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| Writing a Curriculum Vitae |
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| What is a Curriculum Vitae (CV)? |
| Curriculum Vitae loosely means "course of life." Think of a CV as a very detailed resume. Your CV will serve as a summary of all of your educational and professional achievements. While the average resume is 1-2 pages, a CV is typically 2-4 pages (and much longer for people with more experience in their field). When referring to your CV, always use the plural "curriculum vitae" unless you are using the shortened form--then you can simply write "vita." |
| Who needs a CV? |
| Anyone who plans to pursue a career in academia will need a CV. If you are applying for teaching, research, or even an administrative position at a higher education institution, you will need a CV. Higher positions in other educational environments may also ask for a CV (such as a high school administrator), as will some business positions. |
| The Components of a CV |
Some of these sections are also detailed on the resume page. |
| Basic Applicant Information |
For this section, you will include your name, address, phone number(s), email address, and website address (if applicable). Do not include your age, sex, marital status, race, ethnic background, or religion. It is illegal for an employer to ask you for this information and it is inappropriate for you to include it. |
| Objective (Professional, Vocational, or Research) |
| Include a brief statement that lays out an appropriate career goal. (This section is sometimes optional.) |
| Education |
| List all of your degrees from college in reverse chronological order. If you are a recent college graduate and had some specific extraordinary experience in your last two years of high school, you may add this as well. But remember that you do not want to waste your reader's time by including irrelevant details. List the awarding institution and the date the degree was awarded. If you have not graduated yet, include the expected graduation date. You should also include your thesis or dissertation topic and your advisor's name. |
| Academic and Professional Interests |
| Summarize your academic and professional interests. Explain any areas of expertise. |
| Employment |
| List current employment first and continue in reverse chronological order. Include company/organization names and locations and dates of employment. Highlight the most important tasks and experiences from each job. |
| Professional Affiliations |
| List all professional affiliations; include the date you joined each. |
| Awards, Scholarships, Fellowships, Prizes, and Grants |
| List all relevant items by complete name. |
| Publications, Presentations, Inventions/Patents |
| If this section is large, you may want to use subheadings (such as Journal Articles, Conference Presentations, etc.) List the important information for each entry -- this should include the organization/journal, date, titles of presentations and papers, |
| Service |
| Include any service activities. Name the organization, dates, and activities related to the service experience. |
| Hobbies, Interests, Leisure, Activities, Travel |
| Explain some of your interests or experiences that may set you apart from others, but keep this section fairly limited. |
| Skills (Technical, Languages, etc.) |
| In this section, you can list all of your technical proficiencies. Depending on your field, you may have an extensive list of software programs in which you are proficient. Include languages in this section, unless being bilingual is a requirement of the job. In that case, you may want to include languages under personal information at the top of the CV. |
| References |
| Include a list of three or four references, along with titles and full contact information. See the UWC handout for references. |
| Electronic and Scannable CVs |
| See our section on e-resumes for e-CV ideas. |
| CV and Resume Resources |
Cover Letters for CVs and Resumes
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