Curriculum Vitae
Your CV is an important part of preparing for your transition from trainee to consultant. This section covers when to start, what to include, how to structure and format your CV, and how to tailor it to the consultant post you are applying for. It also highlights practical tips to help you identify gaps in your experience early and use the remainder of your training to strengthen your portfolio.
Why Do You Need a CV?
For medical consultant applications, a CV is not usually used during the initial shortlisting process, as it may contain personally identifiable information. However, interview panels may review your CV before the interview, so it is important that it is accurate, up to date, and clearly reflects your clinical, academic, leadership, and professional experience.
A CV is also useful when approaching trusts or clinical departments before a position is advertised. If you have a particular trust or department in mind, particularly one outside your current training region, sending your CV to the relevant Clinical Director can provide a useful overview of your experience, skills, and specialist interests. Where there is a genuine service need, this may help open discussions about future consultant opportunities or the development of a role that aligns with your expertise and the needs of the department.
Start Early
If you are a trainee, around 18 months before CCT is a good time to start developing your CV. This gives you time to identify gaps and use the remainder of your training to strengthen weaker areas of your portfolio.
One of the best ways to do this is to look at recently advertised consultant posts in the departments or trusts where you would like to work. Read the person specification carefully and identify the essential and desirable criteria.
Make sure you meet the essential criteria and use the remaining time in training to work towards achieving relevant desirable criteria where possible.
How long should your CV be?
Medical CVs are often longer than CVs in the corporate world because doctors may have extensive publications, presentations, courses, qualifications, and professional achievements.
However, this does not mean your CV needs to become a 20–25 page document.
Keep it relevant, concise, and tailored to the job. Prioritise information that demonstrates why you are suitable for the particular consultant post.
Formatting
Your CV should be easy to read, professional, and consistent.
Font
Use a clear, easily readable font such as:
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Arial
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Calibri
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Aptos
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Helvetica
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Times New Roman
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Georgia
Avoid decorative or cursive fonts, which can make a CV difficult to read quickly.
Keep the font consistent throughout and use bold, underlining, or changes in font size to highlight important information rather than introducing multiple font styles.
A font size of approximately 10–11 points is generally appropriate for the main body of the CV.
Here, we have used Helvetica, a clear and professional font with good spacing between characters, making the text easy to read both digitally and in print.
Cursive or decorative fonts can make a CV more difficult to read, particularly when the reader has limited time and is looking to quickly scan the document and gain an overview of the candidate’s experience and suitability for the role.
Using multiple font styles can be distracting and make the CV feel less consistent.
Decorative or overly stylised fonts can also reduce the professional appearance of the document, so it is best to use a simple, clear, and consistent font throughout.
Use one neutral colour scheme throughout
Multiple colours are distracting and unprofessional
Use colours that contrast well
To make sure that text is easily visible
Colour
Keep the colour scheme simple and professional. One neutral accent colour, such as blue or green, can be used for headings and to make the document easier to navigate. Using several different colours can make the CV look busy, inconsistent, or less professional. It can also distract from the content, which should remain the focus.
Colour should serve a functional purpose rather than being decorative. Avoid excessive use of coloured boxes, borders, graphics, or images.
If you use coloured text or backgrounds, ensure that the document remains clearly legible both digitally and when printed.
Layout
A well-structured CV makes it easy for the reader to navigate, scan, and quickly identify key information.
The heading or main title of each entry should stand out, particularly where additional detail is provided, allowing the reader to quickly identify the most important information. It is usually helpful to place the date or year on the left-hand side of the CV to create a clear and consistent timeline.
Where possible, use bullet points and short, concise sentences rather than lengthy paragraphs. This makes the CV easier to scan and helps key information stand out.
Pay attention to the spacing throughout the CV. Avoid excessive spacing between lines within a paragraph, as this can unnecessarily increase the length of the document. However, avoid overcrowding the content as this can make the CV difficult to read.
Aim for consistent spacing between sections and individual entries, creating enough white space to clearly separate information while maintaining a concise and professional layout.
Headers and Footers
Use headers and footers to:
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Number your pages.
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Include your name on each page.
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Include your GMC number as an additional identifying detail.
This helps ensure that individual pages remain identifiable if the CV is printed or separated.
Structure of the CV
Your CV should have a clear and logical structure. Most importantly, place the information you want to highlight towards the beginning of your CV, particularly where it relates directly to the advertised post. A cover page is optional, but if you use one, keep it simple and professional.
Use the headings listed below and ensure each heading is clear, consistent, and easy to identify. This allows the reader to quickly scan the CV and find the information they need, particularly when reviewing multiple pages.
Personal Details
Include:
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Full name, including relevant post-nominal letters.
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Address.
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Email address.
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Telephone number.
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GMC number.
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CCT date, where applicable.
There is no need to include personal information such as marital status or ethnicity.
You can also include any professional body registrations, along with the relevant registration or membership numbers, where applicable. This can help demonstrate professional standing and make it easier for employers to verify your credentials.
Personal Statement
Your personal statement should be a short, focused introduction explaining why you are a strong candidate for the particular consultant post. It should be tailored to the trust, department, and job description rather than being a generic statement that could be used for every application. Avoid simply repeating information contained elsewhere in your CV. Instead, use the statement to highlight your expertise, experience, strengths, and personal attributes, and demonstrate how these align with the requirements of the role and the values of the organisation.
