Creating a CV

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Details are usually listed in sequential order, (customarily ordered from first to last). You'll need to provide two kinds of details: informational and explanatory.

Informational details: Similar to a resume, the categories of professional experience, education, training, service and relevant coursework should provide the institution name, location, dates of attendance/employment. Publication details should include basic bibliographic information; grants and awards details should explain grant amount, benefactor, date and project title.

Explanatory details: Unlike a resume, you'll develop your CV by adding text that will help the audience understand the relevance of certain experiences to the job or position for which you are applying. Most CVs provide some explanation in the categories of their professional experience, specialized training, community work and related academic projects (i.e., thesis or dissertation focus). Keep in mind, though, that every item in every category need not be followed by an explanation. Many CVs do not provide explanations for items such as publication credits and awards, unless an explanation will help your audience understand its relevance. See this sample to get a feel for which items are usually followed by explanatory details.

• What to include in the explanatory details