The Curriculum Vitae (CV)
If you took Latin (and remember what you studied), you’ll know that curriculum vitae means “the course of one’s life.” A CV relies on the use of complete lists rather than a narrative or sentence/paragraph presentation of material. Education and a doctoral dissertation usually lead off the CV, followed by medical or academic posts, research, publications, presentations, awards, appointments, committees, and other professional activities. CVs are credentials-driven rather than accomplishments-oriented, to the point of self-effacement.
Thorough and typically tedious, these documents can run into double-digit page length, complete with addenda. One CV for a physician-who had a 30-year career as a researcher, writer, and practitioner-yielded 24 pages. If this is your case, for the sake of your reader’s ophthalmologist bills, try culling some of the older, less-important committees or professional activities (but never drop journal articles or publications). Even veteran academicians and physicians should keep it to 10 or so pages. For the sake of space, I’ve shortened the entries under each category to abbreviate the sample CV of Eloise Stanlake-Waxman to just two pages (see Résumé below). But it gives you an idea of which categories a CV normally includes.
A hybrid of the typical business résumé and the CV has evolved for those scientists, academicians, and physicians who have combined management degrees and executive responsibilities with their primary discipline. For instance, a radiologist with an MBA degree seeking a physician executive position could use an executive CV format. Beyond mere lists, the document should give credit for business outcomes resulting from your management savvy.
Just as Dr. Stravilovich did in his sample executive CV (see Résumé below), detail any of your accomplishments that reflect profit, productivity, or quality improvements.
