The C.V. Doctor: C.V. For a Dean

This candidate is an administrator as well as a biology professor with an active research program. His experience is extensive. He wants to continue his administrative work as a dean and his research program. His CV would be more appealing to the eye if he would use indentation more consistently -- a space three or five characters deep works best. It would also help the reader if his last name and a page number appeared on each page of the CV. In addition we noticed several typos, such as the misspelling of "management." A more careful proofreading would resolve these problems.

-- Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick

Examples:

• C.V. for a community-college instructor
• C.V. for a Ph.D. in the social sciences
• C.V. for a Ph.D. in the humanities
• C.V. for a Ph.D. in the sciences

Name, Department of Chemistry, Western University, City.

Nov 1981 - Aug 1982. Postdoctoral Research Associate with Name, Chemistry and Life Sciences Group, Research Triangle Institute, Research Triangle Park, NC.

Aug 1977 - Dec 1981. Southern University, Department of Botany.

Teaching Assistant;

William Chambers Coker Fellowship; University Teaching Fellowship.

1.) In the section with the candidate's contact information, he offers the usual details -- departmental address, phone number, fax number, and e-mail address. But then he goes too far, listing his date and place of birth, his spouse's name, his wedding anniversary, and the names and birth dates of his children. This personal information does not belong on a CV.

2.) Listing a career objective is not usually necessary in a straight faculty CV, but it is appropriate when seeking an administrative position. The candidate has indicated that he would like to continue in the kind of work he has been doing. It might be better to say he is seeking "to strengthen a college or university" rather then the more general wording he has now. A possible rewording might be: "An administrative position in a college or university with opportunities to improve and enhance its teaching and build its research capabilities."

3.) The candidate gives a summary of his professional experience immediately after stating his career objective, but he provides more detailed information in later sections. Perhaps this section should be called "Professional Summary" or "Summary of Professional Experience." In addition, a different format would make it easier to follow his experience. After naming the institution and its location, he should organize the list of positions he's held there by job title, rather than by date. For example, the first entry under "Western State University" should say "Dean, College of Science and Mathematics, July 2000.

4.) Under the "Administrative Experience" section, some detail describing his responsibilities, projects, and accomplishments would be nice. While readers can sometimes guess what one did as director of a graduate program, it's better to provide some detail.

5.) In the section on "Refereed Publications," we like the way he listed only his most significant publications. He didn't list any of his abstracts or invited presentations but gave the number of each and mentioned that complete lists were available. His scholarship is noted and accessible but the reader isn't faced with an unduly long CV. He is applying for administrative positions where the fact that he is an accomplished scholar is important but hiring committees do not need to see all the specific publications. For a faculty or research position, it would be appropriate to include the complete lists.

6.) Under "Awards and Grants," the candidate lists the information in chronological order. The advantage of reverse chronological order is that the most recent grants -- which are often the most significant or prestigious -- are read first.

7.) A nice feature of this CV is the "Summary of Grant Activity," which shows how much money the candidate brought into each institution and gives his career total to date.

8.) This section on "Other Service Activities (Community)" should not be part of the "Professional Activities" section. It could be provided in a separate section at the end of the CV called something like "Additional Information" or "Community Service."