TiPPS for Writing and Tailoring Your Curriculum Vitae
The Latin phrase "curriculum vitae" literally means "course of one's life," and as such, your curriculum vitae (CV) is a document that provides readers with a look at your professional history. A CV is typically longer than a resume and focuses on you as a professional in a certain field, so it allows you a greater opportunity to elaborate on your experiences.
While you cannot change your past, you certainly can alter how you present it. Wherever possible, your CV should be tailored to highlight those aspects of your professional qualifications that the employer is seeking.
Links & Resources for Job and Information Searches at a glance
TiPPS Handouts on curriculum vitae
Books that talk about CVs
Websites with guidelines for writing CVs
Sample CVs
TiPPS Handouts on Curriculum Vitae
TiPPS for Writing and Tailoring Your Curriculum Vitae (PDF file)
TiPPS Job Template (for keeping records of your various employment experiences) (MS Word file)
(You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF documents. Click here to download it for free)
Formo, D.M. & Reed, C. (1999). Job search in academe: Strategic rhetorics for faculty job candidates. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, Inc.
Heiberger, M.M. & Vick, J.M. (2001). The Academic Job Search Handbook. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.
WEBSITES WITH GUIDELINES FOR WRITING CVs
Carnegie-Melon University Career Center's "Career Brief" on academic job searches. http://www.studentaffairs.cmu.edu/career/CareerBriefs/academic.doc
While this document is designed as a guide for job searches for PhD candidates, its section on CVs reinforces many of the things TiPPS suggests, and has a few additional relevant ideas. It's worth a quick read to see if it gives you additional ideas or a slightly different take on the subject.
The CV Doctor Returns, from The Chronicle of Higher Education's Career Network. http://chronicle.com/jobs/2002/10/2002101101c.htm
An excellent way to present five CVs, using annotations to give feedback. The feedback comes from Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick, authors of "The Academic Job Search Handbook" (one of the books mentioned above).
How Much Should You Reveal on Your CV?, from The Chronicle of Higher Education's Career Network. http://chronicle.com/jobs/2002/02/2002022201c.htm
Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick, authors of "The Academic Job Search Handbook," discuss whether aspects of one's philosophy and one's stance on activism belong in CVs, statements of teaching philosophy, in cover letters, or elsewhere in an application packet.
About.com's links about CVs. http://gradschool.about.com/od/curriculumvita/
An annotated list of links related to CVs, some more comprehensive than others.
Gary Will's "Putting a spin on work experience" http://www.garywill.com/worksearch/workexp.htm and "Claims & Credibility -- the Essence of Selling" http://www.garywill.com/worksearch/claimcre.htm
Gary Will is very clear about the importance of looking at the employer's needs and making sure you present yourself in a way that will show that you fit those needs. These two articles are excellent explanations of how a resume (and a CV, as well) can serve that purpose.
University of Michigan's Career Planning and Placement Office's Career Guide on CVs http://www.cpp.umich.edu/students/findingjob/resume/wyr2000.html
A thorough explanation of the importance of a CV and lots of ideas for how to prepare your own, as well as a few samples.