A CV, or academic resume, is often your introduction to a search committee. As such the CV plays an integral role in outlining your fit for a position by showcasing relevant academic, professional, and service experiences. A strong CV tells your story to your intended audience in a way that is easy to read and garners key information. As you craft you CV remember:
Each discipline has its own nuances to CV design and content. Ask junior faculty, postdocs, or recent alums if you can take a look at their CVs. Engage your advisor on what may be common in your field or what he/she looks for in a CV when they sit on a hiring committee.
CVs can be as long or as short as you want them to be. It is less typical for a PhD student or newly minted PhD to have a 10+ page CV but your decisions about what to include and not include should be dictated more by the quality and purpose of the experience than the length of the document.
You can have multiple CVs for multiple purposes. If you are applying to, let's say, research focused post-docs and teaching focused lecturer positions at the same time it probably makes sense to have both a research focused and teaching focused CV. The order and content would differ with each document.
Consistency of formatting is key. A clean and consistent format makes a CV easier to read and enables search committee members more ease to find key information.
Generally all CVs include:
- Name and Contact Information
- Education
- Experience (Research, Teaching, Other)
- Publications and Presentations
Optional Sections include:
- Honors and Awards (Grants, Scholarships, etc.)
- Research and Teaching Interests (Either or Both)
- Professional Activities or Associations
- Skills
- References