Academic CV and Covering Letter

Academic CV and Covering Letter Guidance on producing an academic CV and covering letter. Academic CV The headings below describe the typical content of an academic CV. Education  Your PhD, first degree and Masters, if you have one  Probably no need to list school qualifications, but if you do, put those that counted for entry to higher education only.  For your PhD you should summarise your research to date, include the names of your supervisor(s) and details of any funding obtained. If you have a viva date or target submission date note that.  Title, grade achieved and dissertation title may be enough for Masters and first degrees.  Give more about courses taken if they can demonstrate a wider subject knowledge that could be of use if applying for a teaching post. Experience (Research)  If you are including this section you may want to give full details of your PhD research here and only dates, title and supervisors under the education section.  Include any research experience in addition to your PhD, e.g. research assistant or technician.  Give details of subject area if relevant, methodology or technical skills.  Mention any funding obtained, supervisor / research leader. Experience (Teaching)  Provide details of any tutoring, demonstrating or lecturing.  Mention courses taught and level, e.g. Sociology 1 or Cell Biology 2.  Show involvement with developing courses, marking and assessment.  For a teaching application, could discuss teaching methods and philosophy, and any feedback received.  Invited or guest lectures could be included. Additional experience The focus should be on your research and / or teaching experience but you may wish to include briefly other work that can:  Demonstrate the skills being sought for the job.  Show you can successfully manage work and study.  Fill any chronological gaps in your history. Experience (administration)  Use to demonstrate that you will be a good colleague, willing to make a contribution to the administrative work of the department.  List any administrative experience you have such as helping to organise a seminar programme or conference or committee membership. Publications and presentations You can include this as a section in your CV or as an appendix. Published, peer-reviewed publications or monographs will often hold the most weight but early on in your career you will mention other things as an illustration of your research activity and impact.  Peer-reviewed publications.  Contributions to books chapters.  Book reviews.  Can include those accepted for publication but not yet published.  If this section is a bit slim you could include submitted articles to show your intention to publish.  Inclusion in conference proceedings.  Presentations or posters at conferences. Mention if these have been invited presentations. Interests / other activities This section is not essential in an academic CV but could be used to include:  Positions of responsibility that demonstrate some of the skills the employer is looking for that have not been covered elsewhere  Leisure pursuits that say a bit about you, but only very brief details. References When applying for advertised jobs, you will usually be expected to provide full contact details (name, relationship to you, address, e-mail and telephone) for 2 - 3 referees at least one of whom will be your PhD supervisor.  Think carefully about who you ask to act as a referee. It can be useful to have someone who is well-known in your academic field but only if they know you well and can comment positively on your abilities!  Make sure you brief your referees well on what you are applying for and give them an up-to-date copy of your CV to ensure they are aware of all the contributions you have made to your department / research area. The covering or supporting letter This is your opportunity to show your motivation for the position and demonstrate that you meet the person specification for the job. A covering letter shouldn’t generally be longer than one page (unless it is in the form of a supporting statement of application) and should if at all possible always be addressed to a named person rather than ‘Dear sir or madam’. You should use your covering letter to address:  Why you are interested in this particular institution and department / research group they want to know that you are genuinely interested in working for them and are knowledgeable about the teaching (if relevant) and research interests of staff within the department.  Why you are interested in this particular position and how it fits in with your career plans.  What you have to offer in terms of research and / or teaching experience, qualifications and skills - use good examples to back this up.  Your ideas for the future in terms of research direction, and potential to attract funding and publish - particularly important for research-only jobs or teaching jobs at research-intensive universities. You don’t need to repeat your CV, but you should draw attention to key points to encourage the employer to read it.