Congratulations on making the decision to work as a doctor, as well as taking on the challenge to work abroad.
There are many important things to take into consideration when applying for a job in another country:
- Language Skills. Making sure that you speak at a advanced level is important for numerous reasons, most importantly for your safety as well as the safety of your patients.
- Understanding customs and expectations of the country you are going to practice in, as well as learning to adapt to these differences. What a patient expects in theUK might not be the same as might be considered the “norm” in your own country.
- Sell yourself! Make the employer think that you are the part of their team that is missing. Just remember that there are many people applying for the same position, so it is important that you stand out. You want people to remember you and to put you at the top of the list when short listing candidates.
The first, and the most important tool to making yourself look appealing to the employer, is your CV.
With the help of each employer we have designed a special CV which highlights certain skills that are important to that employer.
Apart from those practical skills to which a numeric value can be attached, this is the chance for the employer to see how committed and dedicated you are to your profession.
If done correctly, a CV can win you a position before the interview takes place. It will leave the employer thinking “I want that doctor to work as part of my team”
These are the important things that must be contained in a well written CV
- Explain your motivation for wanting to live and work in another country.
- Explain what traits and skills make you a good doctor. These may be people skills, a willingness to help others, a commitment to developing your skills and keeping them up to date.
- People need to go above and beyond if they want to stand out of the crowd. Doing the minimum of what is required is no longer enough. Talk about articles you have written, congresses you have gone to, courses you have taken part in, difficult cases you have seen. Anything that you have done, which you might not necessarily think is important, should go into the CV (we always go through CV’s before they are sent to the employer, so anything that we think is not relevant will be taken out).
- Write more and not less. We are able to take information out, and to correct spelling, we are however unable to put information in. Give us as much to work with as you can.
I hope these few tips help you with the first few steps to your career abroad.
Always remember that we are here to help you, but the information you give us will ultimately be the key to success.
