How to craft a compelling academic CV

In a field as competitive as higher education, our ability to articulate our accomplishments in a way that attracts a recruiter’s attention is almost as important as the accomplishments themselves. As Will Rogers once said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” To stand out in a sea of applications, we should pay attention to his advice.

CVs and résumés typically contain short written descriptions of a person’s education, qualifications and previous jobs. Academic CVs are longer and, as the name suggests, used for academic jobs or postgraduate study applications. They should contain detailed descriptions of all academic activities, teaching experience, research expertise, publications, grants, briefs of ongoing, completed funded projects, professional memberships, patents, fellowships and leadership roles.

Unlike industry positions, academic CVs are not typically subjected to automated software screening. This leaves applicants vulnerable to manual scrutiny, which may be affected by an unintentional bias towards or against a specific gender, location or ethnicity. Here is some advice that can make your academic CV stand out in spite of this.

Make a visual impact

Academic resumes tend to be lengthy. You can shorten yours by excluding minor or outdated accomplishments that become less credible with time. Featuring your researcher ID prominently on the document ensures that you don’t have to take up precious space listing works not relevant to the role you’re applying for because, by nature of its presence, recruiters have easy access to all the information they need.

List academic credentials chronologically in descending order and tailor data (currency, weights and others) to the system of measurement relevant to the location of the role you’re applying for. Be accurate with dates, as research databases typically track affiliations and designations. In my personal opinion, there is no way back once a recruiter discovers inconsistencies.

Use active verbs wherever possible to make your CV more dynamic, impactful and engaging. Some examples include the below:

• “Achieved a 100% passing rate for two consecutive years through the implementation of a peer help programme”
• “Cultivated and sustained relationships with 100+ key recruiters”
• “Actively engaged in outreach programmes, such as community services, National Service Schemes and blood donation camps”.

Make your CV sing

Include insights into a funding or fellowship agency you’ve been involved with, such as information about its global footprint and historical background.

Emphasise the quantitative details of awards you’ve received, such as the number of participating countries, nominations and the monetary value of the award.

Focus on providing information about only the works you have had published in indexed conference proceedings rather than superfluous information about every event you’ve attended.

Include summarised details of any leadership roles and administrative activities succinctly. A dean of academics could write, for instance, “Supervised academic affairs, curriculum development and examinations as the dean of academics from 2020-2022,” or an assistant director of training and placements could write, “Oversaw skills development training and placements for undergraduates and postgraduates between 2019-2021”.

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Use AI wisely

Leverage AI to help polish your CV’s layout, ensure consistency and eliminate any duplications and grammatical errors. However, use AI platforms with caution. Many other applicants will be using similar platforms to create or edit their CVs, so relying heavily on them might make yours too similar to others that recruiters are receiving for the same role. Use a personal touch to keep your CV unique, making sure your personality shines through when you talk about your accomplishments.

To craft a compelling academic CV that helps us stand out in this highly competitive field, we need to learn how to select and articulate our achievements wisely and concisely, tailor our language and use AI effectively. Make your first impression the right one.

Ishwar Bhiradi is an assistant professor (senior scale) at the department of mechatronics engineering, Manipal Institute of Technology, MAHE Manipal.

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