To CV or not to CV

If you’ve ever applied for a job requiring more skill than fast food, you know that you need to submit a resume. A resume is a document that essentially defines your work experience, and lets a prospective employer know what you’re bringing to the table. In academia, we have resumes, too, but they’re called curricula vitae (or CV). When applying to graduate school, it’s important to have a CV written out, not only to submit with your applications, but to help with writing your personal statements and give your letter of recommendation writers a good sense of what you’ve been up to.

CVs can be formatted differently, but all should contain at least the following sections:

Education

This section is a listing of the education you’ve received, and the schools from which you’ve received it. If you haven’t yet graduated, write “expected graduation” before the year you expect to graduate. If you have more than one major, you can list these. I decided to stick with only psychology even though I was a double major (with political science), but the decision is a personal one.



An example:

B.A., Psychology, Concordia University Chicago, River Forest, IL, 2007

Experience

This section should include any type of experience related to the field of graduate study you’re applying for. It can include both work and academic experiences. If you had a job as a research assistant in a private firm, that can go here, along with a class you were a teaching assistant for. For each entry, first list your job title and the year. On the next line, write the venue (school or company name). The last line should be a brief explanation of your job duties, or the classes you were a TA for.

Examples:

Teaching Assistant, 2010
Concordia University Chicago
Course: Human Sexuality

Intern, 2006
District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General, Domestic Violence Section
Assisted with attorneys’ research and helped record intake center statistics.

Presentations/Publications

These sections are where you brag about what research you’ve put out into the world. If you’ve done a presentation at a conference, no matter how small or informal, include it. This applies for both poster and oral presentations. Presentations for class do not count, but if you lead a class, that could be considered a “guest lecture.” For publications, the best entries would be papers that have been published in peer-edited journals, but you can include other things, too. For example, writing on an peer-edited psychology blog could be a publication (hint, hint). If you are working on something for publication, it is considered to be “under preparation;” if you’ve already submitted something, it is considered “under review.” All entries in this section should follow APA format.

Examples:

Presentations
Klement, Kathryn (2010). The impact of religiosity on attitudes toward female premarital sexual behavior. Research proposal presented at Women’s and Gender Studies Conference at Dominican University.

Publications
Manuscripts Under Preparation:
Klement, K. (2010). The impact of religiosity on attitudes toward premarital female sexual behavior.

Skills and Qualifications

This section is where you toss in extra things that are pertinent to grad school, don’t have a home in other sections. For example, if you’re a whiz at designing websites or writing codes, include that (unless you’re applying to a technology-based program; in that case, those skills would be assumed). You can include proficiency in computer applications, such as Access, or SPSS. If you are bilingual, or have a good grasp at another language beyond English, you should mention it here, too.

An example:

Proficient with Microsoft Office and SPSS

Other Sections

You can have other sections in your CV, too, like Awards and Honors, Professional Memberships and Interests. It depends on how you want to present yourself and what information you want people to know about you in a limited amount of time. Usually, CVs are no more than 2 pages long. The exception is if you’ve been in the field for a long time and have built up an impressive array of presentations, publications and teaching experience.

There are many places online to help with writing CVs. Ultimately, you should decide for yourself what should be included. Here are a few helpful links:

Online Writing Lab

University of Exeter CV Examples