Malaysia’s healthcare sector is growing rapidly amongst peers in Southeast Asia, with an international-standard system, world-class facilities, and high-quality doctors. Hence the competition is tough for medical doctors in search of a position to secure their career, and Curriculum Vitae plays an important role in helping you stand out amongst peers. Not only should it cover the accurate reflection of your medical journey, but it also must be created in the most structured, straightforward, well-written manner to have a better chance at winning your prospective employer’s offer. This doctor CV guide is dedicated to doctors in any field. Read along as we provide advice and practical guidelines for writing a powerful physician’s CV for job application purposes, including tips and a free CV template!
CV vs Résumé, What’s the Difference?
| Curriculum Vitae | Résumé |
| Curriculum Vitae (Latin) is loosely translated as “the course of one’s life,” which consists of all education & work history and achievements in life, usually used in the academic context and clinical job application for doctors. | Résumé (french) means “to sum up” and is the shortened, compact version of a CV primarily used in the non-academic, non-clinical employment application (such as emergency room admin). |
| Usually is 2-4 pages long but can be unlimited as your journey grows. | Strictly 1-2 pages only. The shorter, the better. |
| Comprehensive and detailed in sections & narratives, rarely containing bullet points. | Has bullet points and brief sentences highlighting the most relevant samples for the role. |
101 Doctor CV Guide: Why Structuring Your CV is Important
A good physician CV is a comprehensive compilation of your medical education and career journey, despite being at least three pages long in A4 format. Therefore, you must create a good game plan to assemble the content. Find the balance in a simple format, brevity and absolute accuracy. Pick a simple, professional font style and size with a good hierarchy of headings, subheadings, and body texts for each section. Also, use PDF format instead of an editable doc version. The basic CV format for a physician must contain:
Header
- Legal name with title (for example: Dr. Ali Tufan or Ali Tufan, MD)
- Contact information
Summary
A brief, 1-2 paragraphs of professional objective with key skills and achievements
Education and Certifications
- Write in reverse-chronological order (also applies for other sections)
- Include earned licenses, certificates and awards
Professional Experience
- Start the list with current doctor employment
- Add clinical audits or quality improvement work samples, if any
- Add medical publications or research you’ve involved
- Highlight skills that are relevant to the desired doctor role
Interests and References
- Add your interests & hobbies to give a positive nuance of yourself
- Include some good referees for recommendation to further legitimate your qualifications
How to Write a Stunning Medical Education and Work History
If you already have the main objective of how to best present your CV, let’s move on to details. Making a list of schools and institutions you’ve been to could be flat and dull; every other MD has it. So how to stand out among the competitive crowd? Here is some secret to spice them up:
- Do not only list your titles and institutions. Instead, add sample bullet points about your duties and responsibilities.
- Involve numbers and percentages to highlight your accomplishments.
- Use only action words for your sentences.
- Advice: use the gapping and parallelism strategy to make your list concise and consistent.
What about the entry-level general physicians with only internship and doctor-shadowing experience? Our tip is to write down your shadowing work and put in the routines and responsibilities you’ve been involved in under your supervisor. The key is to be conscious of what you’ve worked hard for, maintain transparency and honesty, and refrain from being self-proclaimed or exaggerated.
Add Some Finesse with Skills and Activities that Count
Having well-balanced skills is crucial for career survival in Malaysia’s competitive medical industry. A doctor cannot only have a comprehensive set of medical skills, but they should also demonstrate several soft skills to help them stay relevant. For instance, a good work ethic, attention to detail, time management, communication and teamwork, and compassionate leadership are among the soft skills your future employers might be looking for in a candidate. This doctor CV guide recommends writing them down with quantitative proofs in your list of interests and activities to show them you are ready to go above and beyond for the position!
Here is the list of what you can add to the CV’s additional section:
- Licenses & Certifications
- Volunteer Work
- Second Languages
- Conferences or Publications
- Memberships in Medical Organizations
Is It Necessary to Add Cover Letter Along with the CV?
At the very least, a cover letter serves an administrative purpose. It contains a brief introduction for the recipient, therefore has an opportunity to grab their attention to examine your complete CV. Additionally, a cover letter can further explain your purpose and intention, as every cover letter should be tailor-made to the prospective employer and the role you pursue. Make it short, but make it happen.
When you apply through Doctor Jobs Today, a cover letter is prompted. A good cover letter must contain:
- The hiring individual’s name
- A catchy, engaging first sentence
- A quick highlight about your advantage in the role
- A powerful closing statement to secure an interview
Physician CV Template
Still not sure about building your CV? You can download our template to help you start.
Doctor CV Guide: Conclusion
You’ve done above and beyond in building your medical foundation and experience; documenting them perfectly on your CV would be rewarding and get you places. Here are the key takeaways that you should keep in mind while writing your CV:
- A physician’s CV is an essential tool for your academic and professional record in the healthcare industry.
- Be mindful in formatting your CV: how you pick the right fonts, spacing and margins, then wrap it in a simple, formal-looking layout.
- Make the writing punctual, precise and effective to communicate best about your traits and experience in favor of your future position.
- Give positive nuances through your extracurricular activities to show that you have well-balanced hard and soft skills necessary for a physician.
- To complete your CV writing journey, put the cherry on top, which is a cover letter that could spark the curiosity of your future employer.
Are you a doctor looking for a new role in the healthcare industry? Here at Doctor Jobs Today, we provide the most reliable and well-curated vacancies from the best medical institutions in Malaysia. You can also access various recommendations and guidelines to help you stay on track. Get your CV ready and find your future career in Doctor Jobs Today, now!
About Doctor Jobs Today
Doctor Jobs Today is the first job-seeking platform in Southeast Asia dedicated to serving the job searching needs of healthcare professionals. We have created a space to connect employers and medical job seekers seamlessly. As part of the healthcare community, we understand that traditional job portals are not catered toward medical doctors. So we decided to create a portal advertising only the most relevant jobs from the top employers within the industry because we are just as picky as you are!
Doctor Jobs Today has the right vacancy whether you are looking for a higher salary, a better-equipped hospital for your specialization, or even a career shift from patient care.
About Docquity
If you feel like your educational and professional experience has not been sufficient to make your CV pop, expanding the network to other healthcare professionals to practise peer-to-peer learning might be the answer. One of the ways to do it is by joining a social platform for healthcare professionals, such as Docquity.
Docquity is the region’s largest and most trusted community of doctors, bringing you real-time knowledge from thousands of doctors worldwide. Today, Docquity has over 300,000 doctors spread across six countries in Asia.
Meet experts and trusted peers across Asia where you can safely discuss clinical cases, get up-to-date insights from webinars and research journals, and earn CME/CPD credits through certified courses. All with the ease of a mobile app available on Android & iOS platforms!
