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How a CV is Different from a Resume

Many job search committees for teaching, graduate school, international or research positions request a CV to get a fuller picture of your academic experiences, accomplishments and interests than a resume can provide.

A resume lists your education, experience and skills. Your CV allows you to go beyond listing your relevant experiences and accomplishments; you can also convey the substance of those experiences and accomplishments.

Unlike a resume, which is usually about one page long, CVs vary in length, from about two to five pages, depending on the applicant's relevant experiences.

Writing Your CV--Step by Step

Just like any other writing task, your CV writing process should begin with understanding your audience and purpose so that you can determine what information is most relevant and important to that audience. Next, you collect that information, and then organize it in some form of an outline. You write a draft, you reconsider, perhaps even reorganize, and you revise and edit. This guide will help you with each part of the process.

Understanding Purpose

Your ultimate purpose is to get a job, but the purpose of a CV is to convey why you want and are qualified for a particular job. Furthermore, since the CV communicates the substance of your experiences and accomplishments, its main purpose is to demonstrate the relevance of the course of your academic life to the position you seek.

For example, are you applying for a research position at a university? If so, your CV should emphasize your research experiences, interests and publications. Are you applying for a university professor position? If so, your CV will emphasize your teaching experiences and academic interest.

Understanding Audience

The Curriculum Vitae is usually requested for academic positions including teaching, administration and research. A CV is also sometimes requested for international positions and graduate school applications. What you choose to include and emphasize on your own CV will depend on your audience. The search committee will often read your CV before your resume (in fact, many search committees request a CV and not a resume), so it should emphasize the experiences and accomplishments that have directed the course of your academic life to this search committee and that make you the best candidate for the position.

Researching Your Audience

Knowledge of the specific job you are seeking helps you decide how best to present your experiences and accomplishments to the search committee. Understanding the job setting and surrounding community can be helpful as well.

As an example of the importance of knowing your audience, consider an applicant for an associate professor position whose interests include cultural studies and secondary school education. That CV can demonstrate that the candidate is qualified to teach literature in an English department that offers cultural studies coursework. But researching the job itself, the job setting and the surrounding community would reveal that this university's English department is closely related to the Education department, which works closely with secondary schools in the community. With this information, the candidate can craft her CV to reflect that her experiences, accomplishments and interests qualify her more than other candidates.

The more you know about the position and the working environment, the better able you will be to relate your experiences and accomplishments, so researching your audience is an important first step.

Tips for Researching CV Audiences

So that you can be sure to include every relevant experience and accomplishment (and so that you are sure you actually want the position for which you are applying), you'll need to find out a good deal about the job itself and the employer. Fortunately, this important research can be done fairly easily.

• Carefully read the job description, as well as descriptions of other available positions. Read between the lines to determine the actual nature of the job and the employers so that you can shape your CV accordingly, (for more on this, see the "Read Between the Lines" section of Writing@CSU's Resume Guide)
• Conduct an Internet search to find information about the employer. Employer websites can provide useful information that can help you understand the context of the job for which you are applying.
• Use the following questions as starting points for your research:
• What does the position entail?
• With what types of people will you work?
• For what types of people will you work?
• For teaching positions, what pedagogical approach does the department take?
• What course offerings are similar to those with which you have experience?
• What are the research interests and publications of faculty members?
• What opportunities and expectations exist for research and publication?

Look at Other CVs

Though many people have experience writing a resume, CVs are not as familiar. Taking a look at a few sample CVs helps you get a feel for this type of document. As you review samples, consider the range of possibilities as well as the similarities that appear for content, format and organizational choices.

Start Writing Your First Draft

If your review of sample CVs sparks ideas for your own CV, start writing! Remember, your choices of what to include and exclude should be determined by what the audience needs to know about you in order to consider you the best candidate. You'll certainly want to tailor your CV to each particular audience; but keep in mind that having a master copy or template that is a basic, all-inclusive version of your CV to work from will make that tailoring process less time-consuming.

List and Categorize

List and categorize all of your relevant accomplishments: academic, scholarly and creative work, community involvement, publications, honors and awards. You can approach this step in a few different ways. You can list your accomplishments first, and then arrange the list into categories. Or, you can start with categories and add items within them.

To list accomplishments first, then arrange the list into categories:

• Write a list of every academic and research accomplishment you can remember.
• Review your resume and add to your list anything on your resume that is related to your academic and research accomplishments.
• Review the list of categories and decide which categories you should include, exclude and which you should emphasize and highlight.
• Group items from your list into categories.

To start with categories and add items within them:

• Identify which categories you want to emphasize for the CV's intended audience.
• Organize your experience and adjust categories as needed. You can use your resume as a guide, but don't simply repeat the information from your resume (your audience will probably already have your resume to read for themselves).

