Resume vs. CV vs. Cover Letter
| Resume | Curriculum vitae | Cover letter |
|---|---|---|
| • Competency & Skills | • Credentials & Facts | • Motivation & Fit |
| • What you have accomplished | • What you have done | • Why are you interested & qualified |
| • Tailor to job type: Focused on experience, skills & outcomes | • Focus on academic background | • Aligns job requisites with your experience |
| • Concise most relevant information on 1st page | • Lengthy in chronological order | • Tells why you will be an asset |
The information on this page is excerpted from the video above, which was produced by Michael R. Ujhelyi, Pharm.D., FCCP, and John M. Allen, Pharm.D., BCPS, BCCCP, FCCM, a clinical assistant professor. You can view their 40-minute presentation on resume writing.
Resume writing
Markets your brand: How you can benefit the organization and perform the majority of job responsibilities
- Preferred application document in US and Canada: CV preferred for academic/research oriented position
- Resumes align job requirements/responsibilities to your skills and accomplishments
Recommendation
- Always have a CV; it captures your lifelong career record irrespective of job
- Resumes capture accomplishments; but focus is on recent & relevant to your next job
- Best practice is having both unless life long career in academics
- Industry prefers resume with exception of research scientist (management positions prefer resumes)
- Focus is having the right experience and expertise
- Less import is publishing, grant writing, service & teaching record
Resume elements
Key Skills & Experience
What are you good at and why
- Brief narrative on your passion and what you are good at
- List of skills: Focus on most relevant to the position
- List of work experience
- Brief narrative on your passion and what you are good at
- List of skills: Focus on most relevant to the position
- List of work experience
Accomplishments
Prove that you can do the required responsibilities
- Listing skills and experience is not enough!
- Be quantitative: For example:
- OTC counseling practiced guideline based medicine: reducing patient choice errors by 62%
- High volume prescription processing: 300-400 per day with <0.1% miss fill rate
- Advance patient counseling: increased number of request for pharmacist consult rate from 2.5 to 18%
Education/Awards
Formal training and recognition
- Keep it relevant to career progression and job
- Include certification programs