Graduate Level Resume/CV and Cover Letter Guidance

Format

• Two pages maximum
• Use a standard size font (10 to 12 point)
• Use standard margins (1 to .65)
• Keep the design simple & consistent. Use white space. Use line breaks or spacing in between sections.
• Make sure your bullets are listed in order of importance according to what's required on the job description.
• If specific skills are requested, make sure those skills are listed first in their category within your skills section.

Avoid

• Avoid stock templates, graphics, text boxes, unprofessional fonts or fonts that are hard to read. Simple is best - your job is to make it easy and quick for the reader to understand how valuable you are.
• Do not overload the pages with excessive text or it will visually feel exhausting and/or distracting. Again, simple is best.

Layout

Header:

• Name
• Email
• Phone number
• City and State (optional; also, no need to list full street address)
• LinkedIn or other websites to demonstrate projects or portfolio
• Avoid: photos, age, religion, political affiliation, self-introduction paragraph, multiple email addresses.

Education: List your most recent degree first and move backwards in reverse chronological order. Include your degree, program, and expected graduation date.

Experience: Tailor your experience section according to the position you’re applying.  Emphasize experiences where you can show relevant or transferable skills. Include all applicable experience, whether you were an employee, intern, volunteer, researcher, or member of a team.

Skills: Only include objective, measurable skills like languages, computer programs, laboratory procedures, programming languages, etc. Softer skills like communication, teamwork, etc. should be illustrated through your experience descriptions. 

Descriptions

Summarize relevant experience to demonstrate your duties, with an emphasis on what you were able to accomplish in the position. This is less about tasks, but more about the value of your experience that you will bring to your new job. Write using P-A-R statements to communicate your key accomplishments. P-A-R is an acronym that stands for Project, Action, Result. In each bullet point, you should address the project you were working on, an action you completed while working on that project, and the results of the action you carried out. Use strong action verb phrases and make every word count. Use keywords from the job description to show you are a good fit for the job.

Questions to ask yourself:

• What skills did I use?
• Are there any quantifiable details that could provide context, scope, or demonstrate impact?
• What was I proud of or what were my accomplishments?
• Did I use specific programs/software?
• What were the outcomes related to what I did?
• Did I improve something? Create something new? Present information? Lead or manage a team? Take initiative? Problem solve? Analyze data?

Format

• CV should be well-organized and easy to read.
• Choose an effective format and stay consistent throughout the document. (Pro tip: Professors often post their own CVs on their university’s website and can be a great way to look at different formatting styles!)
• Utilize bolds, italics, underlines, and CAPITALIZATIONS to draw attention to specific sections/details.
• List all relevant items in reverse chronological order (most recent to oldest) within each section.
• Be strategic by placing the most important information/sections near the beginning of your CV and/or on the left side of the page.
• In general, place the name of the position, title, award, or institution on the left side of the page and associated dates on the right.
• If submitting a hard copy or printed version of your CV, it is recommended to include a footer with page numbers and last name, in case pages get separated. 

Considerations

• Much like a resume, you will want to tailor your CV for the specific position you are applying for, and place more relevant sections earlier in the document.
• Example: If applying to a teaching-focused position, then the CV will strongly emphasize teaching. If a position is more research-intensive, then the CV will emphasize research experience.
• Formatting for CVs can vary by field and discipline. It is recommended you seek disciplinary-specific advice from advisors, professors, and other field professionals.
• Unlike resumes, CVs do not have restrictions around document length.

Layout

Heading

• Name
• Email address
• Location (city, state, ZIP code; no need for street address)
• Phone number 

Education 

• List academic degrees, with degrees in progress or most recently earned listed first.
• Name of institution, city and state, degree type and major/minor/concentrations, month and year degree was/will be awarded.
• Thesis title and advisor, if applicable. 

Relevant Experience: list positions that demonstrate your skills and expertise. You can group experiences into relevant categories to help tailor your CV (e.g., research, teaching, and administration). For each position include:

• Title, organization name, city and state, and dates position was held.
• Bullet points summarizing activities, duties, skills, accomplishments, and successes. Use action verbs in the correct tense (present tense for active experiences, past tense for completed experiences).
• If applying for a teaching position, include course number and title for every single course taught.
• Assistantships/internships may also be included in the experience section. 

Publications: Provide bibliographic citations for articles, pamphlets, chapters in books, research reports, or any other publications that you have authored/co-authored. Use the format appropriate for your field/discipline for a clean look (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.). 

Presentations 

• Give titles of professional presentations, whether oral or poster.
• Names of conferences or events, dates and locations
• If appropriate in your discipline, include brief descriptions. Use the format appropriate for your field/ discipline for a clean look (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).

Honors and Awards: list any award, scholarship, fellowship, and assistantship; names of scholastic honors; teaching or research awards. Include the title or purpose of the research project being awarded, if applicable. Include the dollar amount. Note: only awards of $10,000 and above are typically considered prestigious and/or competitive.

Other Sections to Consider 

Qualifications/Skills: a summary of relevant strengths or skills which you want to highlight. Typically, this is not included as a separate section, but addressed throughout other sections. Occasionally, it may be appropriate to list special computing or language skills. 

Institutional Service: this is a section that is gaining more attention as modern faculty are expected to perform tasks that go beyond teaching.

• List institutional committees or office roles you have served on.
• Student groups you have supervised or single students you have mentored.
• Special academic projects you have assisted with, including scholarship reviews, proposal reviews, volunteer work for relevant professional associations.

Certifications and Trainings: list all relevant certifications and/or training, specifying the year received and location, if applicable. 

Professional Associations 

• Memberships in national, regional, state, and local professional organizations.
• Significant appointments to positions or committees in these associations.
• Student memberships in professional associations are appropriate. 

Recent and Current Research 

• Description of research projects recently conducted or in progress.
• Include the type of research and a brief description of the purpose. 

Community Involvement: appropriate and relevant volunteer work, church work, community service organizations, etc., can be listed.

References: depending on field/discipline, references could be included in your CV; however, most applications will include a separate area to submit this information, or will ask for a separate document.