CV Questions

[amphigory]

---

Members do not see this ad.

I'm making the switch from résumé to CV and not sure how it should look. When you have various RA positions, both for pay and volunteer, do you describe the duties like in a résumé, or the research area? My only examples at work are MD's CVs which don't describe anything, as their progression in the field is pretty self-explanatory.

Also, is there a good place online to find sample CVs?

 

[leavingprov]

I'm making the switch from résumé to CV and not sure how it should look. When you have various RA positions, both for pay and volunteer, do you describe the duties like in a résumé, or the research area? My only examples at work are MD's CVs which don't describe anything, as their progression in the field is pretty self-explanatory.

Also, is there a good place online to find sample CVs?

Try going to university clinical psychology faculty websites to look at professors' CVs online. I've even found graduate student CVs posted. These work as good starting templates, easily edited to suit your experiences.

 

[amphigory]

I've tried looking at professors' CVs, but it seems once they get to that level they don't describe their research positions, but just list them. I wasn't sure if a fledgling CV for a grad school app would be improved by describing any of the duties involved in those positions (eg IRB stuff, administering clinical interviews, etc). Or do you just use your personal statement to flesh out what you did in your RA positions?

 

[JockNerd]

I included a paragraph beneath entries on my CV that listed "Duties:" and a brief description of what I did in the role. I think it's a good idea for a grad school applicant because it isn't readily apparent what a third author did on a project, or how involved you were in the development of your thesis, etc. Now that I'm in grad school I dropped those paragraphs.

 

[leavingprov]

I included a paragraph beneath entries on my CV that listed "Duties:" and a brief description of what I did in the role. I think it's a good idea for a grad school applicant because it isn't readily apparent what a third author did on a project, or how involved you were in the development of your thesis, etc. Now that I'm in grad school I dropped those paragraphs.

+1... I just looked at mine that I submitted as an applicant and it had 'duties', which pretty much read like resume bullet points.

 

[glasscandie]

So it should be a paragraph, not bullet points? Right now I have my responsibility section listed as bullet points.

Also - how long should it be? My CV is roughly 5 pages - I have 2 internships, with 3 different research experiences within the 2; and then over the summer I'll have another internship, plus extra curriculars (Psi Chi, editor of school newspaper, etc.), plus publications - it seems too long though. I'm not sure how to pare it down...

 

[cara susanna]

Mine's almost on the third page and I haven't started grad school yet.

 

[JockNerd]

My adviser's is about 40. Another prof in my program has over 100 pages, just with listings.

As long as it's not padded, there's no limit.

 

[Ollie123]

My adviser's is about 40. Another prof in my program has over 100 pages, just with listings.

As long as it's not padded, there's no limit.

Agreed.

Don't artificially inflate the length, its obvious and is more likely to work against you than for you. If you genuinely have that much content, good for you!

 

[glasscandie]

No, I definitely am not padding. I know there must be a way to paraphrase what I did, though - I just don't know how specific to get.

 

[Ollie123]

One suggestion based off what I often see from undergrads (and was guilty of myself for grad school apps) is to focus on the unique elements of each lab experience.

In other words don't put "Conducted telephone screens of potential participants", "Entered data" for all 4 labs you've worked in. Put it down for whicever one you can make sound the most impressive and focus on the breadth of your skills, rather than the fact that you've probably done very similar things in several places.

 

[leavingprov]

So it should be a paragraph, not bullet points? Right now I have my responsibility section listed as bullet points.

Also - how long should it be? My CV is roughly 5 pages - I have 2 internships, with 3 different research experiences within the 2; and then over the summer I'll have another internship, plus extra curriculars (Psi Chi, editor of school newspaper, etc.), plus publications - it seems too long though. I'm not sure how to pare it down...

I would say bullet points are the way to go. You may want to be a lot more selective about your non-psych related activites (e.g. newspaper editor). I know that some of them will back up your ability to write, etc, but really that should be evident in your personal statement anyway. I ended up putting only 2 major ones on that I thought had some tangential relevance to my application.

Also I agree with Ollie about paring down the list of responsibilities to only the unique ones, if possible. Mine ended up being 3 pages and I felt like that was pretty good length, but I'm sure it varies.

