Dentistry is one of the high-demand professions in Malaysia. As the country’s healthcare sector is rising in Southeast Asia, the competition is fierce among aspiring and practising dentists pursuing the best dentist career path. A dentist resume or curriculum vitae plays an important role in this pursuit. It has to cover the accurate reflection of your dentistry journey and be well-structured, well-written, and punctual to get a better chance of winning a hiring offer from your dream dental office.
This article is dedicated to those pursuing careers in dentistry. Here we provide advice and practical guidelines for writing powerful dentist CVs and resume examples, along with cover letter examples and tips for dentist job application purposes, plus free downloadable CV templates!
What you’ll learn
- Which one to use for your dentist career path: a resume or a CV?
- How to structure your dentist CV
- An interview-worthy dentist resume tips and tricks
- Seal the deal with a dentist cover letter
- Do’s and don’ts in writing a dentist cover letter
Which one to use for your dentist career path: a resume or a CV?
Resumes and CVs often get mixed up due to their similarity in content, and we’ve broken down their key differences in another article here. While they’ve been used interchangeably, each is intended for different purposes in the dentist career path. So how do we know which one to use?
When to use a dentist resume
A resume is a two-page maximum chronological summary of your bio, dental school background, and work experience. It should be tailored to the particular dentist job title you’d want to apply for, usually in the non-academic dentist career path such as commercial institutions, governments, or non-profits.
When making a dentist resume, the primary intention is to secure an interview with the hiring manager. Since they might get dozens or even hundreds of applicants daily, your resume should be made clear and concise. That way, you may catch their attention and create a good impression.
When to use a dentist CV
On the other hand, curriculum vitae is a more detailed list of your dentistry journey. That’s why the more senior a dentist is, the longer their CV. Typically, a CV is required for academic-related applications, such as dental school scholarships, grants, and fellowships, among other things.
As the name suggests, your CV will cover your practice growth and accomplishments in life. That includes your education, employment experience, professional references, and areas of interest. In addition, you should also list your research and teaching experience, publications, presentations, affiliations, and awards.
How to structure your dentist CV
An excellent dentist CV is comprehensive, consistent, and well-structured. You should stick to a simple, professional-looking font and design template. Look for good resume examples from your peers and seniors. Apply an exemplary hierarchy of body texts, subheadings, and headings, then use PDF format. Here’s the basic content structure for a dentist CV:
Header
- Legal name with title (for example: Dr Robert Raj)
- Contact details
Summary
One (or two) paragraphs about your key skills, achievements, and professional objective
Education and Certifications
- Use a reverse-chronological order format (also applies to other sections)
- Include earned licenses, certificates, and awards
Professional Experience
- Start the list with your latest dentistry position
- Add dentistry publications or research you’ve been involved
- Highlight technical skills that are relevant to the desired dentist position
Interests and References
- Add your interests and hobbies to show your positive nuance
- Mention some good referees for recommendation to legitimate your qualifications
You can use this free downloadable template to help you kick-start your CV!
An interview-worthy dentist resume tips and tricks
What about the resume structure? The good news is that you can use the same template with a CV! The difference is that for the resume, you pick the most recent and relevant information for your dentist job application. Make it only one page, two pages maximum. Here are some tips to make your resume stand out among dozens of other applicants.
1. Put your best effort into your objective statement in summary
The first thing a hiring manager would do to a stack of resumes on their desk is skim and filter them into a shorter pile. There are various variables they would use for this sorting phase, but usually, the summary at the top of your resume is what they’d read first. Make your summary powerful and communicate your professional goals and intentions. Put your best achievements and patient care experiences you’re most proud of.
2. Highlight small wins of your career path in the education and work experience sections
To stand among the crowd, you can’t just put bullet points of the institutions and dentist positions you’ve worked for. Instead, add some of your main duties and responsibilities. If possible, try to put numbers and percentages. The key is to be aware of things you’ve seen as daily errands and put them into the context of what you will achieve in your practice growth each day. However, you should tone it genuinely to prevent being self-proclaimed or exaggerated.
3. Prove that you’re a whole package through a list of soft skills
Nowadays, well-balanced personal skills are necessary to survive in the competitive world of Malaysia’s dentistry industry. Having proven soft skills like communication, adaptability, attention to detail, leadership, and management will complement your technical skills. In the long run, these traits will help you stay relevant and boost your career performance.
Seal the deal with a dentist cover letter
A cover letter essentially serves an administrative purpose. It’s a brief introduction to provide more context into what you’re about to show through the resume or CV. You should take the opportunity to tell your story and connect some dots. That said, a dentist cover letter is not a summary of your resume or CV but a more verbalised counterpart to matching the resume information. Therefore, a dentist cover letter should be tailor-made to the role you pursue and the person you’re applying to. Here’s how to make an impressive dentist cover letter for your career path:
Address the resume to the right person
Do your research about the hiring manager you’re about to contact. It’s great if you can figure out their name, but even when you don’t, you can use a polite salutation, for example:
- Dear Hiring Manager of [company name]
- To the [team you’re applying for] Department
- Dear [company name] Recruiter
Engage the recipient from the first sentence
You can open the conversation in your cover letter through something relevant, positive, and not cliche. Show that you do your research about the company and find common ground with the person you’re writing to. Mention the latest advanced dental topics that might be related to your future role. But remember: be humble, and don’t bluff.
Highlight your advantage for the role
Choose some technical and soft skills you are most confident in your cover letter body text. Show them that these traits would contribute to the company’s success in the role that you are applying for. Check out some keywords of skills required in the job description and put them to your advantage.
Close the statement with a strong line
The final paragraph of your dentist cover letter should sum up your intention briefly. It is where you should express your interest in the next step of the hiring process. Don’t forget to thank them for their time reading the letter!
Do’s and don’ts in writing a dentist cover letter
After you finish the first draft of the dentist cover letter, you should let them sit for a moment. You may get back to them the next day with a fresh mind to review and finalise. Here are final tips when you review your cover letter:
- Never over-explain yourself. Build the narrative slowly and firmly about your expertise, and proof it with data.
- Do not abuse your privilege of having a prestigious alma mater or internal connections in your letter.
- Be conversational in your letter to show you are sociable to be a team player.
- Double-check your grammar and spelling!
- Customise each cover letter for the intended company.
Conclusion
Congrats! You’ve managed to assemble your professional dentistry journey into a proper dentist resume and cover letter. To conclude, here are some key points to keep in mind:
- Know when to use a resume or CV: a resume is for securing a job, while a CV is for academic purposes.
- A good dentist resume or CV is comprehensive, consistent, and well-structured.
- Recipe for an interview-worthy application: engaging summary, list of small wins, and relevant soft skills.
- Seal the deal with an engaging dentist cover letter
- Let your draft sit for a day, and review it with a fresh mind!
Are you a dentist or dental hygienist looking for a new role in the dental 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 pave your dentist career path. 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 specialisation, 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 an AI-based state-of-the-art private & secure continual learning network of verified 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!
