Medical student CV example

How to write a CV for medical student

When starting your medical student CV, you need to compose it in the correct format and include all relevant details. But it’s also important to understand how to write a CV in terms of what recruiters are looking for.

Above all else, keep things simple. Your CV shouldn’t be as complicated as your medical studies. Use plain English with short sentences so all information is easy to digest.

In the following sections, we’ll take a closer look at what recruiters want from each section of your CV:

• What contact details should I include in my medical student CV?
• Medical student CV personal statement
• Medical student CV work experience
• Great skills to add to your medical student CV
• Get education right on your medical student’s CV

What contact details should I include in my medical student CV?

Contact details are an essential element of the CV, and they go right at the top. It’s simple to get this section right. But it’s vital to include the correct details so employers can contact you without hassle.

Your name should be at the very top of the document in a larger, bold font. Ensure that you list an up-to-date phone number and email address that you use regularly. If you don’t have a professional email address to use specifically for applications, then it would be a good idea to set one up. Using a ten-year-old Hotmail address from your teenage years is not going to look professional on a CV for an international student.

This section should include:

• Name – Write your first name and surname
• Address – Include your full address and postcode
• Phone number – Include a mobile number or home phone with an answering message facility
• Email address – Set up a professional address if yours isn’t appropriate

Example of contact section for a medical student

Medical student CV personal statement

The personal statement is a short paragraph that details your background and attributes. This is an ideal chance to tell the recruiter a little about yourself and how you’re a great fit for the position. As this is the first time the employer is reading about you, it’s vital that you make a good impression!

You won’t have many words to do this, so you’ll need to pack this section of your CV with as much relevant information as you can. Think of it as a place to quickly tick boxes that the recruiter may be looking for.

When writing a personal statement, it’s best to:

• Write in the third person
• Don’t write too much, stick to 3-4 sentences
• Use positive words such as “motivated”, “organised”, and “diligent”
• Include awards and achievements if necessary
• Highlight expertise if relevant such as “several years clinical experience through an internship”

Above all else, include tangible results to substantiate your skills. Instead of saying you “planned fun lessons”, describe how you “planned valuable lessons that led to 91% of students achieving grades A* – C in their GCSE exams”. Being as specific as possible and lending weight to your claims are guaranteed ways to catch the employer’s attention!

Example of personal statement for medical student CV

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Medical student CV work experience

The work experience section is one of the more prominent aspects of your CV. This will detail everything about your roles and responsibilities in other positions and training. For each job you list, recruiters will want to see:

• Start and end date
• Job title, employer and location
• Write 3-6 duties for each role

You may have a lot of information to include here, but space is limited. So, avoid repeating and overlapping details across your work history. For example, if you have experience in emergency medicine, include that in one role, but mention your knowledge of diagnostic procedures in another.

Keep in mind that as a medical student, you might not have a wealth of work experience to draw from. If this is the case, then you’ll need to just add anything you can that’s relevant. You can include any volunteer or placement work that you have done across your degree.Transferable skills are important. When writing a medical student CV, you might be surprised about how transferable some of your history is, even if it’s not specific to the industry. Let’s say you previously worked as an office assistant – there’s plenty here you can use to impress employers. Mention the teamwork aspects of this job, and how it has prepared you for liaising with patients, or inputting data.

Another thing to keep in mind is to keep each part of your work experience section both recent and relevant. You should focus on two to three transferable or direct roles, noting any important skills or experience you have gained.

Example of work experience for medical student CV

Great skills to add to your medical student CV

Medical students are required to have a diverse set of skills to undertake this job. Day to day, medical students will be dealing with people from all walks of life. Plus, there will be routine treatments alongside medical emergencies. To handle the variety, medical students should possess both essential and desirable attributes.

If you’re following a skills-based CV, then you’re going to need to spend more time highlighting all the skills you possess. It’s a good idea to add 8-12 skills in total, split between hard and soft skills. Hard skills are anything you have obtained either through direct work experience or through education. Soft skills can be thought of as personal character traits. For example, you might be “reliable”, “punctual”, and “empathetic”.

Getting the balance right between these is important. A potential employer is going to want to know that you have a strong sense of character, but also that you have some form of experience in the role you’re applying for. Lean into the skills you know you possess, and ensure to highlight them in a clear, concise way.

Here are some CV skills you’ll want to include:

Get education right on your medical student’s CV

Medical students must have a first or upper-second-class honours degree to pursue a career in medicine. In your education section, you’ll highlight your qualifications for the job. This is your moment to show that you have the educational background that makes you suitable for the position. It’s worth noting that this section is especially important for a skills-based CV, as it can make up in your lack of hands-on experience.

Add relevant qualifications

It’s vital that you include relevant qualifications that bolster your CV. Depending on the job role in question, you may need to outline your entire education history – from GCSEs all the way up to higher education. Your degrees are most likely going to be the most important qualifications for you to add, and as such, they can take up the most room on your CV.

Don’t go too far back

When we say you may be required to add your entire education history – it’s important to only add qualifications that strengthen the image of you as a candidate. For example, let’s say you completed GCSEs in Physics, Biology, and Drama. The science qualifications are going to be much stronger than the drama qualification – so you can leave the latter off of the list. Always focus on relevant qualifications when possible.

List your qualifications in reverse-chronological order

It’s important to list your education history in reverse-chronological order. This means that you will always list your most recent (and probably most impressive) qualifications first. Here is an example for you to follow:

• School, college, university or training provider
• Year of qualification
• Level of qualification, for example, BSc (Hons), MSc
• Subject or course title – you don’t need this for high school courses

Example of education for medical student CV