1fuzzy2dino3 Posted September 5, 2013 Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 Hi guys, so for those of you who have gone through this before... i find the cv building to be very cumbersome! how important is this CV in comparison to the personal letter? or are they both equally important hehe my question pertaining to this cv bizness is: after each elective i've entered, it asks for a 'description'. is this where i write what my duties were at each elective rotation? like, worked up common internal med complaints on int med ? (i mean, it just sounds so artificial and frankly overkill) also, i'm a u of t student and we have a system called 'selectives' which are basically electives, but they happen AFTER carms .. can i add the selectives to the electives information area? many thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1fuzzy2dino3 Posted September 5, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2013 p.s. - is there by any chance somewhere on the site a completed cv face sheet. just to see what it looks like? i'm unable to find it (should it exist). boo!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogerroger Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 The CV is a big deal. The personal statements are all short and pretty much sound the same. The transcripts are useless. The reference letters all say you are great unless you really sucked. The CV allows for more differentiation between applicants than any other part of the package. Make sure your CV is professional in format and easy to read. Even if you have a great CV if it looks like crap then you will look pretty much the same. I agree, there is some redundancy in the descriptions of electives. I would make sure you keep it brief and one sentence. Just give a one liner on what you did and maybe what type of hospital or patient population you worked with. As a former UofT med student who was part of the first cohort to do selectives I know the issue of selectives on CaRMS came up several times. During our year the faculty clarified that selectives were ok on the CV as long as you indicated the clnical experience was a selective. This would be something to place in the description part mentioned above. I certainly included my own selectives on my application when I was doing CaRMS. Some advice to all med students and PGY1s: Start writing up your CV when you start med school or residency. It makes your life a lot easier. Plus, you would be amazed how easy it is to forget what stuff you did over the years. Just add stuff as you do it. This is a habit that pays off in residency too as many programs require you to submit CV updates annually throughout your post-grad years. Also keep track of all rounds talks or lectures or any other teaching you do. Some programs ask for records of this stuff as well, and it is good for the post-grad CV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1fuzzy2dino3 Posted September 8, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 Thanks Rogerroger! just a few follow-up questions. 1) when you say make sure your CV looks professional - easy to read, good formatting, how does that pertain to Carms? As I understand it, as we build our cv on carms (by entering stuff under awards, and under research) and then the CV will be 'created' by the system and sent to all the programs. Hence, they will do the formatting, and I hope make it easier to read. Was your comment just a comment in general, or do you think we'll be responsible to provide hard copies in our interview? 2) how many pages do you recommend a CV be? I was told by my highschool teacher that it should be no more than 2 pages...and this message has stuck with me ever since. So I find myself cutting back on all the irrelevant stuff (like taught mcat course over summer prior to med school blah blah). would you agree that this kind of stuff be removed? or retained? and if so, is there a page limit? thanks for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sapphire17 Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 How relevant are premed research experiences and ecs for carms, if they do remotely relate to your field of interest? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Ace of Spades Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 how many pages do you recommend a CV be? I was told by my highschool teacher that it should be no more than 2 pages...and this message has stuck with me ever since. A résumé should be no longer than 2 pages and ideally be a single page. A CV is generally much longer - though I still wouldn't put irrelevant stuff in there (i.e. worked at Home Depot for 2 months...). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lactic Folly Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 1) when you say make sure your CV looks professional - easy to read, good formatting, how does that pertain to Carms? 2) how many pages do you recommend a CV be? I was told by my highschool teacher that it should be no more than 2 pages...and this message has stuck with me ever since. So I find myself cutting back on all the irrelevant stuff (like taught mcat course over summer prior to med school blah blah). would you agree that this kind of stuff be removed? or retained? and if so, is there a page limit? 1) You can upload a pdf copy of your CV as an Extra Document in CaRMS. 2) As long as it needs to be without padding or filler. I'm not sure that teaching MCAT courses would be irrelevant - some people might like to see that you have teaching / public speaking experience. Some might even like to see your work experience at Home Depot at this stage, though it would likely be removed as you progress in your career. No page limits - established faculty may have dozens of pages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellorie Posted September 8, 2013 Report Share Posted September 8, 2013 I have not written my CaRMS CV yet, so take this with a pinch of salt, but I do keep my CV updated and regularly remove/edit things - and what I always ask myself is "would I want someone to ask me about this at an interview, and if they did, would I be able to talk about it productively?" If yes, I leave it there, and if no, I take it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1fuzzy2dino3 Posted September 9, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2013 1) You can upload a pdf copy of your CV as an Extra Document in CaRMS.2) As long as it needs to be without padding or filler. I'm not sure that teaching MCAT courses would be irrelevant - some people might like to see that you have teaching / public speaking experience. Some might even like to see your work experience at Home Depot at this stage, though it would likely be removed as you progress in your career. No page limits - established faculty may have dozens of pages. Perfect! Thanks you guys! :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boringem Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 Hey, I devoted a post to the CaRMS CV here: http://boringem.org/2013/08/31/carms-cvs-writing-them-right/ Hope you find it helpful! -brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boringem Posted September 16, 2013 Report Share Posted September 16, 2013 1fuzzy2dino3, Just saw that you replied in the thread I mentioned the CV post in. I guess you've seen it already! If you have any further questions throw in a comment I'd be happy to respond to them there. -brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1fuzzy2dino3 Posted September 22, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2013 Hey guys, are you going to enter your pre-med school research experience on your Carms CV? i have not done much in med school. boo-urns!!! so that section (without undergrad stuff) is looking like a desert. lol. any thoughts/ideas? grazie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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