4. apply for fellowships
“Competition is for losers”
magic number
Our advice on the ~ideal~ number of programs to apply to from before the pandemic is dated as the recruitment process is now very different and much less reliant on ASHP midyear. With the interview process taking place over a period of months instead of hours, it is more feasible to apply for more than 5 companies, but we still suggest not getting carried away. The magic number now (and as long as the interview process remains mostly virtual) probably sits somewhere between 7-10 applications. This number allows you to 1) deeply research and understand the company and position you are applying for and 2) remember the people you meet during your interviews, all while still giving you enough leeway if your top choice doesn’t work out.
In case you were interested, here is our pre-COVID advice, from when midyear was fully in-person and all interviews were crammed into a 72 hr period. There may still be some helpful nuggets in here:
How many fellowships should you apply for? The truth is…there is no magic number! It’s up to you to decide what you are most comfortable with as you prioritize and research programs. See below for our advice and some of our experiences:
10+ Applications:
Advantages
Increase odds of landing a fellowship
Allows you to compare multiple programs to determine the best fit
Practice makes perfect - by the end, you will be a master at your elevator pitch
Challenges
Time management - you will be stressed, have multiple back to back interviews, and will have less flexibility in scheduling later round interviews
Less knowledge about program specifics and company products - it’s not uncommon for a candidate to mix up company names or product brands if they overextend at midyear
Real fellow experience
“I applied to 12 fellowships. By the end of Midyear, I had a good sense of what type of fellowship/company I wanted to be in. I was able to make comparisons that helped me determine the type of fellowship I wanted.”
“Be careful what you ask for…I had ten first-round interviews and five receptions. I was exhausted. You can make yourself feel stretched thin. The individual experiences can blend into one another.”
~5 Applications
Advantages
Allows time to focus on your top programs - will show through your in-depth knowledge of the program and company
Personal connection - allows you to put in extra time to build connections with fellows/preceptors
Energy and personality comes forward in each interview
Challenges
Seeing is believing - brochures can only tell you so much about what a fellowship has to offer. Sometimes it takes meeting the program in-person to realize it is the best fit
Pressure builds - as programs begin to dwindle, the pressure to land one of the few options can build
No control group - without multiple programs to compare, it becomes difficult to determine if your top programs are the best option for you
Real fellow experience
“I only applied to four fellowships and had three first-round interviews. I felt that I could ask individualized questions. I had a lot of focus for each interview and time in between to digest the content of each interview. My schedule was wide open which was helpful for second-round interviews!”
“I only had three first-round interviews. That’s a risk. If I did not get one of those programs, I would not have had a fellowship.”
curriculum vitae
This is what gets you invited to the party (the party being the interview - wow so fun). 🎈
We suggest using the following section headers, in roughly this order. The only two that are really required are ‘Education’ and ‘Work Experience’:
Page 1:
Education,
Work Experience,
Industry Rotations (optional) OR Relevant Rotations (also optional)
Page 2:
Leadership Experience,
Research Experience,
Publications and Presentations,
Additional Clinical Experience (optional, ex: relevant Oncology APPE)
Page 3: Freeform jazz - there are a ton of things that can go here and we have really seen it all, here are some examples of good headings:
Awards and Honors,
Specialized Training OR Certifications (there are some training programs out there that end in relevant certifications. For example, if you are GCP certified from working at a clinical trial site or did the HEOR short courses with IPSOR, these may be worth adding. Please, please, please do not put your BLS certification, intern license, or technician license (💀) on your CV.),
Professional Engagement,
Programming Proficiencies,
Community Involvement,
Relevant Coursework (this one can be very fluffy so be careful, your required biochem course from P1 year isn’t going to make you stand out on your CV),
Meetings Attended (we lean toward not including this one, but it’s viable. Consider bundling this in with the professional engagement section if you feel like it adds value to your CV),
Extracurricular Activities (again, we strongly air on the side of not including this one unless you have something really good, or if this is a big part of your story)
How many pages long should my CV be?
Now that you have a start, read these articles:
And here is a bare-bones CV template 💁 to get you started.
cover letter / letter of intent
This is a dumb requirement, seriously. Cover letters haven’t changed in decades. They are still formatted to accommodate typewriters and addressed to support snail mail.
You won’t secure a fellowship because of a fire cover letter. But typos and errors will be used against you. Protect against the downside. You should take inspiration from other people’s cover letters. Beat the system. Force the fellowship programs to think of better, more modern signals to evaluate talent.
Fellowships: We are looking for innovative thinkers
Fellowships: btw please follow this antiquated application process for us to evaluate you
Applicants: *visible confusion*
Anyway, use this crisp cover letter template 💁 to do the deed.
letters of recs
People don’t write letters of rec in the real world. Especially three of them. Real reference checks are done via phone. Why do programs require them? Anyway, use something like this crisp email template 💁 to request letters from your references. Your job is to make your reccomender’s job as easy as possible.
“All my life, been grindin' all my life. Sacrificed, hustled, paid the price” - Nipsey Hussle