The Ultimate Guide to Structuring a Doctor's CV

Whether you’re fresh out of medical school or a seasoned professional, crafting a standout Curriculum Vitae (CV) is essential for every doctor. For both UK-based doctors and international medical graduates (IMGs), your CV is more than just a document—it’s your professional story and often the first impression you make on a potential employer. It needs to clearly highlight your qualifications, experience, and expertise.

In the NHS, CVs are typically reviewed by Consultants or Clinical Leads who look beyond your clinical skills and qualifications to gain insights into your character and what you could bring to the role and the Trust. So, your CV is not just a list of achievements; it’s the foundation of your professional narrative, showcasing why you’re the perfect fit for the job.

Crafting a medical CV can be tricky. Unlike standard business CVs, medical ones are usually longer and more focused on academic achievements. It’s crucial to get the right level of detail in the right order to make the best first impression. A well-structured CV not only reflects your professional journey but also demonstrates your attention to detail and organisational skills—qualities every good doctor needs.

How to Structure Your CV

Let’s break down the essential components that highlight your suitability for the role, along with the ideal order for presenting them.

1. Personal and Contact Information

Start with the basics: your full name, professional title (e.g., MBBS, MD), current home address, phone number, and email address. You can also include a link to your LinkedIn profile if you have one, though it's optional.

Don’t include details like your date of birth, marital status and political or religious beliefs. In the UK, these are considered ‘sensitive’ personal data, protected under data privacy laws, and they don’t play a role in the hiring process.

Make sure to place this section right at the top of your CV, with your name standing out in a slightly larger or bold font to grab attention. It’s the first thing employers will see, so keep it clear and straightforward.

2. Professional Registrations & Qualifications

This section can be broken down into a few subsections:

a) Professional Registrations – List all your professional registrations, noting whether you hold a license to practice for each. If you're GMC registered, put that first so employers can see your status immediately.

b) Qualifications – Detail your primary medical qualifications and any postgraduate degrees, including the institution, year completed, and result.

c) IELTS or OET Results – Even though these are required for GMC registration, it's helpful to show employers that you're proficient in English.

d) Training Courses – List courses like life support training, with the course name, date, and provider.

These sections are often well presented in a table for clarity, using reverse chronological order to list your most recent qualifications first.

3. Professional Summary & Objectives

While most of your CV is fact-based, this section is your chance to provide a glimpse into your character and future aspirations. Clearly state your career goals, motivations, any special interests and what you can bring to the role. You might also want to explain why you’re interested in a particular specialty or what initially drew you to the clinical field.

4. Clinical Experience

Detail your current and previous job titles, institutions and departments, dates of employment. Provide a brief but impactful description of your duties, responsibilities, and achievements in each role - including involvement in multi-disciplinary teams (MDT's), clinical audits, training of others and anything else above and beyond the day to day treatment of patients. It’s also beneficial to include a short overview of the hospital and department where you worked, such as the type of hospital, number of beds, patient demographics, etc.

Remember to list these roles in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent position and working backward. Presenting this information in a table can make it more organised and easier to read, with the job titles, institution names and dates clearly separated from the description summaries.

If you have any gaps in your clinical employment history, add a section to show what you were doing in these gaps. Whether it be for studying, relocation or personal reasons – it’s helpful to share some basic information as to why you were not working clinically during those periods.

5. Clinical Skills & Competencies

Create a list of your clinical skills, specifying procedures, treatments, or technologies you’re proficient in, both independently and with assistance. Use bullet points or a table to organise this information, grouping similar skills together and highlighting those most relevant to the job.

6. Research and Publications

If you’ve been involved in research projects, clinical trials, or published papers, make sure to include these. Provide titles, co-authors, journals, and publication dates. List these in reverse chronological order and briefly describe the research focus or findings, if relevant.

7. Awards and Honours

Include any awards or honours relevant to your medical career. Detail the award name, issuing body, and date received. Highlight those that showcase your expertise and dedication.

8. References

List at least three professional references, including their name, title, institution, department, and contact information. Ensure the references cover at least three years of employment, and the referee should be a clinician more senior to you during that period.

Following this structure will help you showcase your skills, experience, and qualifications in a way that captures the reader's attention and maximises your chances of securing an interview. Don’t stress too much about the length—what’s most important is that you include all the relevant details that will make you stand out and get you one step closer to landing that interview.

Additional Tips for your Best CV

• Keep to the Point: Avoid including irrelevant or abstract information, keeping descriptions and summaries direct and concise. Aim for 2-3 pages in length, depending on your level of experience but don’t worry if it goes over – remember it’s important to cover all of your experience, skills and qualifications whilst avoiding the unnecessary details.
• Be Honest: Don’t exaggerate your skills or experience or overstate your achievements. It’s important that your CV reflects how well you will perform the job, so that the employer can determine your suitability to their needs and asses you at the right level.
• Tailor for Each Job: Adjust the content for each position you apply for – especially if you are open to more than one specialty, you’ll want to highlight the most important skills, qualifications and experience relevant to each job.
• Check Spelling & Grammar: This is particularly important for those whom English is not their first language. Tools like Grammarly can help you to proof and correct any spelling or grammar issues.
• Be Clear and Organised: Use headings, tables, bullet points, and consistent formatting to make your CV clear and easy to read.
• Use Professional Formatting: Use Fonts like Ariel, Aptos, Calibri or Times New Roman or similar and ensure you stick to size 11 or 12 point so it’s clear and easy to read. We don’t recommend using bright colours in your CV, remember it’s a professional document.
• Skip the Photo: Whilst it can be nice to add a personal touch to your CV, your photo will have no bearing on any decision made on suitability for the role. More practically, CV’s with photos on can often be blocked by digital CV parsing technology or emailing systems due to increasing the file size.

A Quick Note on Cover Letters

Let’s talk cover letters. We know they can be a bit daunting, but here’s the good news: we've got you covered. Our specialist consultants take the time to really understand your career goals, skills, experience, and even your personal and family situation. Before we submit your CV, we craft a concise summary to accompany it. This summary acts as a cover letter, highlighting the key points of your CV and adding some extra details that make your application stand out.

So, there's no need for you to worry about writing a separate cover letter—unless you want to, of course! If you prefer to write your own, we're happy to include it along with our summary when we send your CV to prospective employers. Either way, we're here to make sure your application shines.

If you’re still unsure where to start, or just need some guidance or reassurance we can provide a CV template and help you showcase your skills, qualifications, and experience in the best possible way — all part of our free VIP Concierge Service, get in touch with our specialist team:

• Email: contactus@indigohealthcare.co.uk
• Phone: +44 330 123 9665
• Book a call with us: Book a call with Indigo Healthcare (office365.com)