Career Pathways Seminars
Building Blocks for Career Advancement
www.amavic.com.au
© AMA Victoria 2008
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Cover Letter & CV
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Interviews
◦ Pre-Employment Screening: National Assessment Authority
◦ Prepare you & increase your comfort level
◦ What Not to Do!
There are a number of entry points depending on
how you are entering the process
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Start the Oversees Trained Doctors (OTD) registration and
appropriate process prior to applying for jobs
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Get your application in on time
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Address the required application process
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Address the selection criteria
RWAV (Rural Workforce Agency of
Victoria) administer Area of Need OTD
Applications and receive approximately:
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400 applications per year
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with 30 applications progressing to placement
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This scheme aims to attract OTDs with post graduate
GP qualifications or recognised GP experience (of at
least five years) to work in areas of greatest need in
rural Victoria.
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You must be eligible for registration in the state of
Victoria
How important are cover letters and CV’s?
VERY IMPORTANT!
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Providing an investment in your future opportunities within
Australia
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Having a fundamental effect on placements and/or
positions offered
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More than just a ‘cover’ letter
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The first impression you make
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Your chance to ensure your application doesn’t
go to the bottom of that pile
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Address the job you are applying for in the subject
line
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Address the name of the person
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Be accurately and carefully constructed
Pay attention to detail (especially spelling and grammar)
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Care & Attention Required
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To stand out from crowd
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To attract the readers attention & keep them reading!
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To let the reader know you have made an effort to
understand their organisation
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To get you to the next stage in the process – your CV!
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Don’t mix up your agencies (PMCV/AMC/RWAV), hospitals &
health services
Don’t ramble, be structured and NOT TOO LONG
Don’t restate information that appears in your CV
Don’t use complicated fonts
Don’t send it with spelling errors
Don’t send it with mistakes in health service name or what
that health service does
Don’t make generalised statements that could apply to all
health services/hospitals.
Tailor to your audience.
Clear
Informative
Concise
Keep it to one page
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Outline the type of position you are seeking?
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What is your motivation for seeking a career in
Australia?
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What particular skills & attributes you would bring?
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What distinguishes you from other potential
applicants?
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Outline your long-term professional goals & plans
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You go to bottom of a very big pile!
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What does it say about you?
 Will you lack care & attention at work
 Will you lack care & attention to patients
 Does the Australian Health system want doctors who
don’t pay care & attention?
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How will you be perceived?
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Opportunity to sell yourself
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Your skills & qualities
Your academic & clinical achievements
Special achievements
Community/voluntary activities
Project a well rounded, mature person, able to
handle a career in medicine within Australia
Set yourself apart from the crowd
Create a good impression prior to interview
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2 – 3 pages in total
Photo (not always essential but again makes an
impression)
Name & contact details
Chronological order
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Employment
Education (certified copies provided on request)
Specific requirements for Australia (certified copy of ELTs)
Conferences
Presentations
Referees
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Consistent font throughout
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Consistent use of:
 Headings
 Bullets
 Page Margins
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Research activities
Other life pursuits
Volunteer & Community works
Significant achievements
BUT DON’T OVER DO IT!
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Academic/professional snapshot
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Personal snapshot
◦ Show how well rounded you are
◦ An provides an indication of your ability to make
the transition
This may be what distinguishes you
from the rest
If there are gaps in the chronological
order, provide reasons
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Travel
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Health
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Other Studies
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Family commitments
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Check spelling
 get someone to proof read it, critique it
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Read it aloud
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Pay care & attention to the detail
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Don’t miss the little words ‘to’ and ‘of’
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Review how it appears online as well as on paper
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Check individual agency requirements
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Contact your nominated referees prior to
including their details
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Ensure chosen referees can answer all the
questions on any potential assessment form
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If an online notification system, check your
referees received this.
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Clinical
◦ Ensure correct status/ title and contact details of
referee
◦ Ensure referee can answer ALL the questions on any
referee assessment form
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Non – Clinical
◦ A character reference
◦ Evidence that you are ready to make the transition
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Don’t send with errors in spelling & grammar
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Don’t go crazy with fancy fonts or colours
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Don’t use a wacky email address sexypixie666@....
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Don’t send copies of all your qualifications /
documents with your CV (except ELTs). You will be
asked for these at a later stage.
When listing your experiences
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Include type of hospital/ position and details
of rotation eg: General Medical Rotation
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Don’t list the obvious:
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Exception – extra special placements &
electives
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Yes, they can be awkward
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All employees go through them
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Your will almost certainly by interviewed by a person
with a human resource background, if not they have
a lot of experience (Remember RWAV = 150/year).
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Preparation will make all the difference
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Body language
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Remember to smile
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Eye contact
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Sit forward in your chair
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What career opportunities are you exploring & why?
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Clearly articulate your career goals
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Articulate why you want to work in a particular role/health
service
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Be specific
 Visit websites to research opportunities available through the
particular agency and demonstrate understanding of the required
processes
 Speak to other IMGs in roles similar to those you are seeking
(Australian Overseas Trained Doctors Association)
What are they?
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Asking applicants to give specific examples of
when they have demonstrated particular
behaviour or skills
Why?
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Past behaviour is the best predictor of future
behaviour
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Behaviour tends to be linked with competencies
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Example Questions
◦ Tell me about a time when you....
◦ Describe a circumstance when you were faced with a problem
related to....
◦ Think about an instance in which you....
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Probing questions
◦ How exactly did you do that?
◦ Tell me exactly what steps you took to resolve that
◦ What was the basis for that decision
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A strong answer outlines:
◦ The context in which events took place
◦ The action taken in the situation
◦ The result or outcome of these actions
◦ Review of the situation and what you may do differently
if faced with a similar experience again
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Remind yourself of a range of experiences you can talk
about
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Make sure you don’t refer to the same experience in order to
answer all questions
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Draw on your work & life experiences
 Part time, voluntary, professional
 University, academic & extra-curricular involvement
 Other life experiences where you have developed the sought after skills
and experiences required
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Review your CV to answer questions specific to those
experiences listed
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Know where to go
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Allow for traffic
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Allow for parking – health services and other
agencies are notoriously hard to park around
Ring
◦ Keep the contact number with you at all times
◦ If you are going to be late, give ETA, even if by minutes
◦ Provide an explanation
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Make an effort in your appearance
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Always were a suit
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Well groomed
Ironed shirt
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If you turn up scruffy & dirty what
impression are you giving
Why are you seeking to pursue a career in
medicine in Australia?
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Don’t generalise
Be specific
 Understand this is the most appropriate pathway for you
 Access to a particular field of medicine eg Specialist Pathway
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Show you have really thought about why you
want to be here!
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Stay calm
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Be professional
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Show that you are ready to take the next step towards
a Career in medicine within Australia
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Take certified copies of key documents with you.
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Don’t be late
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Don’t generalise
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Don’t try to bluff your way through answers – if you don’t
know just say so
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Don’t name drop
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Don’t try too hard to IMPRESS
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Don’t leave your mobile telephone on and if you do… Don’t
answer it!
Enjoy the Journey
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Care & Attention
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Investment
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Research
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You have come this far and your future deserves
your best efforts