Curriculum vitae

1. What a CV should do

A CV is a targeted document that shows why you are a strong fit for a specific role. It should not read like a complete life history or a general list of everything you have done. A strong CV helps the reader quickly understand your training, expertise, achievements, impact, and future potential.

For academic role, CV should highlight research productivity, teaching, mentoring, funding, service, and scholarly identity. For non-academic roles, the CV should translate research experience into skills, outcomes, leadership, communication, project management, and problem-solving.

2. Keep a master CV

Maintain one detailed master CV that includes everything you have done. This document is for you, not for submission.

Education and qualifications
Research positions and projects
Publications and manuscripts
Grants, fellowships, and awards
Teaching and mentoring
Technical and analytical skills
Conference presentations and invited talks
Leadership and service roles
Journal reviewing and editorial work
Outreach and science communication
Workshops, training, and certifications
Collaborations and professional memberships
Relevant non-academic experience

Update it regularly. Add details while they are fresh, especially numbers, outcomes, dates, titles, roles, and evidence of impact.

3. Tailor every CV

Before submitting a CV, ask:

What type of role is this?
What does this institution value?
Which parts of my experience are relevant?
What should appear first?
What can be shortened, moved, or removed?
What evidence shows that I meet the criteria?

Do not send the same CV everywhere.

4. Common sections in an academic CV

Contact information

Full name
Current position and institution
Email; Phone, if needed
Professional website, Google Scholar, ORCID, LinkedIn, or lab profile

Avoid unnecessary personal information.

Education

Degree
Discipline
Institution
Location
Year
Dissertation title, if relevant
Adviser, if relevant

Academic appointments / research experience

Position title
Institution and department
Dates
Adviser or PI, if relevant
Research focus
Major methods
Your contribution
Key outcomes

It should show what you did and what came from it.

Publications

Peer-reviewed journal articles
Review articles
Book chapters
Manuscripts under review
Manuscripts in preparation
Conference proceedings

Clarify contribution where useful, especially for equal authorship, first authorship, corresponding authorship, or interdisciplinary work.

Grants, fellowships, and funding

Name of grant or fellowship
Funding agency
Amount, if appropriate
Your role
Year
Competitiveness, if known

Add brief context if the award is not self-explanatory.

Teaching experience

Course title
Role
Institution
Level of students
Format, such as lecture, lab, discussion, guest lecture, workshop
Class size, if useful
Teaching outcomes or student feedback, if available

Mentoring and supervision

Undergraduate students
Graduate students
Interns
Visiting scholars
Junior researchers
Lab trainees

Mention outcomes when possible, such as thesis completion, conference presentation, manuscript contribution, award, skill development, etc.

Research and technical skills

Group skills by category rather than writing a long list. Example categories:

Material production and modification
Instrumental analysis
Statistical analysis
Field and greenhouse experiments
Scientific writing and visualization

Presentations

Invited talks
Oral presentations
Poster presentations
Conference presentations
Departmental seminars
Public talks

Invited talks should be separated when possible because they show recognition.

Service and leadership

Committee roles
Journal reviewing
Editorial work
Conference organization
Symposium planning
Professional association leadership
Outreach
Peer mentoring
Departmental service

Show both responsibility and impact.

Professional memberships

Include relevant societies, associations, or professional networks.

References

For academic applications, references are often included unless instructions say otherwise. Use referees who know your research, teaching, mentoring, and professional potential.

5. Formatting principles

Use:

Clear headings
Reverse chronological order within sections
Consistent date formatting
Consistent bullet style
Simple font
Balanced spacing
Bold text for role, institution, or section headings
Short, focused bullets

Avoid:

Overcrowded pages
Multiple fonts
Too much bolding, italics or underlining
Long paragraphs
Unnecessary tables
Unclear abbreviations
Vague headings like “Other”
Personal details that are not relevant to the role

6. How to tailor the CV

For a postdoc position, emphasize:

Technical skills
Research methods
Fit with PI’s project
Publications
Ability to work independently
Ability to collaborate
Evidence of project completion
Future research direction

For a tenure-track position, emphasize:

Research identity
Publications
Funding potential
Future research agenda
Teaching experience
Mentoring
Service
Departmental fit
Independence from previous mentors

For a teaching-focused faculty position, emphasize:

