| A resource for new graduates & Chartered Physiotherapists
CV & Resumé: your paper self
Purpose of a CV
Your CV summarises the relevant aspects of your life to date, in terms of your education, work experience, general interests and achievements. It can run to two pages (although CVs for academic posts are usually much lengthier). Its purpose is to:
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Introduce/present yourself so as obtain a job interview.
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Confirm your skills, qualifications and experience for a prospective employer.
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Prepare you to speak about your background and experience at interviews.
Key Elements of a good CV - Use:
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Positive, business-like language
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Short sentences with concise phrases.
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Action verbs (e.g. manage, organise, plan, initiate)
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Good quality A4 paper with attractive layout - well spaced for ease of reading
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Use size 12 font. However size 11 is acceptable if absolutely necessary.
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Staple CV pages together – there is no need to bind.
Dealbreakers:
Many CVs are blacklisted within seconds
Common errors: Take Care:
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Spelling mistakes
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Incorrect grammar
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Txting lang. is nt gr8
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Busy format
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‘One size fits all’ approach
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Inaccurate information
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Irrelevant information - not tailored to specific job requirements
Personal Info
Education is most relevant if you haven't had working experience in the area, so start with your latest degree, then work backwards.
Depending on your layout, you may choose to include your extra-curricular activities and student involvement here.
Leaving Certificate, High School Rathgar.
2004-2010
Secondary education can feature here, but only if you have space to fill (remember to keep it relevant). Realistically if it doesn't add anything to your application then leave it out.
That said if you have previous formal qualifications (eg another degree) that is certainly of interest and should be included here.
St Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin.
June 2013 - 6 weeks - Critical Care
Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin.
November/December 2012 - 6 weeks - Out-Patient Orthopaedics
Work Experience
Enable Ireland, Dublin June/July 2013/12
Summer Camp Leader
Highlight work experience that is relevant to the job you are applying for:
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Include a concise list of responsibilities - not a list of duties
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Highlight key achievements
Transferrable skills:
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Skills and competencies that you can bring to the job
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Use positive words: eg “responsibility”, “effective” and “successful”
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Provide evidence of the skills/achievements highlighted
The Tennis Academy at Harvard, Boston MA Summer 2011/12/14
Tennis Coach
10-week summer tennis academy, employing 30 staff, teaching 150 players weekly
Summer 2011 - Tennis Instructor
Skills learned: Working in a multi-cultural team of 30 instructors, teaching skills
Summer 2012 - Co-Director of the Elite Training Programme
Responsibilities: Designing and implementing a weekly programme for 40 players, managing 6 staff, video stroke analysis
Skills learned: Presentation and management skills, tennis stroke analysis, organised a weekly shoulder prehabilitation session using therabands.
Summer 2014 - Director of Tennis
Responsibilities: Responsible for the overall operations of the entire academy, managing, supervision and teaching of 20 staff, conducting staff meetings, resolving staff and camper conflict, presenting and teaching stroke analysis to staff.
Interests & Achievements
Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists
Being a member of a professional body has many benefits, not least of which is showing that you are interested in the profession and willing to make contributions to the development of the profession and to your own development as a professional. Keep an up-to-date list of all of your CPD activites on an ongoing basis.
You can list your achievements, involvement in committees/campaigns, CPD activities with the organisation here.
Random Club I Joined in University/Sport I Play on the Weekends
Your interests outside of your job and college study can really help get a conversation flowing in your interview, not to mention also helping your CV to stand out from the crowd. A rounded, hollistic approach to patient-care can easily be reflected in the rounded and hollistic approach you take to your own life.
If you have any interests, hobbies, quirky things that you have had input into (keep all references professional) this can all help to ensure you make an impression.
Remember that if you mention something in your CV, cover letter, application, or interview, you may be asked to elaborate - so don't have a list for the sake of it - make sure you have something to talk about, and always tie it back to being of benefit to your application.
CPD-activities
This is a perfect opportunity to show that you take both your personal and professional development very seriously. List the name of the courses and qualifications you have undertaken that are relevant - include the name (or abbreviation if it's well-known) of the organisation that certified the course, when it took place, and if it's not obvious include a brief word on what was involved (remember concise and relevant).
Key examples are First Aid, Code of Ethics, Manual Handling
Referees
Dr Academic Person
Position/Job Title
Work Address
Work Phone
Work Email
Ms Clinical Person
Position/Job Title
Work Address
Work Phone
Work Email
Mr Other Person
Position/Job Title
Work Address
Work Phone
Work Email
Some people use this space as an opportunity to say a little bit about themselves. You may choose to leave it out, but it can be a useful space-filler..
Remember to have a purpose to what you're writing, and then get to the point quickly - waffle does not reflect well here. Anything of genuine interest and relevance should already be in your cover letter.
Clinical Placements
BSc Physiotherapy, UCD Dublin.
2010-2014
Expected Second Class Honours, Grade 1
Reverse chronological order means your most recent comes first. There may be an occassion when applying for a position in a specific area or specialty where it can be more appropriate to put specific experience of that specialty first - in this case everything else is reverse chronological.
Make sure you have the name of the hospital correct...
Keep it relevant. Major placements only. What you did, what you saw, what you treated - your assessment forms and clinical portfolios will guide you through these sections.
Once you get real working experience then you swap that in for placement!
Education
Tip:
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Keep it concise
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No need to overkill - it's obvious this is a CV so there's no reason to paste it across the top of the page
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2-page rule: Everything should fit on 2 pages (but not printed back-to-front)
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Photo is 100% up to you
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Contact information needs to be accurate, easy to read, and professional (take note of @msn emails that were set up when you were 13..)
Tip:
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Save the reader the hard work, tell them in 2 sentences who you are, what your background is and what you are trying to achieve
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Personal profile: avoid generalisations or clichés
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Qualify your statements with evidence: for example; Proactive Physiotherapy graduate with experience in….
Tip:
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Start with your latest education and work backwards
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Include specific modules/projects specific to job you are applying for
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Include your dissertation title if appropriate
Tip:
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Formatting is key. The entire cover letter and CV should be easy on the eyes, simply laid out, clear and concise.
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Most of all it needs to be uniform and consistent - minimise the amount of fonts and colours, highlight certain sections if necessary using bold or italics or a slightly larger text size.
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Stick to the basics!
Tip:
Transferrable skills list (as outlined by graduate employers in the transferrable skills project):
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Verbal communication
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Time management
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Teamwork
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Presentation skills
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Ability to multi-task
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Managing one’s own learning
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Written communication
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Planning
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IT skills
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Decision making
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Problem solving
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Critical thinking
Tip:
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This is an opportunity to show you are motivated to pursue other activities and develop new skills
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Keep it concise and focused on areas relevant to job
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Avoid clichés and generalisations (reading etc)
Tip:
Anyone you use as a reference should:
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Know who you are
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Have been asked in advance if they are happy to be a referee
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Have agreed to be a referee
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Have something positive to say about your competency as an individual (in both and academic and clinical capacity)
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Not be related to you
Three referees is an ideal number: one academic (thesis supervisor/lecturer), one clinical (previous tutor/educator) and a second of either academic/clinical (depending on the position you're applying for)
2010 - present
2010 - present