Depending on the type of job, you will need to create a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or a resume. Both documents put your qualifications in writing, but they are used for different audiences and use a different format.
When to Use a Resume
In the United States, most employers use resumes, which are one- or two-page summaries of your experience, education, and skills. Employers rarely spend more than a few minutes reviewing a resume and successful resumes are concise with enough white space on the page to make it easy to scan. Many successful job hunters use different resumes tailored to different jobs.
When to Use a Curriculum Vitae (CV)
A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a longer synopsis detailing your educational and academic background as well as teaching and research experience, publications, awards, presentations, honors, and additional details. CVs are used when applying for academic, scientific, or research positions. International employers often use CVs as well. The best resource to learn the discipline-specific norms for CVs is your mentor or other faculty in your or related fields.
Transforming Your CV into a Resume
Postdocs applying for academic and non-academic positions will want to have both a resume and a CV. Sending the appropriate document (CV or resume) tells employers that you can distinguish the differences between the academic and non-academic environments and that you can adapt your skills to either environment. Most employers in industry prefer a resume. When rearranging your CV to make it a resume:
- Do not exceed two pages.
- Re-evaluate your experience. Think creatively about how your academic experience can be translated into the necessary skills for a non-academic environment. Consider skills of project management, leadership, teamwork, effective communication, and meeting deadlines. (See Explore Career Options.) For example, instead of listing your publications, summarize your significant advances, any techniques or technologies you developed, and your role in the projects: led a team, managed a collaboration, coordinated a publication with many authors across multiple institutions, mentored a student, etc.
- Choose action verbs to describe your experience.
- Put your strengths first. List your professional experience or your degree first, depending on which is most important for a specific position.
- Include a well-written job objective; state the type of position and work setting you are seeking, skills or abilities you possess, and long-term goals. Be sure that your resume supports your job objective.
- Emphasize skills and accomplishments.
- Have someone proofread it.
- Format the resume for AI resume screeners: use a single column with no tables or side bars, use the exact key words from the job listing.