Possible Categories for Your CV

Use these categories as a starting point. These categories can be combined, rearranged and rewritten as you see fit. For example, some CVs combine Teaching Experience and Related Professional Experience into one category. Others, especially recent graduates, focus on Relevant Coursework, Professional Training and Leadership Roles.

• Education: includes B.A. and M.A./M.F.A., PhD., any professional certifications (e.g. teaching licensure); don't include g.p.a., do include brief description of thesis and/or dissertation work
• Publications: journals, online publications, book reviews, any published work related to teaching
• Teaching Experience: classroom teaching, tutoring (volunteer, writing center, etc.), highlight any technology experience with teaching
• Technology Experience and Specialized Skills: teaching in computer classroom, writing for Writing@CSU, online publications, etc.
• Related Professional Experience: internships, any writing/editing jobs, any literacy tutoring, Writing Center tutoring, grading placement exams, etc.
• Professional Training/Development: any workshops attended (e.g. multicultural teaching, women's studies), seminar training
• Relevant Coursework: highlight classes that are most relevant to career objective
• Professional Writing Experience: any other published work not related to teaching or creative activity
• Administration and Leadership: e.g. assistant director to writing center, editor of university-affiliated journal, research assistant, internship work, student organization and committee work
• Community Involvement : include volunteer and paid work
• Editing: editor of writing journals, editing dissertations/theses, paid proofreading work
• Academic or Professional Presentations: any academic presentations (including local as well as national and international forums), conference presentations, guest lecturing, writing center presentations
• Scientific Research, Laboratory Experience: include experience and skills related to career objective
• Consulting: one-on-one work with faculty in writing center
• Professional Service/Organization: memberships in AWP, NCTE, etc. and work on committees
• Honors and Awards
• Travel Experience, Cultural Exposure and Foreign Language Skills
• References
• Professional Licenses or Certification

(Thanks to Donna LaCourt and Liz Story-Jackson for providing this list)

Provide Details

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

What you write should be influenced by what you know about the job position.

For example, a CV written for a community college teaching job might relate your teaching experiences by discussing your involvement with similar student populations or highlighting teaching approaches you take that are similar to those taken at the community college.

Or, a CV written for a new or developing department might draw attention to your experience with curriculum development and revision, as well as your ability (or desire) to incorporate and apply related academic and research interests to course development.

Or, a CV written for an international research position might discuss professional experiences or accomplishments involving travel, multilingual ability, collaborative work and flexibility.

Organizing Your CV Draft

Now that you have a list of categories and items to fill them, carefully consider how you want to organize the CV. More specifically, how will you order the categories on the CV? Your audience should determine whether you follow Education with Professional Experience, or Honors and Awards, or Research Work, as well as what order other categories should follow.

For example, a CV for a teaching position would start by emphasizing your education and certification (if any) and professional experience related to teaching. Then, depending on which areas you have the most experience with, the CV will provide details about publication and conference credits, leadership roles, community service, relevant training and coursework, and awards and honors.

On the other hand, a CV for a research position would start by emphasizing your education and research experience. Then your CV would detail professional positions, membership in professional associations, grants, publications, current projects and a summary of research interests.

Review Sample Cvs Again

Once you have completed a workable rough draft, review some sample CVs again, take note of their organizational choices, and allow those choices to inform your own.

Revise Your Draft

After the first draft is written, revise. Review each item carefully to decide if you should reorganize any information, tighten your language use, provide more (or fewer) details for professional experience.

Also, consider if any of your categories are looking sparse. If so, can you move the item(s) within that category somewhere else? Can the categories be renamed to describe more aptly the contents?

Get Feedback from a Reader

This reader should be familiar with the CV format and the types of jobs that require a CV. Students can ask for feedback from their advisor, a friendly professor, or a campus job center counselor. Most on-campus writing centers employ tutors who are happy to provide feedback on your CV. If you don't have access to these resources, get a friend or family member to review your writing; new eyes help catch things you might have missed!

Revise Again, Proofread and Edit

Revise your CV as needed based on feedback you receive from readers. Then, edit and proofread your CV carefully. Proofread, check format consistency, and be sure to use an active voice with carefully chosen, specific language.

Editing checklist:

• Proofread! Get another pair of eyes to review your work as well.
• Be consistent with the document's organization - capitalizing, italicizing, bulleting, etc.
• Make sure your margins are even.
• Make sure to use the correct verb tense when discussing past activities.
• Make sure the document is easy to read.
• Use specific language - concrete nouns and active verbs, avoid passive voice!

Links to Other Resources

Information About Writing a CV:

• Purdue University Career Center
• About.com
• Monster.com
• Quintessential Careers

Links to Sample CVs:

• Purdue - Research Position Example
• About.com Link to CV for Teaching Position in Scientific Field
• Quintessential Careers, (Academic Samples - Business, Science, Arts, Medical)