Open Thread: Tips For Maintaining Your CV?

I don’t really have strategies, so I’m interested to hear the conversation here. The one thing I make sure to do is RIGOROUS VERSIONING! I just do it with filenames, but it helps a lot. Usually things like:$MyNameCV$University Name$date.pdfe.g. JohnSmithCVCountyUniversity6-05-07.pdfI’ll mod it depending on circumstances: JohnSmithCVwithRefsCountyU6-4-07.pdf or JohnSmithShortCV6-05

Hey, thanks for the help!My current practice has more or less been like the one “phdeviate” describes. But one thing I’m considering doing is creating a simple plain text file (*.txt) for every “item” on my CV. Then, using a program like TextWrangler, whenever I want to create a new CV I could simply open up all these text snippets in a TextWrangler window. I think that TextWrangler would then allow me to “drag and drop” each item that I want in this version of the CV into a new text file. After that I could copy and paste the text into a Word document for more formatting.I think this could help, but what would be nice would be a single app that could do the formatting too, and maybe allow me to organize all the text “items” more efficiently–perhaps by tagging them, or creating smart groups of items that I would want to include in, say, a teaching-focused CV.As for keeping a running list of anything that might be CV worthy, I try to do that in a simple text file too. It seems easiest to do it right when something happens so that four years later you don’t have to track down the dates for that conference or the page numbers of that article.

@george_h_williams HUH! I use Scrivener a lot, I’m a huge fan of it for syllabus design (it’s like Moodle! But easier to use! And local!) before any of the assessment and grading bits get into it. But I never once considered it for CV creation! And yet, now that you mention it, it seems completely obvious.When I created my website, I took elements from my CV and broke them up into individual pages so I could write more information. E.g. I have the full abstracts from all my conference presentations. I couldn’t figure out a way in WordPress to create it modular enough so that I could re-export from WordPress into a CV. I wanted something like a “read more” for the abstracts, but instead they are all aggregated together. If I could find a way to get the elements both modular in terms of CV sections (Education, experience, etc.) AND in terms of a “web” amount of information and a “print” amount of information, then Anthologize could potentially create something nice.

nothing to do with tech tools, but the biggest help I have found is to keep adding things as I go. Everytime something changes I try to just add it to the word doc that is my CV. Its just an ever growing heap. (I probably should try out versioning tools).Another thing I did for my tenure file is just keep an accordian file for every “A-Attaboy” letter or email I recieved for doing service work, or advising a student, or making a presentation. That way I could refer to it on my tenure letter and include that as an appendix of qualitative evidence in my portfolio. Remember, people like stories and anecdotes, so be sure to have some good ones at hand. Its one thing to say you advise between twenty and thirty undergraduate majors every seemster. Its another to say that you advise twenty or thrirty majors and have a couple of notes from former advisees thanking you for helping them out.

You know, for all my love of Scrivener I’d never thought of using it to maintain a modular c.v. I’m going to give that a try ASAP. Thanks!

Thanks to everyone for sharing their thoughts! Is there a Windows-compatible equivalent to Scrivener?

Is anyone out there using a reference manager to keep track of their CVs? I have been experimenting with using Zotero to maintain a running list of my publications, reviews, conference presentations, etc. This has the advantage of allowing me to tag entries, produce them in different formats for CVs as needed, etc. But I don’t yet have a good workflow established.

I’ve long toyed with the idea of some sort of flat-file database–maybe in Excel–with a field I could tick to include/exclude an element in a mail merge to another full document. This way I could just pick which elements would go in the 2-page NSF CV, and which would be in the “long” one. The same data might also go into annual report forms, which are tedious. If anyone has anything like this, I’d be interested in hearing about it.

My strategy for keeping it updated is simple: as soon as I have a paper accepted, or presentation accepted, etc., I *immediately* put it on my CV. Thus, I avoid having to go through once a month or semester and remember what needs to be added. When a publication is accepted, it goes in as “forthcoming,” and then I change it when it’s published.As for different versions for different purposes, i.e., a shortened CV for a grant app, there’s no easy solution. I have to take my current full CV and extract out just those pieces I need.

My university provides an account and trains faculty how to use and update an e-portfolio. My is hosted by http://www.iwebfolio.com…and I can create different kinds of portfolios when the account. I started with a teaching portfolio and will some tackle a broader academic/tenure portfolio. In the process, I will copy most of what is currently on my Word-based CV to this electronic platform. As I understand it, I will be able to share the e-portfolio with others to which I give access.

I keep one master CV doc that has everything possible on it, and I review it at the end of each month and add anything that has come up. Then, I create specialized versions as needed.

scrivener!? Oh wow!

It seems like a lot of these approaches are fairly labor intensive. I’ve tried a lot of different approaches. But I keep coming back to:Have one “master” document, with everything in it.This system is simple enough that I actually use it. Best of all, it doesn’t matter whether you use LaTeX, or MS Word, or Google Docs, or OpenOffice (my preference).Whenever you have to send one out, make a copy of the master doc (filename versioning, as above). Then it takes maybe two minutes to remove the parts that are irrelevant for the current purpose. If using it to apply for something, go in an edit as appropriate, changing emphasis as needed, make a PDF, and rename it to YourName.pdf to make it easy for the recipient to know what to do with it.If applying for a position, it’s just negligent to not take a half hour to edit according to what they’re looking for. No dishonesty necessary: just put the things they’re more interested nearer the front, with more detail. (Requires doing your homework.)My department head in my current position told me that when he was looking through the stack on his desk, mine stood out because the topic nearest and dearest to his heart was mentioned prominently in the first line. In HIS copy only, I assure you.

My calendar program reminds me to update/revise my CV and resume monthly. I also add publications or presentations as soon as accepted/published/delivered. Over time, I remove some things that are less relevant — they go in my “master” which is more of an archive. But I revise/reorder each time I actually submit a CV or resume — with cover letter and any attachments — in a folder with the name of the school/position. A CV for an administrative position has my administrative experience first; a CV for a teaching position has my teaching experience first. Accomplishments that are less relevant for the particular position come out — I want the resume to scream “this job is a perfect fit.” I always rename the document with my name (“SmithJQ_CV.pdf”) — and always send as a PDF. (Those of you who use a master and hidden text — no need to remove the hidden text if you convert to PDF.)I also keep an annual list of accomplishments.It all works fine for me.