Does your heart beat a little faster at the thought of writing your own CV or resume?
Writing your medical writer CV can be stressful. There’s a lot of pressure when you’re applying for a writing job – but most importantly, your CV or resume and writing samples need to be perfect.
Even one small typo could be enough for a hiring manager or editor to chuck your CV or resume in the ‘no’ pile.
Some people use the terms CV and resume interchangeably, while to others these terms have different requirements. Here’s a useful overview of the key differences between these types of documents.
I’ve written many medical writing CVs and resumes for myself – and these have secured me medical writer jobs and work with global publishing companies as well as dozens of health and medical brands and businesses.
I’ve also read a many a medical writer CV and resume in my time, having recruited health writers, medical writers, freelance medical writers, editorial assistants – and more. And, believe it or not, there are many common errors and mistakes that medical writers make when they’re writing these types of documents.
I’ve collated a list of the 10 easiest steps you can take to ensure your medical writer CV or resume is professional, high quality and eye-catching – giving you the best possible chance of securing an interview.
10 easy ways to create a great medical writer CV
Here are 10 easy ways to ensure you are selling yourself as best you can when you send off your health and medical writing applications.
- Keep it succinct: recruiters are reading dozens of resumes at a time, and if yours is number 54 in a pile, chances are they’re only scanning it to find the most relevant content. Keep it short and succinct.
- Include contact details: ensure you have included ALL your key contact details including home and mobile phone numbers, email addresses and website URLs.
- Include a link to your LinkedIn profile: this helps the recruiter or employer to find out more detail about you and ideally read some professional, relevant recommendations as well.
- Include a sample of medical writing work that’s specifically related to the job you’re applying for: why wait to be offered an interview before you show how good your medical writing skills are? Include at least one relevant writing sample – more if possible. Pay attention to detail: if you’re applying for a job that involves writing for health professionals, for example, showcase previous examples of writing for this audience.
- List your most relevant medical writing jobs: it’s great that you worked at McDonalds when you were 15, but recruiters don’t need to know this level of detail. Stick to the appropriate jobs. Some recruiters recommend only listing jobs over the previous decade.
- Describe your key tasks in bullet points: recruiters who are scanning your content will appreciate a medical writer CV with bullet points, as these are easy to scan and read in a hurry. Ensure the tasks showcase not only your medical writing skills but also your key attributes, like your ability to work both autonomously and in a team, project management skills, organisational skills and more.
- Include a career goal that relates to the job you’re applying for: this helps to set the scene for where you’re at in life and what your aims and objectives are for your medical writing career.
- Pay attention to formatting: a well-formatted CV can make a great impression. Likewise, a medical writer CV with inconsistent formatting and poor fonts can actually harm your chances of getting an interview.
- Get someone else to proofread your CV: there’s nothing worse than a writing CV with obvious grammatical errors! Get someone to read your CV so you can be sure it’s as close to perfect as you can get it.
- Include referee details: Include the phone and email of at least one key contact as opposed to the obligatory “Referees available upon request” line. This shows you have nothing to hide and are happy to get everything going immediately. Try and include referees who can specifically vouch for your medical writing skills.
