Links:
Rèsumès and Personal Statements for Health Professionals, 2nd Edition
Iserson's Getting Into a Residency: A Guide for Medical Students, 7th Edition
Get Into Medical School! A Guide for the Perplexed REVISED
Non-Standard Medical Electives in the U.S. and Canada

TEN TIPS FOR WRITING EXCELLENT RESUMES AND PERSONAL STATEMENTS

from: Resumes and Personal 5tatement:s for
Health Professionals, 2nd edition
by J. W. Tysinger, Ph.D.

Galen Press, Ltd., Tucson, AZ, 1999
ISBN: 1-883620-01-5 Softcover
210 pages $18.95

1. Keep your resume well-organized and short (one pagel-to be read in 20 seconds or less.

2. If your resume or personal statement must go on a standardized form, follow the instructions-or it may simply be discarded.

3. Use the Personal Experience Inventory (in Resumes and Personal Statements) to review your experiences, then focus on what you have done, rather than on what you haven't done.

4. Use action words, such as arranged, assisted, and coordinated; avoid the passive voice.

5. Grammatical mistakes can kill your chance for an interview. Have a knowledgeable friend to check your resume or personal statement.

6. Print your resume and personal statement on quality bond paper in a neutral color (off-white or beige).

7. Don't list references. To save space and to be able to vary the references with the position, write "references available upon request."

8. Never put "Resume" at the top of the page. Also, do not include your social security number, marital status, age, or professional license numbers.

9. A well-written cover letter opens doors, explaining what your resume doesn't.

10. A follow-up thank-you letter keeps your name in the interviewers' minds.

©2001, Galen Press, Ltd., Tucson, AZ