Tips for Maintaining Your Resume & Curriculum Vitae

As part of our Careers Edition, Today’s Wound Clinic offers the following compiled advice from various sources to assist wound care professionals in maintaining and writing their resume/curriculum vitae (CV).

How to Write a Resume like a Healthcare Executive

The University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy offers these six resume tips for healthcare executives:¹

1. Lead Strong: Design and write the resume to give readers the information they need to know quickly and clearly. Highlight your most impressive capabilities, key professional experiences, and top accomplishments upfront. Give yourself a proper title to distinguish yourself at a glance and include descriptive phrases to summarize your profile and reflect your personality. 
2. Format: Generate ideas by reviewing templates and sample resumes. Find ways to improve upon the design and format of a resume template. Try to express your strengths through the design. Carefully review the description of the position, the responsibilities, and the qualifications, and ensure your resume reflects what the health provider is seeking. Where possible, demonstrate the value of your role in specific projects by noting key strategic decisions you influenced. All things being equal, the more recent roles and achievements are considered most applicable and should be allotted more space. Begin each segment of your resume work history with a description of your responsibilities followed by several bullet points highlighting your contributions.
3. Length: Unless there’s a compelling reason, aim for two pages. (Three pages are acceptable if you feel that the details of your experience cannot fit on two pages. Condensing your resume to one page would likely require you to omit notable details or achievements.) Be concise, but don’t omit pertinent information. Delete superfluous information and only keep details that are relevant to the job description.
4. Quantifying Accomplishments: If your existing job role is on the “numbers” side of healthcare (accounting, billing, management, human resources), then using numbers to quantifying accomplishments will present a strong case. If quantifying your impact is challenging, or you work directly with patients, clearly describe what you have accomplished, the outcomes you have achieved, and any tangible benefits that are relevant.
5. Write your resume: Use action verbs. Write descriptive resume phrases beneath your current or past work experience, and begin sentences with action verbs. Do not be repetitive. Repeating words too often will cause them to lose their impact. Match tenses. When describing your role, responsibilities, and contributions from your current job, write in the present tense. When tailoring previous work experiences on your resume to reflect the responsibilities of the opportunity you are currently applying for, write in the past tense.
6. Proofreading: Too many grammatical mistakes will significantly dampen your chances of being hired. Make sure fonts and formatting are consistent. Check for spelling and grammar errors. Read your resume aloud. Ask colleagues, family members, and/or friends to proofread your resume.

A Concise Summary for Your CV
The University of Washington offers these writing tips and various advice on CV-related elements:²
Education should always be listed first, followed by one’s individual areas of strengths, such as research, honors, awards, word experience, or volunteer work. Overall, the CV should serve as a summary of your background and accomplishments, with the goal being to provide readers with a well-organized overview of major academic and extracurricular achievements. 

Additionally, consider including the following elements in your CV: medically relevant work experience listed in reverse chronological order, publications appeared in (include all published articles on which you are an author or co-author; bold your name, presentations given (include all relevant information on presentations given at medical conferences, specialty association meetings, etc.), interests, and special skills (including foreign language, licensures, and professional memberships. 
According to Agha et al, although many medical job applications are submitted online without the need for a CV, it still remains important.³There is no required length for medical CVs, with the general trend to be 2–3 pages (academic CVs may be longer).³

Other suggested strategies include:³

• Identify what the role specification is and ensure that readers will be able to identify that you are applying for that role.
• Do not exaggerate any information, and do not include irrelevant information just because you’ve accomplished something unrelated. (This information can be discussed during interviews.)
• The first page is typically independent and contains the role being applied to, a brief introduction to the professional, and why you want to apply for this role. 
• Offering a career statement is useful and quick way to highlight how you are suitable for the role by stating your most relevant experience and skills, as well by expressing your professional goals.
• Participating in clinical audits or quality-improvement work is important in a medical career and will provide points in specialty applications. 
• Teaching experience is a vital skill at the formal and informal level. Also, include information on training courses and symposia that add value to your CV, for example a suturing course will look good for surgical applications. (Courses related to examination preparation are usually not relevant.) 
• Many workplaces now require competent information technology skills, such as prescribing drugs in a hospital.
• You should list at least two references who have agreed to act as such and are aware of what role you are applying to.

