Writing your Curriculum Vitae (CV) can often be a time consuming and stressful task, especially for new graduates whom are writing their CV for the first time to gain a position in their chosen profession, however, it’s essential that you get it right! After all, your CV is the first impression which a recruiting manager gets of you and then decides if to invite you forward to interview.

Your CV is an outline of your professional and educational history as well as a summary of your core skills and competencies.

Your CV should convey your personal details in the way that presents you in the best possible light. Always remember that your CV is a marketing document in which you are marketing something… yourself! Your CV should be clear, easy to read and, most importantly, accurate.

You need to "sell" your skills, abilities, experience and qualifications to potential employers. It’s therefore essential that you tailor the content of your CV around the vacancies for which you are applying. If you are applying for different types of positions, which your experience and skillset lends themselves to, it’s not uncommon to have more than one CV which is focused around a certain type of role.

Below, we have detailed the key points to aid graduates with producing a professional, polished CV.

Structure & Layout

Personal Details 
Always put these at the top of your CV. You need to include the following:

  • Name
  • Contact number
  • Email address
  • Home address (If you’re looking or willing to relocate, include this information under your current address)

Personal Profile 
This is your chance to sell your self and stand out from the crowd! Ensure to tailor your personal profile towards the role which you are applying for. (Use the job specification to do this). Remember to include some personal competencies and what you’re looking for.

Shadowing Report 
Shadowing a Medical Representative will give you a head start in helping to gain your first medical sales position. 
You should write a paragraph to include what you observed, what you learned from the experience and why you feel that your skills are transferable to this type of career.

Achievements 
We recommend that you bullet point at least 5 key successes and achievements. This section needs to be as specific and measurable as possible. Try to include dates wherever possible. (Achievements can be listed here in one section, or, can be included under each relevant role in the Career History section).

Career History 
We recommend your CV is laid out chronologically, with your latest employment being first in the employment history. We recommend that you include the following information regarding each position:

  • Dates (From – To format)
  • Reason for leaving
  • Company
  • Role
  • Responsibilities
  • Achievements

Education & Qualifications 
Usually, your education & qualifications section would come under your career history, however, if you are a new graduate with a relevant degree or have a specific qualification which is required for the role which you are applying for e.g. PhD, MSc, ABPI etc. consider swapping these sections around. You need to ask yourself: What is most relevant and likely to gain me a position in medical sales? In a lot of instances for graduates, it will be their educational background. 

Interests & Hobbies 
These make your CV more personable and give managers an insight into your personality. 3 hobbies and interests are enough. 

References
We would recommend simply putting ‘Available upon request’.

CV Length
2 sides of A4 is the ideal CV length. Don’t worry if you run slightly over this though. If your CV is running on to being 3 sides or more, you need to be careful that what you are writing is concise and succinct, and that you aren’t writing for the sake of it! Less really can be more! Imagine that a hiring manager will have a lot of CVs to read through; yours needs to be ‘to the point’, to keep the manager engaged.

Font/ Spacing
We always recommend using a professional looking font and single line spacing. Font size 10 or 11 is best (You can change the font size depending on how long your CV is, to aim for 2 sides).

Checks
Finally, you need to complete the following checks – This will ensure a grammatically correct and polished document:

  • Spell check (Ensure your proofing language is set to English United Kingdom)
  • Replace any double spaces with single spaces (If using Word; use the replace function on the top right-hand side)
  • ‘Iz’ checks – Use the ‘Find’ tool to search for any ‘iz’ spellings which should be ‘is’
  • Finally, ask someone else to read and check your finished document. It’s true what they say…it’s often difficult to spot mistakes in your own work!

If you are thinking of moving into your first position within the pharmaceutical or healthcare sector, trust the Evolve team to help you every step of the way towards getting your dream job. We have the expertise and experience to ensure that you get the very best position for your abilities. Feel free to contact us for further information.