PhD/PsyD Advice on framing non-academic work on CV

[HPB2015]

Hello! I am preparing my CV for internship applications. I worked outside of academia for about a decade between undergrad and grad school and I am seeking advice on what and where to include this work history on my CV. Some of the work was very relevant (e.g., policy research; training educators) and some of it was not as obviously relevant but arguably impressive (e.g., C-suite position reflects managerial/organizational skills). I have already cut some experience that I personally am proud of but seem less connected...

To date, I have organized this information within relevant categories (policy research under "Research," training educators under "Teaching and Training," and C-suite position under "Leadership"), but I could see another version where I put my non-academic work history together (something like "Work"), though I'm not sure I see the advantage to that because it suggests that my professional work was radically different from my academic work, and my research history also has a 10 year gap.

Questions:
1. Is there a reason to move my non-academic work to its own section or organize it in a way I didn't suggest? If so, why?
2. Should I still include my undergraduate research experience? It's 15 years old at this point and not super impressive?
3. Ditto re: undergraduate clinical experience, e.g. undergraduate clinical internship or service?
4. On another note, what's the best place to put participation in competitive scholarly programs? Ex: SDN Summer Seminar in Distant Location We Flew You To. Under the "Research" section ("Participant"?) or under Awards (because of the selection and sponsoring org paying for travel, room & board)?

Thanks so much!

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[beginner2011]

Hello! I am preparing my CV for internship applications. I worked outside of academia for about a decade between undergrad and grad school and I am seeking advice on what and where to include this work history on my CV. Some of the work was very relevant (e.g., policy research; training educators) and some of it was not as obviously relevant but arguably impressive (e.g., C-suite position reflects managerial/organizational skills). I have already cut some experience that I personally am proud of but seem less connected...

To date, I have organized this information within relevant categories (policy research under "Research," training educators under "Teaching and Training," and C-suite position under "Leadership"), but I could see another version where I put my non-academic work history together (something like "Work"), though I'm not sure I see the advantage to that because it suggests that my professional work was radically different from my academic work, and my research history also has a 10 year gap.

Questions:
1. Is there a reason to move my non-academic work to its own section or organize it in a way I didn't suggest? If so, why?
2. Should I still include my undergraduate research experience? It's 15 years old at this point and not super impressive?
3. On another note, what's the best place to put participation in competitive scholarly programs? Ex: SDN Summer Seminar in Distant Location We Flew You To. Under the "Research" section ("Participant"?) or under Awards (because of the selection and sponsoring org paying for travel, room & board)?

Thanks so much!

Having only been involved with intern selection for 1 year, you should take my feedback lightly. I'm also hesitant to say much of anything without the specific details of your work experiences and clinical experiences/goals.

I think it would be wise to keep in mind that you're applying to work under the supervision of some people who are likely many years your junior and who have far less managerial experience than it sounds like you may have. If you're going to include information about your C-suite positions, etc, some may be wary of taking you on as a supervisee due to concern about your comfort with being in the one-down position of a trainee. I'm not saying this is a fair concern, but is possible/likely to be a consideration.

If there's some way to clearly communicate/demonstrate your own humility (which is hopefully accurate) in the context of a history of remarkable and relevant accomplishments I think that would also go a long way to quell the concerns I mentioned above. Some Training Directors are really invested in fostering a cohesive group each internship year, and part of that is ensuring that trainees are able to connect/relate to each other. If you can ensure that you won't disrupt that cohesion, and would even have something unique/valuable to contribute w/r/t your industry/managerial/leadership background I think that'd be an effective sell.

Also, reference letters will hopefully do a lot of this for you, for better or worse, so you probably don't need to get too stressed about doing it all via CV/CL/essays.

Curious to see what other folks have to say.