Education
List qualifications in reverse chronological order, with the most recent first. Focus on key qualifications, diplomas, PGCerts/PGDips, accreditations, and relevant postgraduate training. There is generally no need to include secondary education qualifications, particularly at consultant level.
For dates, the year is usually sufficient; there is rarely a need to provide the exact date on which a qualification was awarded.
Employment & Training
List your employment and training history in reverse chronological order.
By the time you apply for a consultant post, it is expected that you will have completed the relevant training required for CCT. Therefore, there is usually no need to provide a detailed description of every rotation you have undertaken.
Instead, state:
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Where you completed your training
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The relevant dates - Month and year of the start and end date of each post
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Any significant experience outside the standard curriculum
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Specialist interests or skills relevant to the advertised post
If you have a logbook, you can include a brief summary of the most relevant experience and numbers rather than reproducing the entire logbook.
If the job advert specifies a particular skill, qualification, or area of experience, make sure it is clearly visible in this section.
And if you have not already done so — read the person specification!
If you are already working as a consultant, whether in a substantive or locum role, keep this experience separate from your training history. It demonstrates that you have already worked at consultant level and may help distinguish you from other candidates.
Make this experience easy to identify and find within the CV. Briefly outline your role, including your clinical and non-clinical responsibilities, areas of specialist interest, and job plan. Give greater emphasis to anything that is particularly relevant to the consultant post you are applying for.
Awards & Prizes
Include relevant awards and prizes in reverse chronological order.
These may include:
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ARCP awards.
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Undergraduate prizes.
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Postgraduate awards.
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National or international prizes.
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Presentation awards.
Prioritise achievements that demonstrate excellence or are relevant to the consultant role.
The Remaining Sections
The order of the remaining sections should reflect the job you are applying for and your strongest areas.
For example, if you are applying for a research-intensive post, place research and publications prominently. If the role has a significant leadership component, bring your leadership experience forward.
In each section, ensure the title or heading of the project is made prominent. If choose to write any details of each project keep it short, in bullet points so that excesswordin g doesnt drown out the achievement.
Your CV should highlight your strengths while remaining honest and transparent about your experience.
Leadership & Management
Consider dividing this section into:
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Leadership and management training
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Relevant leadership courses.
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Management qualifications.
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Formal leadership programmes.
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Leadership and management experience
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Clinical leadership roles.
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Service development.
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Committee roles.
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Management responsibilities.
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Departmental or organisational projects.
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You can add a brief description to particularly relevant roles to highlight your contribution or impact.
Keep entries concise. In most cases, the year is sufficient rather than listing exact dates.
Teaching & Training
Consider dividing this into:
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Teaching organised
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Courses or teaching programmes you have organised.
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Conferences or educational events you have helped coordinate.
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Teaching delivered
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Undergraduate teaching.
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Postgraduate teaching.
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Faculty roles.
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Simulation teaching
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Keep individual entries brief and focus on roles that demonstrate meaningful teaching experience or responsibility.
Audit & Quality Improvement
List audits and QI projects in reverse chronological order.
For each significant project, briefly describe:
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What you investigated or aimed to improve.
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The outcome or key finding.
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What change was implemented.
Where possible, demonstrate that the project resulted in measurable improvement or a sustained change in practice.
Presentations
Consider dividing presentations into:
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International
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National
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Regional
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Local
List presentations in reverse chronological order within each category. You can also highlight any presentation awards or prizes.
Professional Development
List relevant courses and professional development activities in reverse chronological order.
Prioritise courses that are:
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Relevant to the consultant post.
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Relevant to your specialty or specialist interest.
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Demonstrative of leadership, management, education, or other skills required for the role.
You do not need to include every course you have ever attended. A long list of minor or outdated courses can distract from more significant achievements.
Research & Publications
If you have undertaken formal research training, consider dividing this section into: Research training and Research experience and publications
For publications, be accurate about:
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The publication.
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The journal.
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Your position in the author list.
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Your contribution where relevant.
Be truthful. Publications and authorship are easily checked, and inaccuracies can undermine your credibility.
Interests Outside of Work
This section is essentially optional and is just there to give the department a little insight into your personality outside work. You don’t need to list anything particularly impressive or unusual—just keep it brief and mention a few hobbies or interests that reflect who you are.
Referees
Provide the names, professional contact details, and relationship to you of three appropriate referees, where requested.
Always ask someone for permission before listing them as a referee. For trainees, one referee may be expected to be your Educational Supervisor, depending on the requirements of the post.
Top Tips
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Start early: This will give you enough time to identify any gaps in your CV and address them before you need to submit it.
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Be honest, but sell yourself: Don’t be afraid to highlight your achievements and strengths. However, avoid exaggerating, as this could be picked up during the interview.
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Keep the formatting clear: Using a table can help you keep everything aligned and organised. Once you’re happy with the layout, remove the gridlines to keep the CV looking clean and professional.
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Get feedback: Ask a few people whose judgement you trust to read through your CV and provide constructive feedback.