How to Craft an (Effective) Academic CV
Today I’ll provide you the anatomy of a solid academic CV and share best practices for crafting an outstanding academic CV that gets you interviews.
I’ll also share a downloadable template of an academic CV and a list of action keywords/ verbs.
Whether you are a recent graduate or a seasoned researcher, a well-crafted CV is essential to help you stand out and showcase your academic achievements.
Your CV is your marketing tool. Unlike a resume which presents your professional identity, your CV shows your scholarly identity.
The Anatomy of a CV
A CV is generally used when applying for academic, scientific, or certain government research positions.
As such, your CV should cover a broad range of topics, highlighting your academic engagements, publications, presentations, and honors and awards received.
Here is the full structure:
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As everything you need is ordered in sequence in the image above, I’ll not repeat it again here to save you time.
Over time, I have realized that a long CV is an important status symbol among academics.
10 Tips to Stand Out:
Make sure that the most “important” information is presented first
Your CV lists information; your cover letter contextualizes that information. So don’t repeat all the facts in your letter in your CV.
Publications are either ‘published’ or ‘forthcoming’ (i.e., accepted for publication), ‘accepted subject to major/minor revision,’ or ‘under consideration’ (i.e., submitted but not yet reviewed). Don’t mention papers in preparation.
Use numbers to describe the size and scale of your projects, budgets, and results in your experiences. This helps to convey the magnitude and impact of your work.
Descriptions of grants should include the funder, the dates of the funding period, the amount of funding awarded, and your precise role in the project.
Describe current positions in the present tense and past positions in the past tense
List relevant accomplishments and skills, NOT job duties and responsibilities
Use keywords from the job description to demonstrate your alignment with the job requirements. Use power action verbs (shared below).
Make sure there absolutely no grammar and format inconsistencies!
A photograph of you as part of your CV is unnecessary.
Asad Naveed
