CENTER FOR CAREER & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The Curriculum Vitae

Difference between a CV and a Resume faculty and student CVs are available for review in the Center
for Career and Professional Development (CCPD). CCPD also
“Curriculum vitae” (abbreviated “CV”) is a Latin phrase
reviews and critiques CVs by appointment. As with a resume,
translating roughly to “course of my life.” Conversationally it is
you may need different versions of your CV for different types
often called a “vita.” Confusion sometimes occurs around the
of positions. If you anticipate using your CV overseas, we
difference between a CV and a resume because sometimes
recommend you research each country’s accepted CV format,
there is no difference. In other countries a CV is the term used
which may be different than that commonly used in the US.
to mean what we typically think of as a resume. Even some
people in the US use the terms interchangeably.
Have your CV critiqued and allow yourself a number of drafts
before you produce a final copy for any given opportunity to
Usually, though, CVs and resumes in the US serve different
which you are applying. Your CV will grow with your
purposes and consequently have different content and format
experiences and as your career needs change and develop.
from one another. A curriculum vitae is typically used in
academic, scientific, or research settings; focuses on scholarly
pursuits; and is longer in length—as long as it needs to be, in Basic Structure of the CV
fact. Resumes are used for career fields outside academia as
Like a resume, a CV begins with your contact information. And
marketing documents that often get very quick reviews, so they
like resumes for students and recent graduates, education is
must summarize and format content in such a way that it can
your most important credential on the CV, so that category
be reviewed quickly—often in seconds. Also, the content of
appears at the beginning of the document.
resumes is designed to persuade readers that the job seeker
has the skills and experience necessary to do the job. CVs, on
the other hand, are a thorough documentation of all Thereafter, the structure of any CV includes some of the same
scholarship, research, and teaching pursuits. categories as a resume but also includes several new ones.

IDENTIFICATION
When to Use a CV  Name
 Applying for graduate school  Address
 Applying for fellowships and grants  Telephone number including area code
 Seeking an academic position  E-mail address
 International jobs/internships
 Seeking professional association leadership EDUCATION
 Publishing  Degrees (earned/in-progress, reverse chronological order)
 Departmental/tenure reviews  Professional studies
 Speaking engagements  Principal teachers
 Editorial review boards
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Preparing Your CV Focus on the experiences relevant to the opportunity you seek.
If you’re a current student or recent graduate, your CV and  Professional overview/background
resume will likely resemble each other quite a bit because you  Teaching experience/overview
don’t yet have a tremendous amount of experience. The main  Course highlights
differences will be moving your honors higher on the page,
 Areas of expertise
focusing on research or creative works as opposed to other
jobs and activities, and the addition of a publications/  Research experience/overview
presentations section.  Teaching/research assistantships
 Fieldwork
Faculty members are excellent resources for CV writing (they  Administrative experience
have all created their own after all). Examples of Southwestern

Center for Career & Professional Development Prothro Center, Ste. 140 512.863.1346 pirate2pro@southwestern.edu southwestern.edu/careers
HONORS  Consistency is important; stay with one style and font.
When applying for a scholarly honor in particular, you may  Do not print on both sides of a page.
want to list the Honors section immediately after Education,  Do not use script or gothic lettering, bright colors or
toward the beginning of the CV document. strange graphics.
 Fellowships/scholarships
 Academic awards CONTENT TIPS
 Special honors/awards/prizes  Omit references to marital status, children, health,
spouse’s work, and religious affiliation
PUBLICATIONS, PRESENTATIONS, INVENTIONS/PATENTS  Do NOT include as headings words such as “Personal
Include all, most recent first, in correct bibliographic format so Information,” “Name,” and “Address”
the reader can check details. Include author, title, publisher,  Omit negative words or information. Ensure that you use
place of publication/presentation, name of periodical/ correct spelling and grammar.
conference, volume, issue number, date, and page(s). Show  Update the information in your CV before sending. It is
both independent and collaborative work (if applicable). not necessary to include the date of preparation.
 Journal articles  Include content sections relevant to your field (e.g.
 Chapters in books computer proficiency, scientific instrumentation, etc.).
 Papers presented
 Works currently under submission LAYOUT TIPS
 Books papers  Sections go in order of importance to the reader.
 Monographs Remember we read from top to bottom and left to right,
 Reviews so the most important content should appear toward the
top of every page and front of every line.
 Exhibits/exhibitions
 Length varies. Include sufficient, well-written detail about
 Arrangement/scores
yourself to enable a good assessment of your
 Workshop and conference presentations qualifications for the position:
 Conference participation/leadership • Two to four pages for a young professional
• Four to seven pages for more experienced people
MEMBERSHIPS
• While there is no technical maximum, many experts
 Professional association memberships recommend not exceeding 10 pages.
 Memberships in scholarly societies  Gapping is common on a CV, as it is on resumes.
Gapping is the use of incomplete sentences. For example,
PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION instead of writing, "I taught composition for four years,
 Certificates during which time I planned classes and activities, graded
 Licensure papers, and constructed exams. I also met with students
regularly for conferences," you might write, "Composition
 Special training Instructor (2000-2004). Planned course activities. Graded
 Endorsements all assignments. Held regular conferences with students."
Cutting out unnecessary words allows your reader to see
FOREIGN STUDY quickly what you have been doing.
 Study Abroad  Parallelism is also very important to a strong CV. Keep
 Travel abroad the structure of your phrases and/or sentences consistent
throughout your document (i.e. if you use verb phrases in
 Languages
one portion of your CV to describe your duties, try to use
 Language competencies them throughout your CV). Particularly within entries,
make sure that the structure of your phrases is exactly
COMPUTER/TECHNICAL SKILLS parallel so that your reader can understand what you are
communicating easily.
REFERENCES  Bullets or not? One distinction between the work
description sections of resumes and CVs is that bullets are
Supply the name, address, phone number and email of three
very commonly used in resumes and tend to appear
(or more) individuals who can comment on your fit to the
somewhat less frequently in CVs. Whether or not you use
institution where you are applying. Choose your referees wisely
bullets to separate lines in your CV should depend on how
by including persons who know you and your work well. Be
the bullets will affect the appearance of your CV. If you
sure to ask their permission before submitting their names.
have a number of descriptive statements about your work
that all run to about the length of a line, bullets can be a
Tips for Producing an Attractive CV good way of separating them. If, however, you have a lot
of very short phrases, breaking them up into bulleted lists
can leave a lot of white space that could be used more
DESIGN TIPS efficiently. Remember that conciseness and ease of
 Be sure your name appears at the top of each page. readability should guide any decision you make.