Teaching experience
Course design
Student mentoring
Inclusive teaching
Teaching evaluations, if strong
Pedagogical training
Ability to teach required courses
Research that can involve undergraduates

For an industry research role, emphasize:

Technical expertise
Applied research outcomes
Project delivery
Data analysis
Teamwork
Patents or product-relevant outputs
Problem-solving
Ability to work across teams

For a non-research role, emphasize:

Communication
Writing
Leadership
Project management
Data interpretation
Stakeholder engagement
Event organization
Policy, outreach, administration, or program experience

7. Common CV mistakes

Sending a generic CV to every position.
Listing duties without outcomes.
Making broad claims without evidence.
Giving equal space to everything.
Hiding the most relevant experience.
Using too much technical jargon.
Including too many unrelated details.
Using inconsistent formatting.
Writing long paragraphs instead of focused bullets.
Not clarifying contribution in collaborative work.
Listing publications without organizing them.
Forgetting teaching, mentoring, service, leadership.
Not matching the CV to the job description.
Having an online profile that does not match the CV.

8. Final key message

A strong CV is not the longest CV. It is the clearest, most relevant, and most evidence-based version of your professional story. It should help the reader quickly answer:

What have you done?
Why does it matter?
Why are you a strong fit for this role?

Category	Academic	Industry / R&D	Non-academic / Non-research
Main purpose	Shows scholarly identity, research impact, teaching potential, and academic contribution.	Shows ability to deliver research projects, apply technical expertise, and contribute to product, process, or company goals.	Shows transferable skills, problem-solving ability, communication, leadership, and fit with the role.
Length	Flexible and longer, depending on career stage and field.	Usually 2 pages, sometimes with a publication appendix.	Usually 1–2 pages.
Main focus	Publications, research trajectory, grants, teaching, supervision, invited talks, academic service.	Technical expertise, project delivery, data analysis, collaboration, patents, tools, practical outcomes.	Communication, project management, leadership, teamwork, analysis, writing, stakeholder engagement.
Research experience	Emphasize questions, methods, originality, contribution to the field, and outcomes.	Emphasize methods, tools, problem-solving, reproducibility, deadlines, and applied value.	Translate research into analytical thinking, evidence-based decisions, writing, planning, and managing complexity.
Publications	Full list, with role or contribution clarified where useful.	Summarized if relevant, with selected publications or appendix.	Briefly summarized only if useful as evidence of productivity or writing skill.
Teaching	Include courses, level, format, class size, supervision, curriculum development, and outcomes.	Reframe as training, mentoring, technical communication, and explaining complex ideas.	Reframe as communication, facilitation, public speaking, mentoring, and audience adaptation.
Mentoring	Shows ability to supervise students and build a future research group.	Shows ability to guide junior staff and support project delivery.	Shows leadership, team development, and people management.
Technical skills	Important, especially for postdoc and research roles.	Very important and often central to shortlisting.	Include only if directly relevant to the job.
Awards and grants	Evidence of reputation, competitiveness, and funding potential.	Evidence of achievement, initiative, and research success.	Evidence of excellence, recognition, and ability to secure resources.
Service and leadership	Shows academic citizenship, reviewing, committee work, outreach, and leadership.	Reframe as organization, quality control, collaboration, and leadership.	Reframe as administration, event planning, stakeholder engagement, and team coordination.
Evidence	Publications, grants, invited talks, student outcomes, citations, awards, service.	Metrics, deliverables, tools, patents, reports, workflow improvements, project outcomes.	Numbers, outcomes, responsibilities, leadership examples, communication products, deadlines.

Category	CV	Resume
Purpose	Detailed academic/ professional record	Short, targeted job application document
Length	Can be several pages	Usually 1–2 pages
Used for	Faculty jobs, postdocs, fellowships, grants, academic roles	Industry, nonprofit, government, consulting, admin, communication roles
Focus	Research, teaching, publications, grants, awards, service	Skills, experience, achievements, job fit
Detail level	Comprehensive	Selective
Publications	Usually listed fully	Only selected or summarized
Teaching/ research	Described in academic detail	Translated into skills and outcomes
Audience	Academic committees, funders, research institutions	Recruiters, hiring managers, employers
Best summary	“What is my full academic record?”	“Why am I right for this specific job?”