Preparing a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Overview
- by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
- Vitas and resumes both have similar purposes - as marketing documents that provide key information about your skills, experiences, education, and personal qualities that show you as the ideal candidate. Where a resume and a curriculum vitae differ is their use, format, and length.
- A curriculum vitae, often called a CV or vita, tends to be used more for scientific and teaching positions than a resume. Thus, vitas tend to provide great detail about academic and research experiences. Where resumes tend toward brevity, vitas lean toward completeness.
- Unlike resumes, there is no set format to vitas. While this article will provide a few free samples vitas, it is best to also discuss any special formatting your field requires with a mentor or trusted member of your network. There are also a few books that provide much more depth on the subject -- and they can be found at the end of this article.
- While vitas do not have the one-page rule of resumes, you need to walk the line between providing a good quality of depth to showcase your qualifications and attract potential employer interest and providing too much information thus appearing verbose and turning off potential employer interest.
- Ready to begin?
- Typical categories or headings may include some or all of the following:
- Personal Information
- name
- address
- phone numbers(s)
- email
- Academic Background
- postgraduate work
- graduate work/degree(s), major/minors, thesis/dissertation titles, honors
- undergraduate degree(s), majors/minors, honors
- Professional Licenses/Certifications
- Academic/Teaching Experience
- courses taught, courses introduced
- innovation in teaching
- teaching evaluations
- Technical and Specialized Skills
- Related/Other Experience
- Professional/Academic Honors and Awards
- Professional Development
- conferences/workshops attended, other activities
- Research/Scholarly Activities
- journal articles
- conference proceedings
- books
- chapters in books
- magazine articles
- papers presented/workshops
- ezine articles
- work currently under submission
- work in progress
- Grants
- Service
- academic
- professional
- community
- Academic/Research Interests
- Affiliations/Memberships
- Foreign Language Abilities/Skills
- Consulting
- Volunteer Work
- References
- Other Resources that can help
- Helpful books about vitas:
- The Curriculum Vitae Handbook: How to Present and Promote Your Academic Career, by Rebecca Anthony and Gerald Roe (Rudi Publishing).
- Developing a Professional Vita or Resume, by Carl McDaniels and Mary Anne Knobloch (Ferguson Publishing).
- How to Prepare Your Curriculum Vitae, by Acy L. Jackson (VGM).
- Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
