Tips for Writing a CV - Learn structure, contents, and formatting

Sep 10, 2026

This guide explains how to write a CV for professional and medically oriented roles, emphasizing the difference between a CV and a resumé in purpose, audience, and structure. It outlines key planning questions, recommended layout choices such as (reverse) chronological ordering, typical CV length, and region-specific expectations like including or omitting personal details. It further specifies CV contents by sections: education, training positions, professional status, board credentials, clinical and job experience, skills, accomplishments, organizational contributions, and optional extracurricular activities. Practical presentation advice includes highlighting, boxed summaries, and reference placement.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResumes

FormatPDF

Pages3

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Tips for Writing a CV

CV vs Resumé: purpose, layout, and length

Contents of a CV

CV sections and order

Presentation and references

Tips for Writing a CV CV (Curriculum Vitæ: “course of life” in Latin) is a detailed and complete history document of your professional career and its development and achievements. This article can serve as advice to those writing CVs for medical physics job or residency applications. Note that if you are applying for an industry or hospital job, a resumé may be more appropriate than a CV (seethe next part of this article) . Here are two sample CVs: one very tradition student CV and one more unique resident CV. How different is CV writing from resumé writing? • Many of the general instructions are the same. • Purpose o A resumé (“summary” in French) is commonly used for regular job applications. On the other hand, the CV is used for more professionally-oriented positions in academic, research and medical fields. • Layout and format o Chronological order (or reverse chronological order) is important in CV writing with structured format. However, a resumé can be written without chronological order with free style. o Many open-source CV templates can be found via a cursory web search to give you styling and formatting ideas for a personalized document. But it’s typically best to err on the side of simplicity. • Length o A CV can be well over two pages since it covers one’s entire career while a resumé is only 1 page in general and up to 2 pages written with only specific skills for the applying jobs. • Typically, in the US, a CV does not include a picture, your marital status, your citizenship status, or your gender; however, if you are applying for jobs outside the US, be aware that these might be expected. What are the contents of a CV? • Important thoughts before CV writing: o What are the qualifications and requirements (education, skills, work experience, etc. ) that the new employer looks for? o How will an applicant fit into the physics group/department/company/institution/ organization and contribute to the efforts of the hiring entity? o How to write your CV so that the major information can be easily read and look interesting. o Presenting some teamwork and leadership experience is important. • Name, final degree usually in the top center of the CV, in large type and bold o No need to include “CV” in the CV document o Current institution and position (optional) o Contact information: Office Telephone and/or cell phone o Email address: either business or personal email address • Education [o](o Master and/or Ph.D. degree)[ Master and/or Ph.D. degree](o Master and/or Ph.D. degree)(s) at which school(s) and graduation years o Advisor information (if relevant) o Thesis and/or dissertation title(s) and, if relevant, brief descriptions of the work and its importance • Training positions o CAMPEP accredited residency and research assistantship with anticipated enddate o Summer school • Professional status (which could be placed before education, if you want to emphasize this) o Board certification § If not complete, then specify passed Part I and/or Part II and name the board (ABR, ABMP, ABSNM) § Or state that ABR (or other board) has accepted your application to take Part I (if applicable) o MQSA o Authorized user or authorized medical physicist status, specifying what you are authorized to do o IRB experience o State license § Specify if it is a trainee license o State registration o Radiation safety officer duties o MR safety officer duties • Job experiences, chronologically listed, with years for each o Employment history o Clinical experience § For clinical experience relevant to the job you’re applying for, insert a brief description of the specific skills you gained o Academic experience including teaching courses and conducting research o Mentoring o Non-clinical experience o Skills and abilities in the areas of specialties o Hardware and software experiences o Familiarity with government and state regulations and inspe

FAQs

How is a CV different from a resumé for job applications?

A resumé is commonly used for regular job applications and summarizes qualifications. A CV targets more professionally oriented positions in academic, research, and medical fields, and typically uses structured chronological formatting.

What should be considered before starting a CV?

Identify the qualifications and requirements the employer seeks, plan how you fit into the department or institution, and ensure major information is easy to read and engaging. Include teamwork and leadership experience when relevant.

Which key sections should a CV include?

A CV should cover education and degrees, training positions, professional status and certifications/board details, job experiences with years, clinical and academic experience, skills and abilities, accomplishments, and contributions to professional organizations.

Sep 10, 2026

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