 

[psychanxiety]

I would say bullet points are the way to go. You may want to be a lot more selective about your non-psych related activites (e.g. newspaper editor). I know that some of them will back up your ability to write, etc, but really that should be evident in your personal statement anyway. I ended up putting only 2 major ones on that I thought had some tangential relevance to my application.

I agree that you should be selective about non-psych activities. I only listed a few activities with relevant skills and for those activities I only had one bullet point each. That cut out about a page for me, bringing my total to 2.5-3 pages.

 

[monkeycows]

I'm not sure if its true but it worked for me thus far--my professors/research lab managers all told me that for undergrads the CV should be limited to one page. at some point, they stop reading your CV after the page. after you get into grad school they assume you should be gaining more experience so your CV should be longer... but they told me an undergrad should use bulletpts mainly because they hate CVS thats too wordy.

I had same problem when I was doing my CV--editor in chief, RA jobs, officer for orgs etc.

 

[deadmau5]

usually 4 pages should suffice. but i have a short one that's 2 pages.

i also have a resume that's cut down to 2 pages too.

sometimes i don't know what to give, so i just give both with a cover letter = 5 pages. they do not have overlapping information.

 

[amphigory]

I'm not sure if its true but it worked for me thus far--my professors/research lab managers all told me that for undergrads the CV should be limited to one page. at some point, they stop reading your CV after the page. after you get into grad school they assume you should be gaining more experience so your CV should be longer... but they told me an undergrad should use bulletpts mainly because they hate CVS thats too wordy.

I had same problem when I was doing my CV--editor in chief, RA jobs, officer for orgs etc.

I think the one page rule is a good one right out of undergrad. You hear that for resumes too, but I've been working for many years now and that 1-page thing sort of falls away after a while. I'm glad to hear that bullet points/descriptive paragraph are considered reasonable; I couldn't figure out a way to describe anything without them. Thanks for all of the helpful answers.

 

[6SAnthony]

Check out About.com and search CV. They have some great general information about the format and a few different layout options. I would also suggest doing a Google search for CV and clinical psychologist (that's what I did to start off).

I would put the RA position under "professional experience" not under "research" (unless there is a publication; research seems to be mostly for publications from what I have seen).

 

[futureapppsy2]

Question on listing non-psych stuff:

I won an university-wide essay contest my freshman year (cash prize and all). Is this something worth putting on a CV? I was thinking "no," but then some people said that I might want to include it.

Also, any thoughts on listing things (RA experiences, posters, etc.) from earliest to latest vs. latest to earliest? I've seen both on CVs.


I have my CV formatted:
-contact information
-research experience
-theses (yes, plural)
-posters and presentations
(publications will go next if I have any by application time)
-awards and honors (poster award, a couple of named scholarships)
-teaching experience
-clinical and child experience

Does that seem reasonable?

 

[GiantSteps]

I wonder if a CV now days should have a link to one's CV on the web.

 

[futureapppsy2]

Actually, I've been surprised by how many faculty I've run across who don't have their CVs posted online.

 

[twilson]

I am going to be applying to a some research heavy clinical programs and more non-clinical programs (developmental psychology, gerontology, social psychology- they all are on the same research topic).

I volunteer as a group cofacilitator at a family grief center and am wondering if I should include this in my personal statement for the non-clinical programs as well as my clinical programs?Just wondering since I will have two different general templates for those personal statements anyway.

Thanks

 

[MNIkid87]

Question on listing non-psych stuff:

I won an university-wide essay contest my freshman year (cash prize and all). Is this something worth putting on a CV? I was thinking "no," but then some people said that I might want to include it.

Also, any thoughts on listing things (RA experiences, posters, etc.) from earliest to latest vs. latest to earliest? I've seen both on CVs.


I have my CV formatted:
-contact information
-research experience
-theses (yes, plural)
-posters and presentations
(publications will go next if I have any by application time)
-awards and honors (poster award, a couple of named scholarships)
-teaching experience
-clinical and child experience

With regards to latest-to-earliest or the other way around: I dont think it makes a difference as long as it is one or the other (and not just chaotic)
My order is the following:

Contact Info
Languages
Education
Awards and Distinctions
Theses (I am removing this point cuz it's redundant with the pubs)
Publications
Conference Presentations
Upcoming Pubs (i.e. manuscripts & presentations submitted for pub)
Academic, Research and Work Experience (RA, internships, teaching, etc.)
Names and Addresses of Referees