CV ESSENTIALS

MUN EDGE WORKSHOP

Dr. Meghan Burchell (She/Her)

Associate Professor
Department of Archaeology, Memorial University
mburchell@mun.ca
Twitter @MeghanBurchell
 HELLO!
WELCOME TO THE WEBINAR!

• Use the chat function throughout the presentation if you have any questions
• Please take a moment to introduce yourself and your program

• You can turn your mic on too if you’d prefer to ask

• A PDF will be available for you after the webinar.

• I love feedback, so let me know what graduate students need to know about a CV!
 CV ESSENTIALS

• What is the purpose of a CV?

• What are the qualities of a good CV?
• Who is a CV for and how are CVs used?
• How do you decide on headings?
• What information is important?
• What design aspects need to be considered?
 THE CV. YOUR CV.

• A master record of your academic history that details your

experience, credentials, expertise and accomplishments

• It will help you keep track of everything you have done since you
started your university education

• It is used by professors, committees and employers to understand

your research and educational profile
 ‘MY CV ISN’T VERY GOOD/LONG’

This is *the most common* statement I hear from students

when editing their CV

• A long CV isn’t a ‘good’ cv and a ‘good’ cv isn’t a long CV

• Many students don’t know the basics in building a CV and once it’s formatted you can really see how much
you’ve accomplished

• Page length does not matter! The content and structure matter

• As the beginning of your academic journey your CV will be shorter and it grows over time
• Don’t compare your CV to someone in a different career stage!
• CVs for undergraduate students, graduate students, post-doctoral fellows SHOULD look a bit different
 HOW DO PROFESSORS USE A CV?

• Evaluating candidates for positions

• When I hire research assistants, do they have the right background and experience? Can I see if
they’ve worked in a lab before, of if they’ve worked with animal specimens?

• Evaluating candidates for scholarships and awards

• Does your CV reflect the award criteria?

• Writing references letters – IMPORTANT!

• A strong reference letter will have VERY SPECIFIC details about the candidate and this can only be
done with a clear CV
• Can I see how much funding you have?
• Can I see your qualifications for what you are applying for?
• Can I quantify your experience? How many years as a TA? How many conferences since 2014?
WHAT I LOOK FOR WHEN I REVIEW A CV

• Name and education

• Experience

• I should be able to easily identify how many years per academic program

• I should be able to easily tally funding, grants and awards

• Clear list of publications and/or conference presentations (if applicable)

 WHAT GETS IN THE WAY OF MY REVIEW

• Repetition
• Each entry only once and in it’s proper place

• Disorganized
• Every line item in it’s proper place

• Other peoples’ names

• Don’t cram your CV with irrelevant information. Sure, Dr. Bobberta Brown-Smith might be really famous in the world
something-something-highly-specialized, but it’s not likely relevant to YOU
• *exception* when highly-relevant to the position and your thesis supervisors are ok

• Non-relevant experience
• Common on junior CVs – babysitting, cashier, high school clubs, part-time summer jobs, high-school awards
• *exceptions*
 SOME VERY COMMON MISTAKES
• Curriculum Vitae sounds fancy but… it takes up valuable space on your CV
• (…..and the committee is already familiar with a CV)

• Adding referees/Names
• The CV is about YOU! Unless you’re asked to provide references they are not necessary on a CV
• Including the names of all your professors throughout the CV add extra, un-necessary information

• Information should be presented in descending, chronological order (most recent first)

• Listing too much information/Too little information
• E.g. It’s not necessary to list the names of all the professors that you have worked with
• E.g. ‘Memorial University Scholarship’. - What is the name of the full name of the award?

• Not reviewing and modifying your CV for each new opportunity

• Institute specific codes/jargon

• Avoid course codes, and use course names where appropriate

• Listing ‘Works in Progress’

• Dangling lines between pages – use the same rules for formatting a bibliography
 ACCURACY

• Everything you list on your CV must be accurate and verifiable

• Resist embellishing any details, and make sure you have the correction position/lab/institution/project titles
• E.g. research assistant vs. research associate
• Distinction between paid work and volunteer work

• Funding
• Scholarships vs. Bursaries
• Research Funding
• If you have different currencies, be sure to have the annotation (e.g. $100 CAD / $100 USD / €100)

• Publications
• Submitted
• Accepted
• In Press
• Published
 CAN I PUT THIS ON MY CV EVEN IF I
DIDN’T ACCEPT IT?

• Yes! And you absolutely should, especially on your master CV

How to format:

YEAR Award Title $Amount (Declined)

 CAN I PUT THIS ON MY CV EVEN IF I
DID IT IN HIGH SCHOOL?

That depends!

