Pick a clean, professional template for a General Internist. Use a reverse-chronological layout so your clinical roles and recent experience appear first. That layout reads well and most ATS parse it easily.
Keep length tight. One page fits most early and mid-career internists. If you have decades of hospital leadership, two pages work, but only include directly relevant clinical work and administration.
Choose an ATS-friendly font like Calibri, Arial, or Georgia. Use 10–12pt for body text and 14–16pt for section headers. Keep margins at least 0.5 inches and add white space between sections so hiring managers can scan quickly.
Use standard headings: Contact, Summary, Clinical Experience, Education, Certifications, Skills, and Licensure. List dates and institutions clearly. Put your board certification and state licenses near the top of clinical experience.
Avoid complex layouts with multiple columns, images, or embedded tables. Those elements often break parsing, which can hide your credentials from keyword scans. Limit color to one subtle accent and use bold or italics sparingly.
Watch these common mistakes: long dense paragraphs, inconsistent date formats, and unexplained gaps. Use bullet points for duties and results. Start bullets with strong verbs and add numbers where you can, like patient load or quality metrics.
Finally, keep language plain and clinical. Describe patient populations, procedures, and outcomes clearly. Proofread dates, license numbers, and contact details before you send.