CV Building Resources

Curriculum Vitae Workshop – Why keep an up-to-date CV?

May 29, 2014: Mathias Schuetz, Research Associate, Botany Dept.
Martha Kertesz, MBA, WoW Administrator

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

  • often referred to as an “academic resume,”
  • biographical summary of one’s educational and work background
  • CV = Latin meaning “course of life”, Résumé = French meaning “summary”
  • CV – used when applying for academic, education, scientific or research positions
  • CV – can also be used to apply for fellowships or grants.
  • CV Info (***great UBC Student Services Resource)
    • Differences between a CV and a Resume
    • CV Formating – Outline – suggested order of categories
  • Action words for resumes, University of Saskatchewan’s resume guide action words, “Selling yourself in a resume” words sorted by job sector

UBC CV

  • UBC CV = a web-based application (like a wizard) designed to make it simpler for researchers to maintain and manage CV data for a variety of purposes.  Developed by the UBC Office of Research Services. Anyone with a campus-wide login (CWL) can use my.CV 

UBC  CV 

Resources for Graduate Student Career Development

  1. Academic Career Exploration
  2. Non-Academic Career Options
  3. Cover Letters / CVs / Teaching Statements / References / Research Statements
    Links to resources (May 2014): Cover Letters, CVs and Resume Samples from UBC Career Services; Academic Cover Letters from Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL); The Basics of Cover Letter Writing by Richard M. Reis, Chronicle of Higher Education; CVs That Open Industry Doors by Dave Jensen; The Basics of Science CVs by Richard M. Reis, Chronicle of Higher Education; The CV Doctor advice column; Ph.Ds: Teaching Portfolios from the University of California/Berkeley Career Services Center; Assemble your Teaching Portfolio from the University of Texas/Austin Center for Teaching + Learning; Getting Great Letters of Recommendation by Richard M. Reis, Chronicle of Higher Education; Writing a Research Plan by Jim Austin, from Science Next Wave
  4. Academic Job Search Sites

Sample Cover letter, CV and resume templates created by professionals at UBC Career Services

  • Most noteworthy examples = PhD Life Science – Jane Swift –CV
  • Post-doctoral Fellow – Maria Espada (4 variations for the same person to compare different techniques for different job requirements)
    1. Industry
    2. Research Admin
    3. Academic
    4. Teaching Positions

UBC Student Services –Resumes, Cover Letters & Curricula Vitae

Graduate Pathways to Success (GPS)

GPS program consists of non-credit workshops, seminars and other activities designed support graduate students’ academic curriculum

    • Success in Graduate School
    • Self Management
    • Professional Effectiveness
    • Career Building
    • Constructive Leadership

Please feel free to contact Martha if you have any questions about your CV, or if you would like her to review your CV and provide feedback.  There are also many UBC Graduate student workshops provided that are relevant to career development.