Students

Preparing well-organized, clear and concise CVs and resumes is a key component of a successful job search and interview process. An easy way to differentiate a resume from a CV is to think of a resume as a snapshot of your life and your CV, as your life.

Resume

Use the following quick and easy guidelines to develop your resume:

• Make the resume readable, attractive and a single page only (8 1/2 x 11 paper).
• Use a professional looking font (i.e., Ariel) no smaller than 10 pt.
• Include techniques that create visual interest including bold print, indentation, caps, underlining, lines to separate Name/Address block from Objective block and/or Experience from Additional Information block
• Ensure that there are no spelling or grammatical errors.
• Use quality offset or laser-printed, conservatively colored paper (white, off-white or beige) with matching envelopes. Use paper of at least 24 lbs or 25% rag content for resumes you plan to send to prospective employers.
• Sentences should be short - ten words maximum - beginning with capital letters. Do not use articles: a, an, the.
• Omit personal pronouns.
• Highlight your accomplishments, achievements and strengths.
• Use action verbs, descriptive adjectives and adverbs, and quantify whenever possible, e.g. number of people, number of items, amount of money involved, % increase in funding for ambulatory care unit, % decrease in turn-around time for hospital admittance.
• Use numerals ("3" instead of "three").
• Do not abbreviate.
• Bulleting can be an effective technique, but is not required. Do not use more than 4 to 5 bullets per description. 

See detailed instructions on developing a resume (PDF).

See sample resumes (PDF).

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

A curriculum vitae is a comprehensive biographical profile which details professional credentials and experience. A curriculum vitae is typically submitted in support of an application for, among others, the following positions:

• K-12 school administration
• Higher education teaching, research, and administration
• Institutional research

CV Content

A curriculum vitae can range from 2-3 pages to 20 pages (for a very experienced professional). The vitae should be in reverse chronological order. Although it is important to provide detail in a CV, irrelevant information is always considered a negative.

In the sample curriculum vitae, the category titles listed are examples only. Your educational and experiential credentials should be your guides in determining what categories to include in your curriculum vitae. Other categories might be: certification, civic, community and religious activities, educational travel, grants, leadership and administrative experience, patents, international experiences, and competencies, etc.

In addition, the order of the category titles in the Experience block of your CV should reflect the position you are targeting. For example, if you’re seeking a university teaching position, list your university/teaching experiences first.

See sample CV (PDF) and tips on creating/maintaining the CV.