Application Materials: Resumes, CVs, Cover Letters & More

Check out the Résumé Guide (pdf) for detailed instructions and tips for creating a résumé.

A resume is a formal document that summarizes your experiences, qualifications, education, and relevant skills for employers to review when you submit a job application. A resume can be 1-2 pages, but should not be longer. Resumes need to be concise, well-organized, and precisely formatted. You are showing a skillset by crafting a well-written document that is tailored to the position you are applying for, incorporates keywords, highlights accomplishments, and includes the required or optional sections detailed below. 

All resumes should include: 

• A contact information section with your name, phone number, professional email address, and the city/state that you are based in. Consider adding a LinkedIn link or professional website link. 
• Education section with the name of your degree(s), institution, and expected graduation date. Exclude high school. 
• Professional, vocational, and/or volunteer experiences. 
• Consider having a profile/summary/objective section below your contact information that includes a short summary of your qualifications and/or application goals. 
• Consider adding a skills section that highlights technical and industry-specific skills. Special Qualifications List

Take a look at this PDF with more section or category ideas: 

Resume and CV Categories

Format

• Consider formatting your resume in reverse chronological order, or ordering the most relevant experiences first. 
• Format your resume to be readable with font choice and size. 
• Be mindful of negative space. 
• Do not include any pronouns; use first or third-person implied formatting. (No "I" "My" "Our" "We," etc.)

Writing Position Descriptions 

• Start each sentence or bullet point with an action verb (PDF below). Use the correct tense, past tense for past positions and present tense for current positions. 
• Provide metrics and data whenever possible, keywords, industry-specific language, and tailor to the position to emphasize the skills that the position requires. 
• Highlight accomplishments and the importance of your actions, including positive results. "Assisted 50+ customers daily with active communication, ensuring a positive customer experience."
• Highlight transferable skills. What are some of the top skills that employers are looking for? Career Readiness Competencies (NACE)

An ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is a software or A.I. system that companies and recruiters may use to scan resumes for role-specific keywords and formatting so that only the top matches reach human reviewers. 

Often, ATS will automatically score your resume based on how well your content matches the job description. Recruiters can then select from ranked candidates or search the final database of applications using keywords.  

•  Job descriptions typically have soft and hard skills appear multiple times; these will be important keywords to include in your resume via action verbs 
• Use critical keywords more than once, and make sure they are integrated within your bullet points rather than only listed in a “Skills” section.
• Try to integrate 25–35 role-specific keywords pulled directly from the job description naturally throughout your experience bullets. 

Below are some more considerations to keep in mind when creating a resume that is best suited to pass an ATS.  

• Standard Headings: Use standard section titles such as "Professional Experience," "Education," and "Skills" so your information can be categorized properly.
• Layout: Make sure that your layout and general formatting of your document will be easily readable by systems. Try to avoid using headers, footers, tables, charts, or images, as they may confuse automated scanners. Consider using a single-column layout instead of two. Avoid all graphics. 
• File Format: Save your documents as a PDF to ensure the ATS can read and extract your information. 

Check out this list of Action Verbs that you may be able to incorporate into your resume. 

Take a look at this checklist to help you write your resume or your CV: 

Resume & CV Checklist

Federal Resume (PDF)

The way that one might pronounce Curriculum Vitae (CV) may be dependent on where you are from.

Below are a few phonetic examples of how to pronounce this word:

• Kuh-RIK-you-lum VEE-tie
• Kuh-RIK-you-lum VEE-tay
• Kuh-RIK-you-lum VEE-tee

A CV is a long-form resume that is often used by professionals in academia, for many types of job applications, graduate school applications, grant applications, or for fellowships, and includes both an academic history and a professional history. An employer may ask you for a resume or a CV; consider which one is a better fit for you and demonstrating your qualifications. There are no page limitations for a CV; early-career professionals aim to fill 2-3 pages at least. Check out more: 

• Tips for writing your curriculum vitae

Check out this helpful article on the difference between a CV and a resume, and the differnece between writing a CV for a job application vs. writing a CV for graduate school applications: 

• Writing a CV or Resume for Graduate School. 

Oftentimes, faculty will have their CV linked to their staff page through department sites. Take a look at faculty CVs for more examples!

Much like a resume, CVs should include these sections: 

• A contact information section with your name, phone number, professional email address, and the city/state that you are based in. Consider adding a LinkedIn link or professional website link. 
• Education section with the name of your degree(s), institution, and expected graduation date. Exclude high school. 
• Professional, vocational, and/or volunteer experiences. 
• Academic experiences (as possible): research, publications, presentations, teaching experiences
• Consider adding a skills section that highlights technical and industry-specific skills. Special Qualifications List

Here are more ideas for optional sections that you can include if possible: 

Resume and CV Categories

Below are two simple templates that you can use to get started:

CV Template (Google Doc)

CV Template from McNair Scholars (Google Doc)

Things to keep in mind:

• These documents are not one-size fits all -- while templates are helpful, please view them as a reference or starting point. If a section is not included in the template above, you can edit/update to speak to your unique experiences or skills.
• Templates from Word, Canva, Google Docs or other websites can be difficult to modify/edit and may not be readable by Applicant Tracking Software. To ensure that you have a consistent/editable document, be sure to create your own or use a template that is editable and easy-to-use.
• The templates above can be downloaded as Microsoft Word documents.

Resume & CV Checklist

• CV Example (Psychology) (pdf)
• CV Example (Wildlife) (pdf)
• CV Example (Anthropology) (pdf)
• CV Example (Geology) (pdf)