Building a CV for a consultant post
Article by: Dr Gary Cross
Are you approaching the final stages of your training and thinking ahead to applying for a consultant role?
Dr Gary Cross, consultant radiologist and radiology clinical lead at Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust, regularly reviews applications for consultant posts. He shares his guidance on building your CV and the key sections hospitals will be looking for.
When would you recommend residents start to build their CV if they are aiming for a consultant post?
A good time to start thinking about building your CV for consultant posts is after you pass the CR2B exam. You will usually know what special interests you wish to pursue and have a good idea of some of the departments on your training programme.
Many formal job application forms do not require a CV in the traditional sense. However, having an up-to-date CV to sell yourself to prospective departments and make filling applications easier is valuable.
What are the key sections every CV for a consultant post should include?
A key section is a synopsis of your training to date, with a focus on your special interest of choice. I like to see a little information about the applicant’s special interest work. Are they running MDT meetings independently? How many procedures have they done, for example? Sections on teaching/education experience, research and audit/governance are essential. It is also nice to know a little about what the candidate gets up to in their spare time.
When reviewing consultant CVs, what immediately tells you that a candidate has prepared well?
It's encouraging to see a candidate linking items on their CV to other achievements. Listing the courses you have done is pretty straightforward for most people. Those who prepare well and have thought about their training journey can link courses, conferences and audits to personal and professional development needs. For example, a PGCert in education looks best when it has led to significant interest and perhaps taking a leading role in education.
What experiences or achievements are employers particularly looking for in a consultant application?
I like to see a resident who has managed to gain independence in a variety of clinical areas – it is easier to appoint a candidate who has done a large number of procedures independently rather than being directly supervised for them all, for instance. I work in a large DGH and regardless of special interest choice it is also really important for us to know a candidate possesses good all-round multi-modality general radiology skills. Engagement in audit and governance, and experience of teaching are really important as the expectation is that a consultant is active in these areas.
What are the three things you’d advise every resident should do in the 12 months before applying for a consultant post?
Talk to clinical leads and other consultants in various departments about their job – what does their day-to-day look like and do they enjoy it? Might they have jobs coming up?
Think where you see yourself in the next 5-10 years. Where do you see yourself living? Do you want to do special interest work in a tertiary centre or large DGH, or do you want a more general job?
Make sure you have an up-to-date CV to hand – and if you think your CV has any gaps, look to remedy those over the next 12 months.