How to Write the Perfect Academic CV transcript

Hi! Corissa from Resume Genius here. Are you considering a position in academia, applying for graduate school, or submitting an academic grant application? If so, this video is for you. I’ll go over everything you need to know to write a stand-out academic CV. Also, watch until the end for a free CV template that’ll take your application to the next level. Before we go into detail, let’s start with the basics. What is a CV?

And how is it different from a resume? In North America, a CV is an application document that covers a candidate’s complete educational and professional history. It’s typically used by professors, graduate students, and scientists, which is why it’s also referred to as an academic CV. Because it’s supposed to offer a complete overview of your background, there’s no limit to an academic CV’s length. Some are dozens of pages long!

In most European countries however, including the UK, the terms “CV” and “resume” are used interchangeably, and don’t refer to academic CVs. So if you send a European employer a 20-page non-academic CV, they probably won’t hire you. Now, let’s talk about what you should include on an academic CV: When you choose your academic CV template, stick to a simple, clean design with a header that clearly highlights your name.

Even though you might want to be known as the “cool professor” among students on campus, employers don’t want to see flashy graphics on your CV. Save those for your PowerPoint presentations. If you’re an undergraduate student or recent graduate and don’t have a lot of experience yet, add a personal profile at the top of your CV. The point of a personal profile is to give the person reading your CV an idea of who you are, what you have accomplished academically, and what your goals are.

Here’s a solid example written by an MBA graduate: And now for one of the most important parts of your academic CV: your academic history. If you already have a long career in academia behind you, mentioning which institution you attended, what degree you earned, and your date of graduation is enough. If you’re an entry-level academic, you can also add your GPA or list relevant coursework to make your CV a little more impressive.

After your education, you should list any professional appointments. Oh and I should clarify, by professional appointments I mean academic employment, not your part-time job at the local burger joint. But don’t worry if you don’t have anything to list here yet, if you’re a recent graduate you can just skip this section. Next comes your teaching experience section. Here, you should include any TA or adjunct positions you’ve held, as well as any courses you’ve taught.

Make sure to add them in reverse-chronological order. If you have a lot of teaching experience, limit this section to positions and courses that are relevant to the job you want. Also, there’s no need to go into detail about your duties as a TA. Only do so if your institution required you to design and teach the course yourself. If you’re currently in college or you just graduated, describing your research experience can help strengthen your academic CV.

Besides including dates, name of the position, and the institution where the research was conducted, write a few bullet points under each entry. These bullet points should briefly describe the duties of the role. You can also mention what methodologies were used to conduct the research. Has your research been published in a peer-reviewed journal, book, or web-based publication? Publications add weight to your CV and help present you as a respected authority in your field.

This can greatly improve your chances of landing the position you want, as many employers care even more about the research you’ve published than the institutions you’ve attended. If an article or book you wrote is currently in the process of being published, you can still include it on your CV. Just remember to replace the year published with “In progress”. When it comes to citing your publications, make sure to use the citation format preferred by your target institution.

Here’s an example of how to list publications on an academic CV, and make sure to follow a major style guide like AMA or MLA. What sections you include on your academic CV depends on your background and how much experience you have in your field. Just because your work hasn’t been published yet or you don't have much teaching experience doesn’t mean you can’t create a strong application. If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your academic CV, here are some other examples of sections you can add: Grants & fellowships, Awards & honors, Invited talks, Conferences, References, and Skills.

Just keep in mind that everything on your CV should be relevant to the position you’re applying for. And now, here’s that academic CV template I promised earlier. We’ve made things easy for you so not only is it free to use, you can also open it in Google Docs or download it as a Word document. That’s it for this video! If you’re looking for more information on how to make a convincing CV, check out our video on action verbs.

It’ll teach you how to write attention-grabbing bullet points that’ll boost your application. Best of luck from the Resume Genius and we’ll see you next time!