A well-written cover letter is like the cherry on top of your physician CV. Sometimes it might be your only chance to have your CV get noticed. Here’s why: it’s personalized, and it’s an opportunity to explain the reason behind your decision to take a healthcare career shown in your rather formal, well-structured CV. In the cover letter, you can be a little at ease with your sentence flow (while still within professional ethics), showing your humane personality through your articulated intention.
In this article, we will help you write the perfect physician cover letter with some samples and best practices. We will show you how to write a cover letter narrative that catches your future employer’s eyes.
What makes a perfect cover letter
A great cover letter is conversational, well thought of, optimistic, professional, and brief enough to not exceed a page. The purpose of this 3-paragraph long text is to give context about yourself as a healthcare professional, beyond what’s written on your CV, concerning what it could contribute to the job you’re applying for.
Considering the AI-optimized job-searching portals nowadays, you should also know that writing the right keywords about your skills and expertise to match the job requirement is the only way to get your application to pass the first candidate screening process. So, after you do the holistic research about the hospital you’re about to enter, do your best to connect the dots with what you write. Your cover letter should exemplify your fitness for the position through your competence and professionalism, with a genuine personality.
Grab their attention, express your intention, and make your future employer want to dig further post reading your cover letter.
The right way to structure your cover letter
The last thing a future employer wants to see from a prospective candidate is some flaws at first glance, so format and structure your cover letter neatly before you write, at all costs. Here’s how to prepare a business standard layout for your cover letter that speaks to perfection.
Header
You’ve learned from the CV article about avoiding decorative format. The same thing applies to this cover letter, starting from the header. Your cover letter header must contain:
- Your legal name with professional titles
- Your professional contact information
- The addressed person for the cover letter and their medical institution
- The address of the medical institution
Example:
Ali Tufan, MD
0000 Petaling Way
Selangor, MY 00123
(+60)-123-0000
a.tufan@xmail.com
To: Dr Hana Ang
Highway Medical Centre
0012 Surgeon Road
Selangor, MY 00111
Headline
The headline or subject of your cover letter goes directly below the header, containing your application code (if any) or the keyword of your intended position.
Example:
SG-03 Application for Senior ER Physician position
It is to avoid your application being mistaken for other available positions and help categorize it correctly.
Intro
Moving on into the letter content. The first paragraph contains an introduction to the addressed person. It is a one-line overview about yourself in a professional context, and the intention of your letter. Since this is the first chance to get your future employer’s attention to read further, do your best to write the right words while showing a little bit of your personality. Try to be concise, warm, and positive with what you write. If someone recommends you for this job, state it, too.
Example:
Dear Dr Ang,
My name is Ali Tufan. I write here to express my interest in the Senior ER Physician position at Highway Medical Centre. I am recommended by Dr Ahmed of the Emergency Department of Broadway Medical Centre. DR Ahmed was my former supervisor during my internship days. He spoke kindly about your expertise and thought I could be a fit addition to your team, considering my past performance and achievements under his mentorship.
Body
While your key skills and expertise in detail are available on your CV, the body of your cover letter can provide further context about your endeavor in the healthcare industry. You can write about why you choose to be a doctor or that once in the volunteering activity, you realized that you could contribute better to humanity because of your medical upbringing. Tell your proudest moment while showcasing your humility as an aspiring young doctor searching for greater purpose through their hospital.
Example:
I am a 3-year practicing physician with a background in Emergency Medicine from Sunway Medical and a passion for disaster relief management. During my residency period, I volunteered for the Red Cross in their Department of Disaster Relief for two years. Given my technical skills as an ER Physician and leadership skills built from the organizational work, I am striving to explore a more challenging role in your department as ER Supervisor.
Conclusion
Three cover letter paragraphs are enough to impress your future employer and get them to read further about your professional track record through your physician CV. In this final paragraph, thank the recipient for their time reviewing your application. Close it off with a bit of courtesy of looking forward to their follow-up and your eagerness to be part of their team.
Example:
Dr Ang, I appreciate your time reading this letter. Attached in this email are my physician CV and referees’ information should you want to learn more about my expertise. I hope my intention finds you well. Look forward to having a chance to present myself for further discussion regarding the possible work in your department!
Best regards,
Ali Tufan
Do’s and don’ts in writing a physician cover letter
As you finalize your cover letter draft, let it sit for a moment, get back to it with a fresh mind, and start reviewing. Here are some additional tips to prevent you from missing an interview.
- Do not over-explain yourself. Instead, write a compelling narrative about your expertise and how it would contribute an excellent benefit to the institution.
- Having a prestigious alma mater might help you get your foot in the door, but don’t abuse that privilege without showcasing that you are more than just a title. Your gained skills from real experience will speak louder than your GPA.
- Be conversational with your letter to get them to know you better as both a human and a healthcare professional.
- Never let grammatical errors get in the way of your career opportunity. Get a peer to proofread your cover letter or maybe some expert help if business English proficiency is not your cup of tea.
- Take time to customize each cover letter for each company you’re applying to. Give proper research about your destined department, role, and even your prospective co workers’ profiles.
Ready to claim your next fantastic healthcare job? To help you further in constructing your application material, we have the CV template and samples that you are free to download for reference. Thank us later!
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!
