Dialogue is essential to the research community, not just among academics but also between researchers and professionals who can help them prosper. This week, resident blogger Ebba Strutzenbladh speaks to Julia Leng, an experienced careers and employability advisor, about academic CVs. Topics include the most common mistakes that Julia sees PhD students make on their CVs, how creative to be with layout and graphics, and the eternal question: ‘how long should my CV be’?

ES: What is the most important difference between an academic CV and an industry CV? And reversely, what do these two kinds of CVs have in common?

JL: Before I get into the answer I might clarify that, although you can categorise CVs by how they’re written (their ‘type’), I recommend instead differentiating CVs by what they’re used for. As a PhD researcher you might have many versions of your CV depending on the different kinds of roles you’re applying to. Your academic experience will be most relevant for roles in academia but you will have lots of transferable skills and experience that could suit a range of jobs. The purpose of all types of CV remains the same, too. Rather than a record of everything you’ve ever done, your CV is a marketing document that should be tailored specifically for each job you apply to.

An academic CV would be defined as a CV you use to apply for academic jobs. It’s longer than other kinds of CVs to accommodate for details of research experience, publications and perhaps an appendix. When applying for jobs in academia you should also add any awards or grant funding you’ve received, including details of the amount and funding body. Those are the main differences but the structure and layout is the same for most CVs. The key points are listing your experience in reverse chronological order, separating your experience into different sections and including contact details at the top.

ES: Picking up on you point about CV length: I was told at some point that for most (non-academic) job applications, your CV shouldn’t ever be longer than 3 pages regardless of how much relevant experience you have, as the employer will expect you to be economical with how you use the space available. I’ve found this rule to be quite helpful through the years, and am wondering if something similar exists in academia? And could there be different expectations on PGR students compared to more established academics?

JL: CV length is a complicated topic, and there’s no rules as such so I wouldn’t want to put a number on it. Three pages should be plenty of space to talk about your experience and you can always group experience if you have multiple instances, for example things like teaching could come under one heading and many of your responsibilities will have been the same across difference courses.

When considering an appropriate length for your CV, put yourself in the employer’s position. Open your CV and imagine you’re looking at it with completely fresh eyes. What are you drawn to? What do you want to read and what do you find yourself glancing over? It can be hard for PGRs as you spend so long working on your topics, so ask a friend, family member or careers adviser to read through if you’re struggling to work out what’s most important.

A top tip for maximising space is to play around with the layouts. You don’t want wall to wall text, but altering your margins or spacing can be a subtle way to get more information in, without it looking too crowded. Things like listing horizontally (rather than vertically) and decreasing bullet point indentation can be a great way to free up extra space. I talk a bit in this blog about the purpose of a CV, which is specifically to get you an interview. For this reason, remember that you can save some information for the next stage of the application, you’re not expected to put it all out there on paper.

ES: What is the single most common mistake that PhD researchers tend to make on their academic CVs?

JL: I can’t stress enough the importance of tailoring a CV, so using the same CV to apply for multiple jobs would be the number one mistake. You can’t change everything on a CV every time, of course, but different jobs will require different skills and there will be aspects of your experience that are more relevant than others, depending on the role. Employers will also want you to have certain skills for specific jobs, and these are likely to change. Overall, I think the biggest mistake that PhD researchers make is not talking about the transferrable skills they’ve developed whilst at university.

Similarly, I see some PhD researchers use their academic CVs to apply for non-academic jobs. It’s important that you only include the most relevant information for jobs and be extra careful if you’re applying for a job in a university that isn’t a research or lecturing position. In this instance, you need to make sure your true motivations come through, otherwise the employer might assume you want to move into a lecture position and not commit to the job on offer.

It goes without saying that correct spelling and grammar is crucial on a CV. Factoring in time to proofread is a must and this also extends to consistency in things like full stops, bullet points and indentations for paragraphs. I’ve even seen CVs with different fonts scattered throughout!

ES: In the creative sector, there is sometimes scope to include more creative elements on one’s CV than would be suitable on a traditional CV (I’m thinking images, an unusual layout, etc.). In some ways, academia is a creative sector, but I can’t imagine making an academic CV that includes any creative elements. Do you think there are ways to make one’s academic CV more creative, or is my instinct correct that the best thing is to stick to a traditional format?

JL: We would always advise sticking to a traditional format as it ensures your content is accessible and not overshadowed or curtailed by decoration or design. It’s substance over style every day. The best way to stand out is through detailing your work and experience and making it interesting to the reader. The term clickbait has very negative connotations, but I recommend thinking of your cover letter as the clickbait that gets the employer to read your CV and your CV as the clickbait that gets you invited to an interview. The trick is to give just enough detail that the reader is hungry for more, without bogging them down in a full abstract or leaving things off (or lying, of course). It’s easier said than done, which is why I recommend getting ahead of the game and putting a CV together long before you need to apply for anything.  

In terms of standing out, take time to consider your USP (unique selling point). As a PhD researcher, you have an advantage as the expert on your chosen subject, but what else can you offer the organisation you’re applying to? Be it skills, experience, opinions, understanding, values or something else, work out what will make you stand out and take time to articulate it on paper.

If you are very creative and see that as a USP and/or the job has a creative element to it, you could experiment with a ‘creative’ CV but remember you don’t want the content getting lost in the art. Some creative jobs will ask for portfolios or you can choose to send a few samples of your work in an appendix if you want the employer to see it. If you have an online portfolio I recommend including a link to it on your CV. The same goes if you publish written work (not academic), for example if you contribute to a student newspaper or write an online blog.

On the topic of images I might add that, in the UK, you should not include a headshot of yourself on your CV.

ES: The academic CVs that I’ve seen tend to be much longer than the average CV. Is it still best practice to include all publications and conference papers (assuming that the list is long), or is there a point to shrinking the list to make the most relevant successes stand out?

JL: We recommend putting publications and conference papers on your CV, absolutely. It depends how many you have and what you’re applying to (for example, if you’re not applying to a job in academia you might want to leave publications out, depending on whether they’re relevant). Depending on how long the list is, you could include them all in an appendix and make reference to this list under a sub-heading on the CV. These days LinkedIn is also a hugely important place for talking about your work, so you could direct the reader to your profile, either on the social media site or another website like ResearchGate, if appropriate. Some PhD researchers have profiles on their university’s website, which would also be worth including (as long as it’s up to date).

ES: According to you, what are the best online resources available to PhD researchers to help them with their academic CVs?

JL: The University of Aberdeen has a sample CV on our website which gives examples of everything I’ve talked about (and more), and most HEIs will have a careers service offering similar resources. The website vitae.ac.uk has lots of advice on creating an effective academic CV, they also have a list of CV examples. jobs.ac.uk is a website dedicated to academic jobs with careers advice available, too.