Hadeel Al-Kofide MScPHCL 476

What is a CV?

The difference between CV & resume

How should you organize your CV

Things you should avoid in your CV

Things employers look for

Things That Worry Employers

Ensure that your CV is neat & visually appealing

Font case & size

Writing an objective

CV: curriculum vitae, is a written profile of

your professional qualifications. It can vary in

length from one to several pages, depending

upon the variety & number of your experiences

A resume is usually shorter (1-2 pages)

As a health care professional when applying for

a job use CV better, WHY?

1. Name & Contact Information2. Education3. Specialized Training/Certification4. Experiences5. Presentations6. Publications7. Related Awards & Activities8. Professional Affiliations9. License10. References

After your name you can start

with an objective, this

will be discussed further later

The top of every CV should contain contact

information. Your name is typically centered, and

may be set in larger &/or boldface type to attract

attention

Place your complete name, address, email address &

telephone number at the top of the page.

Think carefully before including a second

“permanent” address. This can be confusing to

Start with your most recent educational

experience first (this is called reverse

chronological order)

For each degree you obtained, write the full

name of the degree (i.e. “Bachelor of

Pharmaceutical Sciences), full name of the

university & year of graduation

If you are currently working on a degree, put the

word “candidate” after the name of the degree,

write full name of the university, & expected

year of graduation

Do not include information from/about high

school

Use the full certification name & note the year

the certification was earned

You can include a short description of the

certification if you feel it is not self-explanatory

Use the heading “Professional Experience” if

you have any pharmacy or other professional

health care experience

Include related jobs, rotations, & volunteer

experience

Start with your most recent experience first

(reverse chronological order)

Information include:

Time interval employed (list start & stop

month/year; use year only if you held the job

for more than 1 year)

Position title

Name & location of employer

Name and contact number of a supervisor

Non-pharmacy or non-professional experiences can

go under the category of “Other Related Experience”

Be sure to describe only transferable skills (i.e. skills

you gained at other non pharmacy jobs that would

enhance your value to a pharmacy employer

Any jobs involving teaching, or interaction with

members of the public may involve skills

transferable to the pharmacy profession

A short description/list of projects you

completed or notable activities performed while

on the job is a nice touch; it is probably not

necessary to list your standard job duties unless

they are out-of-the-ordinary

Rotations are good to list when you don’t have

much else to place on the CV. If you’re more

Include the presentation title, name of group presented

to, & year. The location of the meeting is optional

If you have several presentations, you can separate out

poster presentations, invited oral presentations, class

lectures—whatever works

Don’t list contact names for the presentation, but have

a copy of all handouts from the presentations ready to

present during an interview

Don’t include site-specific newsletter

publications—these should be listed with job or

rotation as projects

If you have more than four, divide them into

peer-reviewed & non-peer-reviewed

For awards, list title & year granted. You may

describe the award briefly if you think it will not

be self-explanatory

List all professional associations of which you

are currently a member. Spell out the full name

of the associations—do not use abbreviations

List name of state & type of license only

List names & contact

Attach reference letters

Description of health

License number

Irrelevant awards, publications, scholarships,

associations, & memberships

Travel history

Previous pay rates

Reasons for leaving previous jobs

The words “References available upon request”

Signs of achievements

Patterns of stability & career direction

Specifics in job descriptions

Willingness to work hard

Neatness/Professional presentation (including

grammar & spelling)

Pattern of job hopping

Lengthy descriptions of education

Obvious gaps in background

Irrelevant personal information

Statements about achievements that are

inconsistent with the job description

Typing & grammar errors

Choose high quality paper in white or off-white

Have the final version professionally reproduced

in a single-sided format

Times New Roman is recommended

12 point font size will be the easiest to read; do

not use smaller than 10 point font

Do not use more than two fonts on your resume

Use bullets to aid organization, but be careful

not to overuse them. Too many bullets lead to a

cluttered appearance

Where to put them?

Its optional

Resumes may incorporate a brief objective provided it

is clear, concise, & targeted to your employment goal

If you want to explore more than one career option,

develop two or three resumes each with a different

objective aimed at a specific type of position

When writing a professional objective, include at least two of the following three components:

1. Position desired—pharmacist, toxicologist, pharmaceutical sales representative

2. Organization type—research facility, drug manufacturing firm, retail pharmacy

3. Knowledge, experience, or skills offered—proven communication skills, managerial experience, knowledge of automated prescription systems

Phrases such as: “a challenging, entry–level

position” or “position dealing with people” are

unclear & mean little to a potential employer

Use stronger statements such as “seeking a

pharmaceutical sales position where I can utilize my

proven sales experience, excellent communication

skills, & extensive knowledge of prescription drugs

to assist doctors in treating patients effectively.”

“To contribute to a pharmacy team as a pharmacist who serves the needs of a diverse patient population, while gradually increasing my clinical role over time”

“To obtain a staff pharmacist position at a nuclear pharmacy & to receive the proper training to become an authorized user”

“To identify and develop novel drugs and dosage forms by integrating my Pharmacological, Clinical, Biochemical, Pharmaceutical and Phytochemical expertise”