CV for VA Job - Early Career Psychologist

[blueslily]

Hello all,
I'm an early career psychologist. I have been working at a VA and I'm thinking about applying for jobs at other VAs. I have my CV from what I used during my years as a grad student (to apply for internship and postdoc) and the CV that I used to apply for my current job. But, now I'm wondering if it's time to graduate to a different CV. I'm sure the answer is yes. But, my question is if I am an early career psychologist and working at this VA has been my only job post-graduation and licensure, then what would I include on a CV now. The VA jobs that I am applying for are primarily clinical roles (e.g. staff psychologist) so I would not be doing research or teaching. It sounds like my CV would be only one page if I only include my education and current VA job. Please help. I want to look professional, but I do not have much to include at this point.
Thanks!

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[str63]

From what I've seen, most people keep a lot of their previous experiences (clinical, research, and teaching) when applying for early career positions. In terms of order, you'll want to list your clinical experience first since it's most pertinent to the role you're applying for, but often your research and teaching experiences can somehow tie in to the position. For example, your research experience can show you're well-versed in evidence-based research/can evaluate research, have experience in teaching/training others, etc. If you leave these out, someone else may look more desirable because it may seem that they have more experience. The one thing that I would suggest as a change is to limit the space you use for your clinical experiences during grad school (i.e., don't use a page to describe a practicum/extern position). Good luck!

 

[blueslily]

Thanks!

 

[blueslily]

From what I've seen, most people keep a lot of their previous experiences (clinical, research, and teaching) when applying for early career positions. In terms of order, you'll want to list your clinical experience first since it's most pertinent to the role you're applying for, but often your research and teaching experiences can somehow tie in to the position. For example, your research experience can show you're well-versed in evidence-based research/can evaluate research, have experience in teaching/training others, etc. If you leave these out, someone else may look more desirable because it may seem that they have more experience. The one thing that I would suggest as a change is to limit the space you use for your clinical experiences during grad school (i.e., don't use a page to describe a practicum/extern position). Good luck!

How about committees? Another ECP has that on his CV. I do not.

 

[str63]

How about committees? Another ECP has that on his CV. I do not.

Absolutely. Anything that can be made relevant to the position can be kept on. Being on committees (and even just a member of organizations) can show commitment to the field.

 

[WisNeuro]

Absolutely. Anything that can be made relevant to the position can be kept on. Being on committees (and even just a member of organizations) can show commitment to the field.

Depends on the committee. Is it just some standard departmental committee? A training committee (which almost everyone at training sites is a part of). Etc. If it's important, sure. But, there's nothing worse than reading through someone's CV who has just filled it with meaningless fluff and never cleans it up.

 

[AbnormalPsych]

Yeah, clean it up a bit by reducing descriptions. I mainly want to see what positions were held (all - clinical, research, committees, etc) and training. I don't need to know about them, I can ask you that if I am curious in the interview.

Put clinical stuff at the top.