DEA registration
  • Professional memberships
  • Publications (optional)
CVs that include all the information prospective employers seek make it easier for hiring managers to evaluate candidates and reinforce that doctors who claim they are detail-oriented and thorough really are what they claim to be. For more insights into what you should -- and should not -- include on your CV, check out CompHealth's career resource "Write a Winning CV." Once you have gotten your first job after your residency or fellowship, be sure to maintain the accuracy of your CV. For more insights into how to maintain and refresh your CV, check out "Refreshing Your CV." And for physicians in job search mode, let me add that it is important to communicate and reinforce your personal brand in your interviews. More insights about this in my next blog on April 26!

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