From CV to Resume
Susan Basalla and Maggie Debelius (authors of So
What Are You Going to Do With That?) point out that the
biggest difference between a resume and a CV is that the latter
focuses on what you have done and the former on what use you
could be to an employer. The CV is about your credentials
and the resume is about the needs of the employer. Therefore,
changing a CV to a resume raises a number of questions that
you must answer based on your knowledge of the organization
to which you are applying.
To check (or develop) your sense of what your industry or
organization of choice expects from a resume, you might:
-
conduct an informational
interview with someone already in the organization
or field and ask for his or her feedback on your resume;
-
compare your resume
with that of someone already in the field. Depending on
what industry you are interested in, you can find examples
in resume books or on the web.
The resume is essentially a piece of persuasive writing directed
at a busy and distracted reader. You need to convince your
reader to continue reading by demonstrating as quickly as
possible that you could do the job in question. Here are some
issues to think about.
What
should you do with the “PhD”?
How you organize your resume will send a message to your
prospective employer. These are some questions you should
consider:
- Do you put your education and the PhD first or your experience
first?
- Do you include information about your dissertation and
academic work?
Your answer to these questions will depend upon:
- whether your academic expertise is relevant to the job,
(If not, you may want to emphasize skills
gained during the PhD over knowledge.)
- whether your experience is a good match with the job,(If
your experience is a particularly good match, you may want
to lead with that.)
- what the norm is in the industry you are trying to enter,
and
- whether you expect to encounter troublesome stereotypes
about the PhD.
- Look at other resumes in the field to get a sense of this
(see link above).
One History PhD seeking work among dot.coms reported that
she got little response to her resume until she moved her
degree from the top of her resume to the end, where she put
the education section. However, others argue that the Ph.D.
after your name can help your resume stand out from the rest
of the pile. Some nonacademic job seekers say you should never
make reference to your academic work unless it is directly
relevant to the job. Busy resume readers don't want to know
anything that isn't specific to their interests. However,
one English PhD reported that she kept her dissertation title
on her resume because interviewers often took an interest
and asked her about it.
What
should you do with the “ABD”?
Some PhD candidates find it difficult to decide how to present
their ABD status. They feel they need to explain to a potential
employer why they left their program, i.e. why they didn't
continue in a program that (a) they didn't like and/or (b)
had no reasonable employment prospects. While ABDs may want
to be clear with employers about the ways in which their interests
and/or priorities have changed as part of explaining their
transition out of the academy, there are any number of reasons
that would make the permanent ABD status attractive. There
is no reason to explain unless you are asked, and chances
are reasonable that you won't be.
You might describe your education in the following ways:
.
-
Ph.D. candidate, English, University of Michigan
-
University of Michigan, Political Science Department
Ph.D. candidate, withdrew in good academic standing in
fourth year
How
much of the material on your CV do you have to cut?
One of the most painful things about turning a CV into a
resume can be the deletion of that long list of presentations
and/or publications - years of hard-won accomplishments. But
you may have to grit your teeth and do it. Consider these
related topics.
-
Length: Be careful not to try the patience of your reader.
Recruiters in some industries say they will not read a
resume that is longer than one page. This means your publications
will have to give way to your experience. When it is relevant
to the job description, some PhDs include their publications
on a separate sheet of paper submitted with the resume.
-
Relevance: You've probably gotten so used to your CV
that there are some things on it you don't even see any
more. When applying for nonacademic jobs, you need to
try to see the information on this document anew. What
will help you make your case to a prospective employer
and what will merely distract him/her? Are the titles
of your courses useful? The names of professional societies
with which you are affiliated? A list of awards you have
won? The date you received your MA? Taking the last as
an example, for those who finished the PhD, it is unlikely
that nonacademic employers will care when you got your
MA. If they are interested in your education at all, they
will want to know your terminal degree only. So, evaluate
each piece of information on your resume in relation to
the job description at hand and cut accordingly.
How
do you let a recruiter know what you can do (i.e., that
you learned some useful things in the ivory tower)?
When you consider your audience, it becomes clear why many
things that work on the CV will not work in the resume. The
search committees who read your CV know exactly what it takes
to teach a class or to research and write a dissertation or
to get funding to support yourself while you do these things.
Many nonacademic employers will have little idea. You can
help them by describing your experience in terms of the skills
they are seeking. Be specific and make explicit what you want
your reader to learn.
For example, rather than list your teaching experience as:
Graduate Student Instructor, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (Fall, 1999).
Taught Introduction to American History. Tasks included leading
discussion, teaching historical analysis, and evaluating student
work.
Delivered lecture on colonial family life.
Graduate Student Instructor, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (Fall, 1998).
Taught Great Wars of the Twentieth Century. Tasks included
preparing teaching materials, leading discussion, teaching
writing and analytical skills, creating class web page and
evaluating student work.
Instead, think about ways to emphasize
your project management skills, your ability to work with
technology, your ability to work with people, and/or your
ability to mentor. Whichever of these skills (or others) that
best fit what your job of choice would require should be the
focus of your description. Be specific in your description
and use language familiar to your readers.
Graduate Student Instructor, University
of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (Fall, 1998 and 1999).
- Taught history twice a week to 2 classes of 25 students
each.
- Developed and delivered presentations on a variety of
topics for audiences ranging from 25 to 150 people.
- Built web site that contained links related to the course
material and student needs (including help on how to research
and write papers).
- Chaired group discussions that aired ideas and reached
consensus.
- Supervised 50 students working on research papers.
- Counseled students on their academic progress.
Also consider what kind of balance you want to achieve between
your knowledge and your skills and your accomplishments.
Compare:
knowledge
Researched and wrote dissertation describing the impact of
non-governmental organizations on the development of democratic
institutions in Kenya. Developed expertise in Kenyan history
and political development. Fluent in Kiswahili.
skills
Researched and wrote dissertation. Identified research
problem and designed criteria to evaluate possible explanations.
Developed timeline, cultivated contacts in Kenya, and conducted
necessary research. Wrote dissertation while fulfilling teaching
duties.
accomplishments
Researched and wrote dissertation. Secured funding from national
organization in competition with hundreds of other graduate
students. Developed timeline for research and writing and
produced a 250-page dissertation one month ahead of schedule.
Published two articles in respected journals based on this
research.
You will want to include skills and accomplishments as
often as possible, and your emphasis on knowledge
will likely vary depending on the requirements of the job.
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