Quintessential Careers:
Preparing a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.
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Vitas and resumes both have similar purposes -– as marketing documents that provide key information about your skills, experiences, education, and personal qualities that show you as the ideal candidate. Where a resume and a curriculum vitae differ is their use, format, and length. This article will help with your writing and preparing your vita.
A curriculum vitae -– often called a CV or vita -- tends to be used more for scientific and teaching positions than a resume. Thus, vitas tend to provide great detail about academic and research experiences. Where resumes tend toward brevity, vitas lean toward completeness.
Unlike resumes, there is no set format to vitas. While this article will provide a few links to free samples vitas, it is best to also discuss any special formatting your field requires with a mentor or trusted member of your network. There are also a few books that provide much more depth on the subject -- and they can be found at the end of this article.
While vitas do not have the one-page rule of resumes, you need to walk the line between providing a good quality of depth to showcase your qualifications and attract potential employer interest and providing too much information thus appearing verbose and turning off potential employer interest.
Ready to Begin Preparing Your CV?
Typical vita categories or headings may include some or all of the following:
- Personal/Contact Information
- Academic Background
- Professional Licenses/Certifications
- Academic/Teaching Experience
- Technical and Specialized Skills
- Related/Other Experience
- Professional/Academic Honors and Awards
- Professional Development
- Research/Scholarly Activities
- Grants
- Service
- Academic/Research Interests
- Affiliations/Memberships
- Foreign Language Abilities/Skills
- Consulting
- Volunteer Work
- References
-
--name
--address
--phone number(s)
-
--postgraduate work
--graduate work/degree(s), major/minors, thesis/dissertation titles, honors
--undergraduate degree(s), majors/minors, honors
-
--courses taught, courses introduced
--innovation in teaching
--teaching evaluations
-
--other work experience
-
--conferences/workshops attended, other activities
-
--journal articles
--conference proceedings
--books
--chapters in books
--magazine articles
--papers presented/workshops
--ezine articles
--work currently under submission
--work in progress
-
--academic
--professional
--community
Other CV-Related Resources That can Help:
Helpful books about vitas:
Developing a Professional Vita or Resume, by
Carl McDaniels and Mary Anne Knobloch (Ferguson Publishing).
The Global Resume and CV Guide, by Mary Anne Thompson (Wiley).
How to Prepare Your Curriculum Vitae, by
Acy L. Jackson and C. Kathleen Geckeis (McGraw-Hill).
Other articles/Websites about vitas:
- Curriculum
Vitae -- from Colorado College's Career Center.
- Curriculum Vitae Resume Writing Tips -- from
#1 Resume Writing Services & Resume Tips Resource Center.
- Writing Your Vita -- from the Psychology Department at Hanover College.
You can find more information about resumes by visiting Quintessential Careers: Resume and CV Resources for Job-Seekers.
CV and Vita Samples for Job-Seekers:
Interested in seeing some excellent sample vitas? Then follow this link to some free Sample Web Vitas for Job-Seekers.
Our sister site, Quintessential CVs, also has a few professional-quality CVs. Go to: Professional Resume and CV Samples.
Questions about some of the terminology used in this article? Get more information (definitions and links) on key college, career, and job-search terms by going to our Job-Seeker's Glossary of Job-Hunting Terms.
Dr. Randall S. Hansen is founder of Quintessential Careers,
one of the oldest and most comprehensive career development sites on the Web, as well CEO of
EmpoweringSites.com. He is also founder of
MyCollegeSuccessStory.com and
EnhanceMyVocabulary.com. He is publisher of
Quintessential Careers Press,
including the Quintessential Careers electronic newsletter,
QuintZine. Dr. Hansen is also a
published author, with several books, chapters in books, and hundreds of articles. He's often
quoted in the media and conducts empowering workshops around the country. Finally, Dr. Hansen is
also an educator, having taught at the college level for more than 15 years. Visit his
personal Website or
reach him by email at randall(at)quintcareers.com.
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