Your Academic CV
By Jay Willink Wilde
There is a craft to producing a good CV. And an exacting one to producing a good academic CV. I say this for a couple of reasons. Firstly, an application for any academic role will require you to produce several documents outlining your academic and teaching competence. And, secondly, because every vacancy will attract a large number of candidates. So you will need to put the same level of care into your CV and accompanying documents as you would any of your other research publications. Hopefully his will not only reward you in your job search, but can also assist you to plan and build your academic career for the future.
In the first of our researchers’ masterclasses in Bedford Square, I worked with a group of technē students on the nuts and bolts of academic applications. The participants had a number of key questions:
I’ve had a number of rejections for interview, or haven’t heard back. What could I doing wrong?
Experience tells me that either you didn’t tailor your documents sufficiently well, you hoped for the best with your presentation, or you didn’t sufficiently meet the recruitment criteria. Follow this 3-step process:
1)
2)
2a) (OK, not quite 3 steps). Pause here and take a reality check. If there is little correlation between 1) and 2) i.e. the requirements and your evidence, you are unlikely to be successful for this job and I suggest you don’t spend more time or emotional energy on this application. If you’re sceptical about this, book a one-to-one appointment with one of us careers consultants, or show your PhD supervisor for a second opinion.
3)
As well as your CV, you may be asked to provide a research statement or proposal, a teaching statement and a cover letter or personal statement. Take some time roughing out which of your ‘evidence’ fits into which document and make sure that, across the whole application, you have covered all the requirements on your checklist. Tick them off one by one.
I feel confident with the application system in my home country. But how do I tailor my CV for the UK academic job market?
This is the ideal time to find an academic mentor in your department/field. The best person would be someone who has just successfully been through a ‘tenure track’ application process themselves. Or someone who regularly serves on academic selection panels. They know the ‘form’ for your discipline and field in the UK and their advice is priceless. Take them out for the best coffee you can find.
Also have a look at the excellent resources and sample CVs at vitae.ac.uk and jobs.ac.uk.
I’ve just started my PhD. Is it worth bothering with my CV yet?
Yes, it’s definitely worth putting your academic experience together in one place, even if it only spreads to a single page at present. This then becomes your ‘working document’ to add to as and when you gather more research experience e.g. giving a paper, attending a conference, have a paper published or receiving a grant. The advice given by Karen Kelsky, sage of The Professor Is In, is that you should aim to add a line to your CV every month.
I have a great deal of earlier and varied career experience. How should I handle this on my academic CV?
Always be guided by how relevant the experience is for this specific job application. Much of your earlier work will be, at least partially, relevant. For example, if you are a studio artist now researching some aspect of your art, then the earlier experience is key. If you had a portfolio career which involved ‘good enough’ jobs which helped you pay the bills, then it isn’t necessary to add these. But, if not adding these sort of jobs leaves a huge chronological gap, then I would put dates to and from and add a brief summary of the work, including a phrase such as ‘to support me whilst I progressed in my studio work’. The same would be true if you took time out for caring responsibilities. Don’t apologise nor spend an undue amount of space on it and all should be well.
How do I know which documents I need to provide and how long they should be?
Always refer to the job description and person specification for the vacancy. They will generally spell out exactly what is wanted. If they don’t, it is worth talking to your PhD supervisor or newly-befriended academic mentor. As a general rule of thumb, I would allocate the following: CV (up to 5 pages. Yes, this is much longer than the 2 pages you would allocate to a general CV), research statement (2 pages), research proposal (4 pages), teaching statement (2 pages) and cover letter/personal statement (2 pages).
Will my academic CV do for other types of jobs?
No! You will need to make a different version which is 2 pages long. This won’t have a research summary nor full list of publications, conferences, teaching and grants obtained. Many of these (summarised) elements will be included in your more general CV, but the emphasis is likely to be much more on the skills you have developed through your various academic activities.
All technē students are welcome to book a one-to-one Skype, phone or in-person appointment with careers consultants Jay or Kathy to work through a CV and other application materials. Please contact techne.careers@careers.lon.ac.ukor call on 0207 863 6008.
Key resources
Slides from technē researchers’ masterclass: Effective academic applications September 2018
https://www.vitae.ac.uk/researcher-careers/pursuing-an-academic-career/how-to-write-an-academic-cv
http://www.academiccareer.manchester.ac.uk/applications/
www.jobs.ac.uk/media/pdf/careers/resources/how-to-write-a-cover-letter-for-academic-jobs.pdf
http://www.researchfundingtoolkit.org/assert-justify-style-why-and-how/
The Professor Is In: The essential guide to turning your PhD into a job. Karen Kelsky PhD; Twitter: @ProfessorIsIn, Blog: theprofessorisin.com/pearlsofwisdom/