CV (Curriculum Vitae)
A CV or Curriculum Vitae is a summary of a person's education, employment, publications, and other professional activities, awards, and honors. In the United States, a CV is used by people applying for a position in academia, research, or scientific field (as well as grants and fellowships). The Curriculum Vitae Template below was designed with this purpose in mind. Download our CV Template and read through the suggestions below on findingCV examples and writing your CV.
Using the CV Template
Customizing: It will be very important for you to customize the template for your specific field, experience, and skills. The order of the various sections will depend upon what type of job you are applying for (such as teaching vs. research). See the reference below for examples of how to customize your CV. Maintaining a Master Copy: You will probably end up with many different versions of your CV over time as you apply for different positions and grants. I prefer to maintain a single master CV template that contains the most up-to-date information. Maintaining a Second Version: You may have information and categories in your master CV template that you do NOT want to include when you publish your CV or submit the CV to a potential employer. If you are in a hurry to send off an application, it is very easy to accidentally include a section in your CV that you didn't want to. So, you may want to consider maintaining a separate CV that you use specifically for submitting with applications. Tracking Publications: If you are using your CV as a way to keep track of your publications, then it is useful to have a category for "Publications in Review". Unless you only have a few publications and would like to show that you have more in review, you may want to consider leaving out this section when you share your CV. |
References and Resources for Writing a CV
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General CV Writing Tips
The 5 C's of Resume Writing - Convincing, Concise, Clear, Consistent, and Clean - also apply to CV's . So in addition to reading through the Resume Tips, here are some points to remember when writing your CV.
The 5 C's of Resume Writing - Convincing, Concise, Clear, Consistent, and Clean - also apply to CV's . So in addition to reading through the Resume Tips, here are some points to remember when writing your CV.
- Be Concise: A CV does not need to be a single page like a resume, but it still needs to be succinct. The length is proportional to your experience, number of publications, etc. Do not stuff your CV with everything you've ever done just to make it look longer.
- Check for Typos: Simple errors send a warning to the reader that you may do sloppy or careless work.
- Get it Reviewed: Get faculty members in your department to review your CV.
- Number the Pages: Include your name and the page number in the footer or header.
- Use a Simple Format: The format should make it easy for the reader to find the most important information. Use examples from your educational field as a guide.
- Use a Single Font: Times New Roman is a common font for a printed CV. Arial or Verdana is often used for online publication.
- Use bold, CAPITALS, and italics, but avoid underlining.
- Be Professional: If you include a personal email address, do not use a username like [email protected].
- Use full URLs: If you include links to online materials like articles, websites, or course descriptions, make sure the give the full URL.
- For more guidelines and tips, read the references listed below.