References

1. How to write a resume like a healthcare executive. USC. 2018. Accessed online: https://healthadministrationdegree.usc.edu/blog/write-a-resume

2. Curriculum Vitae (CV). UM. 2018. Accessed online:

www.uwmedicine.org/education/md-program/current-students/student-affairs/career-advising/year-4-get-residency/curriculum-vitae

3. Agha R, Whitehurst K, Jafree D, Devabalan Y, Koshy K, Gundogan B. How to write a medical CV. Int J Surg Oncol. 2017;2(6):e32.
 

Reworking Your Resume: One Healthcare Provider’s Personal Approach
Pamela G. Unger, PT, CWS, FCCWS

A few months ago, I found myself faced with the need for a newly updated resume. After working more than 13 years in the same industry, I realized that things had changed rather dramatically. Even though I tend to keep my paperwork current, it was not in format that attracts today’s new employers. This step-by-step set of advice for those who may be in a similar position was gathered through online research, professional consulting services, and experienced colleagues. 

TYPE OF RESUMES TO CHOOSE

Chronological: This is the most traditional format, which lists experiences according to the order in which they occurred. These appeal to older readers and may be best suited for a conservative field.

Functional: Thin is the resume type that lists your experiences according to skill. You may use this format if you are changing career direction and/or lack direct work experience. By displaying your skills first, your experience or lack thereof is not the main focus.

Combination: This type combines the best aspects of the previously mentioned formats. Be mindful of length; this type of resume can quickly grow long. 

If possible, resumes should be one page in length and submitted to potential employers along with a brief (but concise) cover letter. In order to obtain an interview, the resume will need to be truthful, attractive, and leaving the employer wanting to know more about you.

CREATE A HEADER

A header should include your name, phone number (that you plan to answer), email address (that is a professional email), and any online professional bios.

WRITE A SUMMARY

In one or two sentences, summarize your work experience and relevant skills. It is important to have this area be strong, solid, and simple. Explain why you are applying for a role that is a departure from your career path. If your experience speaks for itself, you can skip this step, although that is not advisable.    

LIST EXPERIENCES AND SKILLS 

Chronological/ Combination Resumes

• List your experiences, starting with your most recent or current job, followed by your previous work experience.

• State specific accomplishments you achieved with each position.

• Clearly choose those experiences that are most relevant to the position you seek. 

• This is where your resume can begin to run over one page, so be selective on your inclusion.

• There are key words to start each achievement with (eg, accelerated, achieved, expanded, influenced, solved, maintained, generated, effected, advised, controlled, trained, utilized). Example: Coordinated physician efforts; redefined the inpatient wound care service line. 

Functional/Combination Resumes

• In this resume, use the skill section to show your strengths and individuality. 

• State each skill. Then follow it with a two- to three-line explanation of how you learned that skill or why you believe you have that skill.

• These entries should be concise.

• Think about what you believe the employer is looking for, and focus on those skills. Example: Coordination of the clinical education and reimbursement strategies for the physical therapy, physician, and nursing staff. 

LISTING ACTIVITIES

List activities you have participated in as well as your role in each. Membership or leadership roles in community or professional clubs, teams, organizations, etc. is helpful information here. Employers do look for individuals with diverse backgrounds, hence do not hesitate to include activities unrelated to the position you are applying for. 

LISTING EDUCATION

Schools you have attended and degrees you have attained, starting with the most recent, is the suggested style. Other education experiences, including seminars, training programs, etc. can also be listed here.

LISTING AWARDS 

Employers are always interested in any recognition that (professional or community). Do not worry if you have not received any awards, however.

LISTING PERSONAL INTERESTS & REFERENCES

Use this section to show how well rounded an individual you are and try to demonstrate why people would want to work with you. This section is also considered optional, although employers may use materials listed here as a way to “break the ice” if you are invited to interview. At least three references (two professional, one personal) should be included. Provide the person’s name, job title, and email/phone contact information.

NOTES ON SOCIAL MEDIA

In today’s world of internet and social media, your resume is your point of entry, but all other sources of social media are available for an employer to review. As a professional, be mindful of your online activity and posts. Be certain that your professional profiles are current. Review your connections: Will they be helpful to your job search? Also, it is strongly recommended to utilize a professional colleague to review your materials — someone who knows and understands you — before submitting them for consideration.     

 Pamela G. Unger is a member of the Today’s Wound Clinic editorial advisory board.