How to Do a CV

A curriculum vitae, or CV, has been used traditionally in pursuit of positions in academia. Today they remain the mainstay of persons holding master's degrees or higher, but they also may be used across a wide variety of professions, from teaching to medicine to athletics. CVs are also used to apply for grants and fellowships.

Los Alamos National Laboratory, the premier national security science laboratory, describes the CV as "a comprehensive, formal, professional summary of your educational and academic background, employment, accomplishments, and activities." Your CV, along with your cover letter, makes the first impression that hopefully will lead lead to an interview.

Instructions

1

Prepare your CV input. "A good preliminary step before writing a CV is to review and list your entire educational and professional history," advises the Graduate College Career Services Office at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Focus on results, not job responsibilities. In your CV, you want to outline the breadth and depth of your experience in a concise manner.

2

Research your audience. Who will read your CV? Do some research to determine as much as possible about who will read your CV within the organization to which you are applying. Also, learn as much as you can about the position you are applying for and the work environment. The more you know, the better you'll be able to convey your experiences and accomplishments in a way that shows you are suited for the role.

3

Find sample CVs for the industry. An online search for sample CVs will turn up any number of sites with examples. For academia, check examples on university career office sites. If possible, find ones specific to the field you seek to enter.

Also, check with the organization to which you are applying to determine their preferred format. The order in which information is organized may be slightly different than what your sample CVs suggest, and the organization may have preferences with regard to things like font sizes, italics and page margins.

4

Draft your CV. Write your first draft using the outline of your experience and accomplishments, your research and the CV examples you found. Common sections to include are Contact Information; Education; Professional Experience; Presentations; Publications; Awards, Honors, Fellowships and Grants; Professional and Community Affiliations and References. Other sections may be added--and the sections listed here may be retitled or deleted--as appropriate for your field of interest.

5

Review your draft, refine it and get feedback. Once your CV is finalized, print it out to see what it will look like in hardcopy, even if you will be sending it electronically. You likely will utilize your CV for more than one position.

Once you're satisfied, develop a "scan-friendly" version of your CV search using industry-jargon keywords found in job ads to highlight skills and abilities for which you are applying. These will be picked up by the scanning software to identify you as a possible candidate worth a closer look.