CVs & Résumés for Graduate Students

Ian Robertson

Lynn McCaughey

Learning Objectives

By the end of the session, you will be able to…

Differentiate between a CV and a résumé Describe the key principles of effective CV’s and résumés Identify the types of information commonly included on CV’s and

résumés Describe how information is commonly organized on CV’s and

résumés Identify the types of experiences you already have that will be

helpful to include on your CV and résumé Identify gaps in your experience that you can begin to address

Out of Scope

Cover letters

Interviews

Work search

Career planning

What do you already know?

What is a résumé?

What is a CV?

A Few Notes on Terminology CV = Curriculum Vitae = Latin for “course of life”

Résumé = French for “summary”

In this part of the world (western North America)… CV = a document with a university teaching or research focus résumé = a document with a non-academic focus

In many parts of the world, both terms are often used synonymously and the terms “academic résumé” or “academic CV” are used to differentiate

Some Commonalities

Both CV’s and résumés are…

Summaries of your education, experience and accomplishments

Documents that support your professional career development, in particular, during the work search process

Formatted to be scanned by the person looking at it rather than carefully read through from beginning to end

Some Differences

CV’s…

Are focused on academic work with an emphasis on research and teaching

Aim to provide comprehensive information

Are often long – 5, 10, 20 or more pages

Résumés…

Are focused on non-academic work with an emphasis on related competencies (skills, knowledge and attributes)

Aim to summarize key information

Are generally 1 to 2 pages maximum

Key Principles Common to Both Content is organized into relevant, clearly defined sections,

generally with more relevant information higher in the document

Formatting choices (fonts, margins, bullets, etc.) are consistently applied, make scanning easy and highlight critical information

Document is free from grammatical mistakes or typos

Content and format decisions are made with the reader in mind

There are few, if any, absolute “rights” and “wrongs”

Résumés

What kinds of information do you typically find on a résumé?

What is necessary and what is optional?

Résumé Content

Core information

Personal Contact Info Education Work Experience Competencies (skills,

knowledge and attributes) References

Optional information

Objective Summary or Profile Community Involvement Additional Training and

Certification Professional Memberships Interests

Résumé Formats

Chronological

Most common format Competencies are listed

under the relevant experience

Generally preferred by employers

Easier to prepare than a skills-based résumé

Skills-based

Fairly common format Competencies are organized

into thematic groups relevant to the work objective

Some employers are more open to this format than others

More difficult to write than a chronological résumé

CVs

What kinds of information do you typically find on a CV?

What is necessary and what is optional?

CV Content

Core information Personal Contact Info Education Awards & Distinctions Research Interests Research Experience Teaching Experience Publications & Presentations Professional Affiliations References

Optional information Objective Summary or Profile Professional Service Non-academic Work

Experience Competencies (skills,

knowledge and attributes) Additional Training and

Certification

CV Format CV’s are generally organized according to a chronological résumé

format

Competencies, if they are expressed at all, are probably listed under the relevant experience or summarized in a Summary or Profile section

However… there is no rule against following a skills-based résumé format and including an extended competency section organized thematically

ADD CV TEMPLATE HERE

For New Master’s Students Your résumé and CV may closely resemble one another

A Research Interests section is probably the easiest section to add in right away to differentiate your résumé from your CV

Look for opportunities in your program to gain experience building key sections of your CV: Research Experience, Teaching Experience, Publications, Presentations, Professional Affiliations

Talk with your supervisor and other faculty members about CV building opportunities

For Completing Master’s & PhD Students Your résumé and CV should be clearly differentiated documents

Be meticulous in compiling all your experience in the key sections of your CV: Research Experience, Teaching Experience, Publications, Presentations, Professional Affiliations

Ask your supervisor and other faculty members for feedback on your CV

Services and Support

Résumé and CV resources are available on the Co-operative Education and Career Services website

The Career Educators at Co-operative Education and Career Services are available to review your draft résumés and CVs

We look forward to working with you!