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| Master's student Stephen Petersen and PhD candidate in oceanography Yuehua Lin discuss their C.V.s with workshop leader Sunny Marche.聽(Nick Pearce Photo) |
You鈥檝e done your course work. You鈥檝e completed your research, written your thesis and defended it. Now what?
It鈥檚 time to get together that all important curriculum vitae.
For those of us who don鈥檛 know Latin, a curriculum vitae is basically 鈥渢he story of your life,鈥� informs Sunny Marche, Associate Dean of Graduate Studies. He聽recently presented the session, Building a More Effective Curriculum Vitae, to a roomful of graduate students.
Also called a CV, a curriculum vitae is more detailed than a resume, which is usually kept to one or two pages.
鈥淎 CV is a sales document,鈥� says Dr. Marche, whose own CV runs to eight pages and can be tailored depending on what audience it is being used for. 鈥淎nd the product you are selling is you.鈥�
Dr. Marche has some definite ideas on what a CV should contain鈥攁nd what it shouldn鈥檛. Namely, don鈥檛 include your photograph, your height, weight, age and any wacky hobbies, unless they鈥檙e relevant to the position you鈥檙e applying for. 鈥淵ou want to avoid anything that might result in a quick no,鈥� he says.
Things to include are: contact information, educational details (without going back too far), a summary of relevant employment history, funding sources, awards, publications and works in progress, papers/presentations/panels, teaching experience, and professional and academic associations.
References should be made available only on request.
His advice extends to what kind of fonts to use: a clean, sans serif font for headings鈥斺�渢hey hold the eye longer鈥� 鈥攁nd a serif font for the text. He also recommended forgoing fancy paper stock and instead using a high-quality white paper that can be easily photocopied.
The most important thing about preparing your C.V. is to check and double-check that the grammar is correct and everything is spelled right. Having a potential employer find a typo is a sure-fire way to have your C.V. tossed on the reject pile, says Dr. Marche.
鈥淧roofread it. Typos mean that there鈥檚 been a lack of attention to detail,鈥� he stresses. 鈥淎nd get a second pair of eyes to read it over too.鈥�
That鈥檚 ditto for your covering letter.
Once your C.V. is prepared, its key to keep it updated. Add papers you鈥檝e had published and conferences you鈥檝e presented at so that it鈥檚 up-to-date and ready to go.
After spending six years on his interdisciplinary PhD, Al Joseph says a refresher on how to write a C.V. is just what he needed.
鈥淚鈥檝e been at this for so long that sometimes what you need is some straight-ahead, practical advice,鈥� says Mr. Joseph, whose area of expertise is renewable energy. While looking for a job is 鈥渁 source of anxiety,鈥� he adds, 鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to it at the same time.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 usually pretty polite in saying what my strengths are,鈥� says Vaneeta Kaur Grover, who is heading to Edmonton to join her fianc茅 with her PhD in statistics in tow. 鈥淲hat I heard from Dr. Marche is that this is no time to be shy. You鈥檝e got to get out there and present yourself.鈥