I'll disagree with @air bud to a point. Cover letters are important as well and I'm certainly in no position to act mighty and all-knowing. I've been out in practice for about 9 months so I haven't been hiring any doctors, but we are currently hiring another physician in my group and I've been involved in the process and reviewed all of the CVs we have received and I can tell you that there is a big difference in the quality of the CVs we have received. In fact, on my desk right in front of me right now are a half-dozen CVs that I have reviewed. There are the pretty obvious things such as spelling and formatting that can make a big difference. I would say to save your CV in a program that will keep the formatting such as a PDF as opposed to Word which can change the formatting base on the computer or printer. There are a lot of formats out there and I don't know that one is better than the other really, but make sure it looks professional and clean. I prefer a more minimal style personally. Beyond the obvious, I can only give my opinion. I don't think you really need to have much from school on your CV unless it's really pertinent. I don't even know that passing the APMLE needs to be on there really, because at this point, you have to pass them in order to have graduated and get your license. Unless your outside rotation was really spectacular or important, I don't know that I would mention all of the rotations you did as a resident. I wouldn't list all of the presentations you did for academics. I would really try to keep your CV to about 2 pages unless you are very well-published and have lectured extensively. I would list your research projects in a succinct manner and list any courses you took that you think make you stand out. The main thing that I have liked to see in some of the CVs we've received is not listing every little thing you've ever done or every organization you've been a part of, but really picking out the highlights that set you apart and focusing on those. I would include state licenses and board certification/qualification status. Make sure that your CV is up to date. We had a CV come that listed some courses that the person was planning to take, but had them listed as planning to take them last year. Those are just some unorganized thoughts if it helps.
