Creating your curriculum vitae can be daunting, especially if you have never made one before. As requested, I have decided to make it a little easier and walk you through making your very own CV!
Before we begin, I wanted to explain the difference between a resume and a CV. A resume is a quick summary of your work experiences, it shouldn’t be longer than a page and highlights your strengths related to what you’re applying for. On the other hand, a CV is far more in-depth, for it covers your education, work experiences, and awards/honors in chronological order; therefore, it will be much longer than a resume.
Here are some of my personal tips on creating a successful CV:
- Don’t use the word “I” when describing what you did. Since your name is already front and center, they already know who you are.
- Wrong: I worked with Dr. Bob to collect data on participants during a check-up
- Right: Collected data on participants during a check-up (I took out Dr. Bob because you should have already mentioned the individuals you worked with)
- Maintain the same tense throughout your CV to describe your roles and responsibilities- don’t use past tense and then switch to present!
- Only include items that will help the reader understand who you are. Avoid making it too wordy because the reader will know when you’re making things up.
- Avoid adding items far in the past that aren’t prevalent to what you’re applying for.
- If you’re applying to Med School, what you did in high school doesn’t matter
- If you’re applying to residency, what you did in college doesn’t matter (unless you were published).
- Keep it simple and concise. Make sure to check for grammatical errors, for they can take away from your CV.
- Keep the font professional and constant throughout! Times, Arial, Calibri and Georgia are personally the best ones.
- Before sending your CV over technology, be sure to save it as a PDF and double check the format.
I personally have always stuck to a CV just because it covers everything I have accomplished. When applying to research or a job, I usually just add in a small sentence above my education highlighting why I’m qualified for the position. Some people opt to add their hobbies on their CV. This is optional, but I recommend doing it only if you feel you need more content.
I have attached a copy of the template I made for my own CV, feel free to use it or refer to when making your own. Again, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me or comment below! I wish you all success in your future endeavors!
Much love,
Preety 🙂
