Healthcare job seekers – physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, allied health professionals, and others – often spend a great deal of time preparing their CV’s and trying to determine exactly how to use them in order to impress the hiring authority at the place they would like to work. Many of these job seekers will be surprised that the average recruiter will spend less than 7 seconds reviewing their CV’s during the initial prescreening before placing it in either the “next step” or “rejection” pile. So what are they looking for during those 7 seconds that is so impactful that they are able to make such a crucial decision so quickly?

What In-house Recruiters Like to See On Your CV

• Personal ties to the Area
  • In healthcare recruiting, most hospitals and groups prefer to hire candidates with strong local ties, and having these connections can be a big boost to your candidacy for the job. For instance, a physician candidate whose in-laws live in the same town as the job will be viewed as a more likely long-term hire than a candidate with weaker ties.
• Stable Job History
  • When in-house recruiters see only long term employment listed on your CV, it not only indicates a higher likelihood of retaining you in the future, but it also can be an indication of your dedication and decision making ability.
• Local Training
  • It’s not that local training is always viewed as superior, but the hiring authorities are likely to be more familiar with local programs and can more easily evaluate those educational credentials. Healthcare employers also know that their patients are more likely to be familiar and comfortable with local training programs.
• Family Information
  • This is simply a retention issue. If you have a family for whom you are responsible, you should list them somewhere on your CV; this will increase the perception of you as someone who values stability in employment.

What In-house Recruiters Do Not Like to See On Your CV

• No Obvious Connection to the Area
  • This is another retention issue. Candidates can overcome this problem by making clear why they would choose to focus their job search in a particular city or area. Tell employers why it’s likely that you could be a long-term hire for them, and use stronger reason than “I really like the beach.”
• Frequent Job Changes
  • Aside from the obvious retention issue, frequent job changes can also be viewed as signs of a lack of dedication or poor decision making.
• Gaps in Employment
  • If you have gaps in your employment or educational history, be sure to explain those, just as you would explain time at a job or training program. At a minimum, the employer needs to know you weren’t in jail during the gap, and even if you were, that information needs to be documented as a part of your application.
• Dishonesty
  • This is a cardinal sin when it comes to applying for employment, and nothing will rule you our faster than when dishonesty is discovered. Lying on your CV may sometimes get you through the 7 second prescreening we are discussing here, but it almost never results in getting hired. Be honest about any past transgressions and give yourself a real shot at a second (or third) chance.

These factors will not affect all job searches equally. The amount of impact will trend higher in geographic areas where your profession is more easily recruited and lower in areas where recruiting is more difficult. Also, despite the speed with which most in-house recruiters will prescreen your CV, it is still very important to spend the time to create a comprehensive document which outlines all of your educational and professional accomplishments, as those areas will usually receive closer scrutiny at a later point in the hiring process.