This post is a synopsis of Professor Ahmed’s presentation on April 8, 2010.

Auto biographical performance of self

Academic Vitae:

  • Telling a story about yourself through academic credentials and some volunteer experience

Differences between a Resume and a CV

  • Resume: short, 1-2 pages, brief synop: educational, work, skills experience
  • CV: extended: 2 pages & beyond—LIFE time of publications, experience learned

When are CVs Appropriate?

  • scholarships
  • fellowship
  • applying to PhD
  • applying for research position

Information to include

  • Conact information
  • Education & Qualifications
  • Work Experience
  • Interests & Achievements
  • Skills
  • References

A good CV is…

  • Job specific
  • Carefully and clearly laid out: logically ordered and easy to read
  • Informative but concise
  • Accurate in content, spelling and grammar

    Presentation

  • Positivity (put yourself as over confident). Highlight strongest points
  • Honesty
  • General Expectations for “role” performance
  • Full Contact info
  • Educational Credentials (reverse chronological order)
    • At this level- good to put high school on—esp. if can highlight an award received later on

    • Advisor & Committee members names under Masters
  • Academic Appointments:
    • University jobs

    • Teaching assistant positions (date, job title, institution, brief description)
    • Research assistant positions (date, job title, institution, brief description)
  • Other professional appointments: brief descriptions that make a link to job applying for
  • Courses Taught: if TA, mention professors name and brief description of job
  • Research Interests: be really specific and have a direct relation to the job you are applying for
  • Scholarship/research & conference presentations (take advantage of opportunities),
  • works in progress/ manuscripts
  • Grants awarded
  • Awards & honors (And recognition– ex. example received top award for poster presentations). Competitions in high school
  • Service: Volunteer CGSA—service to academic community
  • Professional Memberships: Graduate Communication students, women for women international, check for free online ones—shows productive and dynamic, CCA
  • Other relevant experiences: worked for Tim Horton’s okay to list show interpersonal communication skills

    Final checklist

    Overall impressions

    • Free of typos
    • Good grammar (sentence construction)
    • Record of education, employment and other experience dates → dates are very important

    Format

    • Clear and easy to read
    • Attractive font; not too big or too small (nothing smaller then 11, Arial, times)
    • Effective use of margins (not below ½ in)
    • Relevant use of indents
    • Name & page number in the header
    • No Blank page
    • Consistent format & structure
    • Record of a city and province/state, and country (if applicable) for each school attended and employment position held
    • Chronological list of entries w each section

    Next Step

  • Never fold
  • Revise your CV using the suggestions offered

    End of Presentation Comments

    • if taken a program and not finished list it, list courses if you took a lot of courses, if lack something under research appointments: Ask Prof to do it even for volunteer—even if its just for research—cuz have completed a semester long
    • Grant experiences:
    • Service to profession:
    • Volunteer: editorial assistant—webmaster/
    • Implemented: peer mentoring in program.
    • Graduate Course Work’

    • Course & department & title of course
    • Proficient: Languages, FRENCH

      She concluded with some powerful words:

      You are smart. just need to present yourself.