How to write a good CV

A CV is an efficient way to keep a record of all of your academic achievements in one document.

You’ll need a CV for:

Therefore it’s useful to have an up to date CV ready to use.

Tips

Include a version number and date.

Split your CV into different sections (see below). This makes it easier to read. It allows you to identify areas of relative weakness which you could improve.

Do not under-sell yourself. Include everything e.g.

an ad hoc teaching session that you deliver
a grant application that is pending
prizes/awards you won at school/University
relevant extra-curricular activities

Group similar achievements together to make the CV quicker/easier to read.

Expand abbreviations or add a brief explanation for topics which are likely to be unfamiliar to the reader.

Pay attention to page limits (some applications ask for concise CVs restricted to a certain length).

Format the CV to make it as easy/quick to read as possible. Check for formatting inconsistencies and typos. The presentation of your CV is a reflection on you.

Keep your CV up to date. Update it either on a daily or weekly basis – otherwise you are guaranteed to forget things.

Save accompanying evidence (e.g. certificates of attendance for courses, teaching feedback etc.) in one place in an email or drive folder.

Familiarise yourself with your CV before an interview. Be able to talk about anything which you’ve included – what was your contribution? Be able to say what you’ve learnt from each experience. Identify your greatest achievement and area for greatest improvement.

Regularly review your CV. Use it as a way to monitor your achievements:

Are your academic outputs balanced or is there an area of relative weakness which you could work on?
How many pending grants were accepted?
How many posters progressed to papers?
Which skills do you lack or need refreshing and which courses do you need to go on?

Ask your supervisor to go through your CV with you and give feedback.

Example of possible sections to include on a CV

1. Qualifications

2. Employment

Explain any time when you weren’t working, there should be no unaccounted for ‘gaps’.

3. Education

4. Academic prizes

Prizes can be split into international, national, local, University.

5. Papers

Papers can be ordered chronologically or by relevance to a specific grant application that you are submitting.
Ensure consistent formatting. Use a reference manager.
Highlight your name to make it easier for the reader to identify your position in the authorship list. You could include a comment about your contribution.
You could include a separate sub-heading for articles not published in peer-reviewed papers (e.g. articles published in the RCPath Bulletin ).
You could include a separate sub-heading for articles which have been submitted but not yet accepted for publication.

6. Posters

Posters can be ordered chronologically or by relevance to a specific grant application that you are submitting.
Ensure consistent formatting.
Highlight your name to make it easier for the reader to identify your position in the authorship list. You could include a comment about your contribution.
Don’t forget to include posters which you are not first author (for example if you supervise a student research project).
Monitor this section: are there posters which would be suitable to be written up into a paper?

7. Book chapters

8. Papers which you’ve reviewed

9. Oral presentations which you’ve given

10. Committees which you’re a member of

Detail the dates of the tenure and your role.

11. Grants

Grants can be organised into current, previous, submitted/pending:
- Awarded grants demonstrate to funders that you are able to design a research project and convince a funding source to support it.
- Completed grants demonstrate that you were able to manage a research project to completion.
- Submitted/pending grants demonstrate that you are research active and industrious.
Monitor this section of your CV. How many submitted grants were successful? What were the outcomes of previous grants?
Include: dates, funder, amount. If you include an authorship list, highlight your name.
You may include a comment about your contribution to the project and a brief description of the project.

12. Teaching

Teaching can be organised into:

delivery of teaching
supervision
course management roles
evidence of medical education training

13. Scientific meetings/conferences which you’ve attended

14. Skills training

Monitor this section: are there any skills which need refreshing? Are there any deficits in your skillset?

15. Patient & public involvement

This section could be subdivided into:

‘training’
specific projects which you’ve worked with PPI representatives on
public engagement events which you’ve contributed to

16. Ethical approvals

This section could be subdivided into

‘current’
‘previous’
‘pending/submitted’

Monitor the dates of your ethical approvals as you will need to complete annual progress reports and may need to request an extension if work is likely to continue beyond the approved project end date.

17. Any clinical work which you are undertaking whilst on OOPR

18. Leadership, audit, patient safety

19. Secondments / research elective

20. Extra-curricular

Then ‘tighten or prune’ your CV before you submit it, tailoring the information to the specific application.

Tips for Academic Pathology Trainees