PowerPoint Presentation

grad.uchicago.edu

CV Best Practices

Academic Job Market Summer Camp 2018

Career Advancement

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* * * Asterisks indicate disciplinary differences * * *

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Agenda

 Introduction

 Formatting

 Sections

 Final Steps

grad.uchicago.edu

Agenda

 Introduction

 Formatting

 Sections

 Final Steps

Career Advancement

“When you send in your job-application

materials, you're not just assembling

separate documents to fulfill the

requirements of an ad. Those documents

are part of a larger rhetorical whole, and

together they form an argument for the

viability of your candidacy for a particular

job.”*

* Joshua Eyeler, “The Rhetoric of the CV,” Chronicle of Higher Education

The Power of the CV

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 The C.V. is the cornerstone of

all applications for

employment, grants,

fellowships, and tenure

 It evaluated first by most

search committees and

revisited through the hiring

process

 It is your ticket to a tenure-

track job in a highly

competitive job market

The Power of the CV

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! ! !

Career Advancement

A GOOD CV CAN...

 Demonstrate your

scholarly productivity

 Convince search

committee to read

your other application

materials carefully

 Put you on the

interview shortlist

 Speak for you

throughout the

process

The Power of a CV

A GOOD CV CANNOT...

 Diverge far from the

standard conventions

of your discipline or

the genre

 Distort or inflate your

accomplishments

 Compensate for

your other weak

application materials

 Land you a job

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Agenda

 Introduction

 Formatting

 Sections

 Final Steps

Career Advancement

Formatting

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STEM Sample

HUM/SS Sample

Career Advancement

Formatting

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STEM Sample

HUM/SS Sample

Consistent

right- or left-

justified dates

Name and

contact info

Evenly

spaced

sections

with clearly

marked

headings

and sub-

headings

Career Advancement

 Heading contains name, address, email, and phone #

 Sections are clearly delineated with lines or spacing

 Entries are listed in reverse chronological order

within sections or subsections

 Dates, locations, and publication information are

formatted consistently

 Margins are sensible and even (0.7”-1.0”)

 Font size is 11-12 pt., and font matches other

application documents

 CV contains hyperlinks but is free from color

 CV has no biographical details (birthdate, photo)

Formatting Checklist

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Agenda

 Introduction

 Formatting

 Sections

 Final Steps

Name/Contact Information

 Phone, email, mailing address, website

Education

 Graduate degree(s): university, degree, field, date of

completion, concentrations, dissertation title, name of

advisor/committee

 Undergrad degree(s): university, degree, major, date of

completion, honors

Research or Teaching and Research Interests/Areas*

 List of research and teaching topics or subfields __;___;__

Research Experience*

(STEM)

 University, location, department, date, title, laboratory

 Brief research project statement(s) starting with action verb.*

Patents may be sub-category or go under publications.

CV Sections (1 of 3)

Publications

 Follow format used in your field. Bold your name in author list. List

in order of newest first. Subheadings OK (note works in-progress)

Grants and Fellowships

 Funding institute/agency, name of fellowship, date

Honors and Awards

 Briefly explain context for obscure scholarships and awards

Presentations

 Can delineate between poster vs. oral (invited) presentations*

STEM

 Can delineate between conference vs. workshop presentations*

Teaching Experience

 University, location, department, date, title, course titles (NOT #s)

 Brief description of course scope, size. May include scope of

responsibilities (held office hours, developed exams)*

 Pedagogy Courses/Certifications*

CV Sections (3 of 3)

Training, Mentoring, and Advising Experience

 Arrange similarly to “Teaching Experience” section

Professional/Academic Service

 Manuscript reviewing, academic service, committee work

Scholarly and Professional Affiliations

 Highlight leadership positions held

Languages

 Indicate level of proficiency following norms in your field

[Other Sections]

 Skills, licensure or certifications, community service, public

scholarship, additional training, related work experience*

References

 Full mailing address, email address, and phone number

CV Sections (2 of 3)

Career Advancement

Education

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Career Advancement

Research Experience

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HUM/SS may just list

interests or areas of

expertise/competency

STEM fields may have

more in-depth

descriptions – a

publication list alone is

not sufficient

Can include internships

and/or undergraduate

experience

Describe specific

methodologies and

contributions,

quantifying whenever

possible

Research Experience

(STEM)