• Some highs school experience can be helpful on a CV if it’s academic or related to your research/career, but
this should be limited and will generally leave your CV after a few years of graduate studies

• Babysitting does not go on your CV (unless it relates to your work!). I see this frequently especially when
people complete a babysitting course

• Part-time temporary/casual jobs [generally] do not go on your CV

• E.g. I didn’t include working the part-time jobs I had during graduate school but I did include working at an
archaeology-themed summer camp since it showed I had some experience teaching archaeology – once I had
experience as a TA, I removed the summer camp from my CV
 CONFRONTING BIAS IN
CV EVALUATIONS

• gender
• age
• ethnicity SGS Diversity Statement:
• disability https://www.mun.ca/sgs/contacts/diversi
• political views ty.php
• religious views
• marital status
• children/dependents
• financial status
 RECOGNIZING INTERNATIONAL
DIFFERENCES FOR CVS

• You do not have to disclose your picture, citizenship, nationality or any personal information on your CV

• Some countries have different requirements to check the standards before submitting a cv
• For example, when I was working in Germany, it was expected to include a professional employment photo and
your birthdate.
• A quick Google search about specific CV expectations before submitting to a new opportunity is a good idea!
 CV HEADINGS (GENERAL)

• Academic Appointments (After graduate school!)

• Education – this one is usually first!
• Research Expertise
• Publications
• Conferences
• Invited Lectures
• Research Funding
• Scholarships and Awards
• Academic/Professional Affiliations
• University Service/Volunteer Experience

*not an exhaustive list

 CV HEADINGS CAN BE
DISCIPLINE/EXPERIENCES SPECIFIC

• Fieldwork Experience
• Laboratory Experience
• Experiment Design
• Clinical Studies
• Student Supervision
• Teaching Experience
• Public Engagement
• ADD YOUR OWN – just keep it organized!
 CV DESIGN BASICS

CAPITAL LETTERS IN BOLD FONT Ideal for headings

Bold font Ideal for sub-headings

Italics Used for titles of books, conferences, journals, etc.

Sans Serif Font (Arial) Clean lines, simple style, easy to read

Serif Font (Times New Roman) Easier to read (especially when there is minimal
spacing)

14 pt Font Your name

12 pt Font Your CV details

 GARAMOND FONT, 12 PT

MEGHAN BURCHELL, PhD

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2018- Associate Professor, Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of

Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
2015-2019 Graduate Program Officer, Department of Archaeology, Memorial University, St. John’s,
NL, Canada
2013-2018 Assistant Professor, Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Memorial University of
Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
2013-2018. Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology McMaster University
2010-2012 Instructor, Archaeological Field School, Department of Anthropology, McMaster University
Hamilton, ON, Canada
 ARIAL FONT, 12 PT

MEGHAN BURCHELL, PhD

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2018- Associate Professor, Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Memorial

University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
2015-2019 Graduate Program Officer, Department of Archaeology, Memorial University, St.
John’s, NL, Canada
2013-2018 Assistant Professor, Archaeology, Department of Archaeology, Memorial
University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada
2013-2018 Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology McMaster University
2010-2012 Instructor, Archaeological Field School, Department of Anthropology, McMaster
University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
 TO SPACE OR NOT TO SPACE, THAT IS
THE QUESTION

EDUCATION
EDUCATION
2013 Ph.D., Anthropology, McMaster University
Shellfish Harvest on the Coast of British Columbia: The Archaeology of Settlement and 2013 Ph.D., Anthropology, McMaster University
Subsistence through High-resolution Stable Isotope Analysis and Sclerochronology Shellfish Harvest on the Coast of British Columbia: The Archaeology of Settlement and
Subsistence through High-resolution Stable Isotope Analysis and Sclerochronology
2003 M.A., Anthropology, McMaster University 2003 M.A., Anthropology, McMaster University
Gender and Status Representation in Northwest Coast Burials Gender and Status Representation in Northwest Coast Burials
2001 B.A. (Hons.), Anthropology, McMaster University
2001 B.A. (Hons.), Anthropology, McMaster University

Consider giving parts of your CV some room to breathe!

Don’t be afraid to space things out – especially the important parts
As your CV grows, you’ll likely need to consider changing the spacing
 CANCELLED FOR COVID? HERE’S HOW
TO INCLUDE IT ON YOUR CV

• Did you have a conference, event, field work, job cancelled because of COVID? Are you worried that you’ll have a blank spot? Include what was
accepted, peer-reviewed or funded before the pandemic, then indicate it was cancelled.

• Early career researcher

• 2020 PAPER TITLE. Aldrich Conference, Memorial University. Abstract accepted/Cancelled due to COVID-19.

• Established (longer cv)

• 2020 Carbon isotopes in Mya Arenaria as a proxy for past sea surface change. Ocean Frontiers Institute, Visiting Scholar Program. Cancelled due
to COVID-19.
• For my CV, I’ve decided to use grey font for my Covid entries. It’s there, I was going to do it, but I couldn’t.
 COVID IMPACTS ON YOUR CV

‘Oooooh no, my CV will have blank spots because I couldn’t do research this year!’

Don’t worry. EVERYONE WILL AND SHOULD HAVE A BLANK SPOT. All our research
and plans were disrupted. (My research has stalled…… and that’s okay).

New developments that can be included from COVID working conditions:

- New Webinars
- Online Training
- Online research groups (yes, a digital writing club counts!).
 QUESTIONS?

• Hints:
• Don’t be afraid to try different styles to find one that suits you (I don’t use lines, but I’ve seen some
great lines as section dividers on CVs!

• Many professors will have their CV online, you can review them and use their format (or learn from
their mistakes!)

• Not sure? Let someone review it before you submit it (ideally, your thesis supervisor!)

• Visit the writing center for any help with reviewing

• A good CV is a clear CV J