A template for your curriculum vitae
The importance of keeping your CV up to date and easily findable
In academia and many science fields, we use a curriculum vitae instead of a resume. Where a resume hits on critical things and is limited to a page or maybe two, a curriculum vitae or CV should have everything and is often very, very, very long. I think the longest I’ve seen was over 100 pages. However, it is rare that we are ever taught the difference and what is important to include either in your full CV or in a shortened version. And, of course, that depends on what it is being used for. Keeping a CV up to date is also, at times, a monumental task. So I am advocating for all of us to take time every so often to update your CV - even if you are not actively looking for a job.
A CV is sort of an autobiography of your career. You have your education, past job experience, publications, talks, outreach, honors, everything. Trying to put this all together in a way that doesn’t put someone to sleep - but still impressive with its weight and length, and its a delicate balance to get that right. Trying to put everything in at a single point in time is an almost unfeasible feat. So updating it regularly is essential and an excellent way to remind yourself that you have accomplishments to be proud of!
But beyond saving yourself a headache - why should you do this when you are not looking for a job? Because people might want to nominate you for awards!
When I was on the SPA fellows committee, one of the worst things to see was when nomination packages from well-qualified individuals (often women and folks from marginalized groups) would have a very outdated job title, lack any recent results, papers, or awards, and then have the nomination letters reference and use this obsolete information, or worse, use conflicting information. Sometimes, this was the fault of the nominators, and sometimes, this could have been helped by the nominee having a more recent CV that was easily findable online. I was also surprised to see how many on the committee would go look for a person’s CV online to fact-check what was in the nomination package. And this, at times, had a tangible impact on the viability of the nomination!
Okay, perhaps I’ve convinced you to update your CV now, but you aren’t sure where to start. Well, I’m here to help! As a graduate student, another graduate student passed on a Latex CV template to me (Sorry I don’t have a word or Google Doc version). I took that and used it for many years.
I then worked with a career advisor at AGU who helped me take that template and add places where it could be more impactful (e.g. bolding my name throughout the document, adding key outcomes, using short action/outcome statements instead of verbose language). I used that updated version for many years.
Then I talked with people at NASA (the place I was applying for jobs) and got advice on how they like to see CVs… well they use USA Jobs, which is its beast, but also what the hiring individuals typically expect more generally (and you can always send in your CV to the hiring POC in addition to using any online form as well). At NASA, the group I was applying to liked more words, more explanations, and more detail than what the career advisor suggested. This has led to the current version of my CV and the template that I’m sharing here today.
A note before I share…
Every job is different. Every job ad is different. Every award is different. Every proposal asking for a CV is different (they often want only 1 or 2 pages). But here is a template that you can start with and then modify to your needs. It is not sacred, it can be changed, I will not be offended.
I’ve included a template for the full CV …
My template for a full CV : On overleaf
…and then one where I try to distill it down to a 1 or 2 pager.
My template for a 1 or 2 page CV: On overleaf
With the 1 or 2 pager I use “Sampling of papers” or “Selection of presentations” or something similar for headings to signify that there are more than what is shown. And depending on what it’s used for I comment out some sections, add others, add more papers or less papers, more leadership less managerial stuff - all depending on what skills and experience would be beneficial to show. So again; It is not sacred, it can be changed, I will not be offended.
I hope that you find this helpful, and I hope that you pass it on, and share if you have ideas of how to improve or modify for different types of job ads. I’ve been so thankful that it was given to me so I hope that you find it useful and easy to modify to your needs too.