The Academic CV
An academic curriculum vitae (CV) is an important part of your academic identity. And, it is completely different from a resume in structure, tone, and length.
A well-crafted CV is a thing of beauty – it flows, is visually appealing, and lays information out clearly and concisely. In essence, it quickly and clearly communicates who you are, what your background is, and what skills/experiences have for a position. And, by doing so, it makes people want to hire and fund you.
A poorly-crafted CV, on the other hand, is the worst. It is dense, hard-to-read, and filled with unimportant, distracting, or bias-inducing information. Even the best of candidates can be thwarted by submitting a bad CV.
Who am I, and what is my purpose in writing this?
I am a (new as of 2021) assistant professor at Baylor University in the Biology Department. I am a biologist (specifically, a comparative ecophysiologist if you really want to get technical). I have a PhD, a Master’s of Science, and a Bachelor of Science. I myself have a CV – and have used that CV to apply for graduate school, grants, fellowships, scholarships, and—most recently—faculty positions. I also just went through my first round of recruiting graduate students and undergraduate researchers to join my new lab. During that process, I reviewed a lot of CVs.
I’ve been surprised by a few things.
(1) How varied CVs can be in structure/content
(2) How much information we knowingly (or unknowingly) communicate about ourselves in our CV
(3) How much harm a poorly-crafted CV can affect the chances of getting a position, job, or grant.
I am writing this because I want to help demystify academia. I want to provide clear guidelines for anyone applying to work with about what I expect to see (and not see) on their CV. My goal is to save people (myself included) time and stress—and, most importantly, to reduces bias in the application process.
What are the basics sections of a CV?
Below are some of the general sections that make up a CV. Not all of these will apply to you, your discipline, your application. There may be other sections and headers that are typically used in your field. Do your research on what is expected and normal for your field. Current Appointment (if you are out of graduate school)
- Education (college and on)
- Publications
- Awards & Honors
- Grants & Fellowships (can combine with Awards and Honors)
- Teaching Experience
- Seminars (usually later grad school and on)
- Conference Presentations
- Service to Profession
- Public Service & Outreach
- Media Coverage
- Professional Membership
- References (Optional. Contact info only.)
Note: Do not include any sections for which you have no information. It’s okay not to have something for each category. Early on in your career, you’ll have much less information to include than as you move through your career. That’s expected!
What are some of my DO’s and DO NOT’s of academic CV writing?
DO include your name (in big letters), address (university or professional address preferred), phone number, and email
DO NOT include any other personal information about yourself. Examples of things NOT to include (that I have seen on actual CV’s):
- Blood type
- Mother’s full name
- Father’s full name
- Religion
- Photograph (note: this may be location specific but is not the norm in the US)
RATIONALE: Do not provide any information that could bring on implicit bias (see Project Implicit for more information). The goal is to be as objective as possible when reviewing candidate CV’s. It is hard to be objective when formats/ information varies widely – and when it the format falls out of the field’s expected or normal standards.
DO include dates for your education, accomplishments, activities, etc.
Student Researcher, Awesome University, City, State 2019-2020
DO NOT write out the month for each one.
Student Researcher, Awesome University, City, State April 2019 – January 2020
RATIONALE: See how cluttered the months make it? And, why would the reader need to know the specific months you were at a job/ internship/ on a project?
DO include information from college onwards.
DO NOT include any information from high school or earlier.
RATIONALE: Nobody reading your CV cares what you did (or did not do) in high school. An academic CV should only include relevant information from your higher education and work experiences post-high school.
DO strategically use bolding, italics, text size, and UPPERCASE letters to draw attention to different information in your CV.
- You can even strategically use color (but for goodness’ sake, do so strategically and keep it classy!)
- You can also use bullets and indenting to make your points
DO NOT use multiple fonts – it is distracting!
- Limit yourself to two fonts AT MOST.
More DOs
- Treat your CV a living document that will be updated often (and, update it often!)
- Proof read the entire thing. Multiple times. (I mean it.)
- Ask others to read it and provide feedback (and do the same for others)
- Be consistent in all the things (lettering, font, spacing, bullets, etc.)
- Leave white space (readers appreciate it)
- Order every section in reverse chronological order
- Use active verbs and active voice whenever possible
- Make short, punchy sentences/ statements
- Include quantitative metrics to assess your impact/work when possible
Ex. Guest Speaker, Midway High School, CA (50 students)
More DO NOT’s
- List relevant coursework (Nobody wants to read this. If they care, they’ll ask for your transcripts).
- Include columns of data/information (it’s hard to read)
- Include long web addresses or links (distracting and rarely will someone use it)
Why follow my advice?
Well, first of all, don’t just trust me! I’m a random person posting this on the internet. You should always fact check, seek information from multiple sources, and use common sense when reading anything (especially online)! I am one person with suggestions based on my own experience, discipline, geographic location, preferences, and educational background. Norms can differ widely by country, discipline, program, etc. so do your homework. Luckily, many graduate schools and websites on higher education have detailed information and examples on their websites. I’ve compiled some other sources to look at below. Further, many faculty members, researchers, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students have links to their CV’s online. These are great resources for figuring out what is expected, what fits your personality, and what communicates information in the best way possible.
Other Resources (Please note there are many others on the internet!)
1. Academic Curriculum Vitae (CV) Example and Writing Tips (here)
2. Curriculum Vitae Tips and Samples (here)
3. Resumes and CVs (here)
4. Creating an Effective Academic CV (here)
5. Writing an Effective Academic CV (here)
Best of luck! You’ve got this.