Dermatologist Resume Mistakes Holding You Back
Identify and correct the errors that prevent you from getting interviews at leading clinics and research institutions.
Common Mistakes That Kill Your Chances
Each mistake includes why it hurts, how to fix it, and before/after examples
- Recruiters skim resumes and discard vague objectives
- ATS algorithms prioritize summaries with keywords
- Objective statements often repeat information found elsewhere
- Replace the objective with a 3‑sentence professional summary
- Highlight board certification, years of experience, and subspecialties
- Insert 4–6 high‑impact keywords such as "Mohs surgery" and "cosmetic dermatology"
Objective: To obtain a position as a dermatologist where I can utilize my skills.
Professional Summary: Board‑certified dermatologist with 8 years of experience in surgical and cosmetic dermatology, skilled in Mohs micrographic surgery, laser therapies, and clinical research that improved patient satisfaction scores by 15 %.
- Duty‑focused lines add no value and waste space
- ATS looks for action verbs and results
- Hiring managers want evidence of impact
- Start each bullet with a strong action verb
- Quantify results (e.g., patient volume, satisfaction scores)
- Showcase leadership or research contributions
- Performed skin examinations and biopsies. - Treated acne and eczema patients. - Conducted laser procedures.
- Conducted over 300 skin biopsies annually, achieving a 98 % diagnostic accuracy rate. - Implemented a new acne treatment protocol that reduced patient visits by 20 %. - Led a laser therapy program that generated $120K in revenue in the first year.
- Certification is a mandatory credential for dermatology roles
- ATS filters often require licensure keywords
- Missing info signals incompleteness to recruiters
- Create a dedicated "Board Certifications & Licensure" section
- List certification name, issuing board, and year
- Include state medical license numbers if applicable
Education: MD, University of XYZ, 2015
Board Certifications & Licensure: - Board Certified Dermatologist, American Board of Dermatology, 2017 - Medical License, State of California, #A123456
- ATS may fail to parse dates that vary in style
- Recruiters struggle to read mismatched locations
- Inconsistency looks unprofessional
- Standardize all dates to MM/YYYY
- Use the format City, State for locations
- Align dates to the right margin for readability
June 2018 – March 2020 Los Angeles, CA July 2020 – Present San Francisco, CA
06/2018 – 03/2020 Los Angeles, CA 07/2020 – Present San Francisco, CA
- Include board certification and state license
- Start each bullet with an action verb and a metric
- Use standard headings (e.g., Clinical Experience)
- Keep dates in MM/YYYY format
- Tailor the summary with 4–6 dermatology keywords
- Proofread for spelling and medical terminology accuracy
- Convert objective to professional summary
- Add quantifiable outcomes to each role
- Standardize dates to MM/YYYY
- Insert relevant dermatology keywords
- Reformat location lines to City, State
