Home » Resume Writing Format » Curriculum Vitae vs. Resume
How to write an interesting and dynamic curriculum vitae?
Don't bury your most prized achievement in the middle or at the end of your CV. Place it on the front page, if possible, so that it'll be seen right away by a potential employer.
Job-Hunt Hint
Combine two similar sections if you have only one or two items to list in each one. Then create a section heading to reflect your combination, such as Education and Training, Honors and Awards, or Exhibitions and Presentations.
Hanging Out Your Laundry
Following are headings of laundry-list sections commonly found on CVs:
- Education
- Publications
- Presentations
- Committees and Appointments
- Affiliations
The following sections cover what should be listed under each of these headings. If a head- ing isn't applicable to you, disregard it.
Good Schooling
The Education section almost always appears near the top of the first page. It should provide information about each degree you have acquired:
- Your major
- The date you received your degree
- The institution where you received it
- The city and state of the institution
- Titles of your thesis and dissertation
You might also list course titles if they demonstrate relevant knowledge and aren't obvious from the major you declared. You can place internships under the Education heading, in a section of their own (called Internships), or under Experience, depending on which strategy makes the most sense for your situation.
Are You Published?
You need a Publications section if you've authored or coauthored material such as articles, books, or chapters in books. When listing publications, mention
- the author (that's you!) or coauthors (you and your colleague).
- the title of your article or chapter (if one of these applies).
- the title of your book or the publication in which your article or chapter appeared.
- the date of publication.
- the publisher.
- the ISBN (if it applies).
This information appears in sentence format (as shown in the book section of Appendix C, "Other Cool Resources") with commas placed between each element. There are a few standards for order in which you place the elements within the sentences, so check a style manual such as The Chicago Manual of Style or The Gregg Reference Manual to find one that's right for you.
Be sure to list your published work properly; some employers will want to see that you know how to follow strict guidlines for academic writing.
Putting on a Show
You may have presented papers at conferences. If so, you could have a section called Presentations, Lectures, Symposia, Conferences, or Seminars. In this section, state the following information:
- Titles of papers you presented
- Names of conferences
- Locations
- Dates
It is a good idea to elaborate on other roles you played at the conferences (such as serving on panels) if doing so will add to your qualifications.