 Innovation

 Impact

 Methodologies

 Collaboration

 Mentoring

 Grant Writing

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BEST

PRACTICES

 Choose the citation style of a well-respected journal in your field

 Use subsections to highlight manuscripts at various stages of the

publication process:

 Peer-Reviewed/In Press: treat as normal published work

 In Submission/Review: usually doesn’t include journal name

 In Progress/Preparation: to support overall publication record

 Only include work bound for an academic audience (unless you

are in a creative field)

 Do not include non-academic publications, presentations, or

abstracts/posters

 Bold your name if there are multiple authors

Career Advancement

Publications

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Teaching Experience I

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Instructor,

Assistant,

Preceptor,

Writing Intern,

Mentor—it all

counts

Translate

UChicago terms

(Preceptor = BA

Thesis Seminar

Instructor)

Use course

names, not

course numbers

Teaching Experience II

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UNIVERSITY TEACHING EXPERIENCE

University of Chicago

Lecturer, Humanities Division

Navigating in Space (Spring 2015)

§ Designed and proposed undergraduate-level seminar for 15 students

§ Graded all assignments; held regular one-on-one office hours

§ Advised 2 undergraduates on thesis projects

Lecturer, Humanities Division

Pluto in Myth and Imagination (Winter 2014, Winter 2013)

§ Co-taught undergraduate-level seminar for 8 students per term on history of science

§ Integrated guest talks and visits to planetarium and organizations in Chicago

§ Planned all assignments and in-class exercises

§ Held regular office hours; designed and graded all assignments including Twitter use/blogs

Writing Intern, Collegiate Division

Media Aesthetics (Spring 2012, Winter 2012, Fall 2011, Spring 2011, Winter 2011, Fall 2010)

§ Led discussion sections of 4-7 first-year undergraduate students in required humanities courses

§ Taught writing, with focus on argument, evidence, clarity of structure

§ Collaborated with diverse faculty members to design assignments integrated with syllabus

§ Graded papers and provided extensive comments and feedback

§ Held regular office hours to provide answers to student questions and provide support

§ Advised students on issues related to acclimation to college, academic work, course selection

§ Guest lectured and responded to faculty feedback on teaching effectiveness

Pedagogy Training

Little Red Schoolhouse, University of Chicago

Pedagogies of Writing (Summer 2010)

§ Completed intensive graduate-level pedagogy training course

§ Designed sample syllabi and assignments

§ Developed classroom strategies for addressing diverse learning needs and goals

Action-oriented bullet points

with quantification

Don’t be

too

detailed

– keep the focus on

your most impressive

teaching experiences

Pedagogical training shows

that you care about teaching

 Mentoring and tutoring count

 Specify your involvement in course development

 Don’t underestimate importance of teaching for “research” jobs

Teaching Experience III

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 Reviewing manuscripts, serving on committees, coordinating

CAS workshops, organizing events and conferences, serving

as a representative for campus/national organizations,

mentoring, and any other examples of institutional citizenship

 You can include accomplishments, quantifying and

contextualizing when possible*

Career Advancement

Service

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 Include full title and address

 Formal name of referee (with degrees)

 Title (Assistant Professor, Dean, etc.)

 Full mailing address

 Email address

 Phone number

 Include between 3-6

 Must include those who are providing job letters

 Chance to expand on the list of contacts

 This list can be tailored for individual applications

Career Advancement

References

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Agenda

 Introduction

 Formatting

 Sections

 Final Steps

 Arrange sections in order of importance

 Develop different CVs for different applications

 Tailor according to institutional values

 Do not bury the lede

 Distinguishing facts should stand out

 Recognizable awards, journals, the University of Chicago

 Use subcategories to bring order and focus attention

 E.g. Peer-Reviewed Articles / Book Chapters/ Reviews

 E.g. Instructor / Teaching Assistant / Tutor

 Consider your audience

 Translate or explain unfamiliar terms or experiences

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Review of Best Practices

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Final Steps for CVs

 Share documents with

advisors, mentors, and

recent graduates

 Revise for clarity and

concision

 Check for consistency

through all categories

 Proofread using a text-

to-speech function

 Convert all documents to

PDF format

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