CVs

Depending on the role or industry, the requirements for length and format of your CV may differ, however it is standard in most cases to use two sides of A4. There are also different types of CV, including narrative and skills based, however most positions require you to produce a chronological style CV.

Chronological CV format

A chronological CV is the most commonly required format when applying for a job. It consists of your education and work experience in reverse chronological order, meaning that the most recent experience is shown first.

It is used to display your employment and educational history, to give an overview of where you have worked or studied, what you did, and how long you spent at each role. This way, you can show how your career has progressed so far and you can expand on the skills you have developed at each stage.

Some advice applies to almost all chronological CVs, regardless of the role and industry. This includes:

• Have the most recent experience at the top, and work backwards in time through the list
• Include only relevant personal information such as your email address, phone number and LinkedIn account but do not include a photograph, date of birth, or martial status
• Break text up into smaller paragraphs to make it less cluttered
• Use clear smart font and be consistent in your formatting
• Be concise in your writing and avoid being vague

Your chronological CV will be different depending on whether you are applying for an academic job or applying outside of academia. Click on the sections further down this page to explore these in more detail.

Narrative CV format

A narrative CV is usually used for grant applications, and is not standard for most job applications. Rather than being focused on listing employment history, this CV type encourages descriptive writing about your achievements, in order to demonstrate your skills and abilities.

Narrative CVs tend to be more holistic in style compared to chronological CVs, and have more on a focus on your experiences outside of your academic career.

If you are using this CV type as part of a grant application, check the requirements set out by the funders you are applying to. The requirements can vary, and it's important to show that you have taken the time to understand what they are asking for.

Find out more about narrative CVs

Skills-based CV

A skills-based CV consists of an overview of your current skills and abilities, rather than a list of your previous roles and experiences.

This type of CV is not commonly used, but it can be the best choice if you have no work experience other than your PhD, as it focuses on your skills rather than your employment history.

If an employer is advertising a role with a very specific set of skills and you've covered these in your PhD, it's important to highlight these skills at the top of your CV so that you clearly demonstrate your suitability.

It's difficult to get this type of CV right, so if you're considering using this format, please book an appointment with a careers adviser and we will discuss this with you.

Be descriptive

When providing information about what you did in each role that you include in your CV, it strengthens your application if you phrase these points in an active and assertive way. Where relevant, quantify your achievements and give clear examples.

For example, rather than writing:

• "I did a fundraising event with the team and ran the social media"

Try something like this instead:

• "I coordinated a successful fundraising event which raised over £5,000, and built a social media profile to increase reach and subsequent donations"

Being descriptive and direct in your writing style can make it clearer to the employer where your strengths lie. It also reduces the risk of being too vague, where your example fails to reflect the skillset you are trying to demonstrate.

Useful resources for active verbs

Using more descriptive active verbs in your CV can make your application more impressive, and provide a better overview of your experience.

It can be difficult to know which words to use instead of the usual 'helped', 'took part in', or 'completed', so you might find the following resource helpful.

Action verbs resource

Read our blog posts about CV writing

If you're not sure where to start, it can be really useful to hear advice from other postgraduate researchers about their approach to CV writing.

Read Hiba's blog

Read Chloe's blog

If you're applying for post-doctoral research and teaching jobs, you will need to submit a CV as part of your application.

Read through the information in this section to find out how to create a strong academic CV, and check out the example below.

Example academic CV

What to include

CVs for academic jobs will differ from those used for jobs outside academia, and will likely focus more on your specific area of research and your research techniques, rather than having a focus on transferable skills.

You will usually need to provide an overview of the roles you've had, with information on the specific research techniques (including qualitative, quantitative and/or lab-based), if they're relevant for the job you're applying for.

Check the role description for their expectations of your application, as some will outline whether they require a general summary of your roles, or if they require a detailed breakdown of your research techniques and responsibilities.

Usually, you will want to consider adding the following experiences:

• Your PhD title and synopsis
• Your publications (most recent or most relevant to role)
• Your experience in specific research techniques
• Research interests and motivations
• Teaching, volunteering, and mentoring
• Conferences, oral presentations and poster presentations
• Details of funding you have been awarded
• Your experiences outside academia to demonstrate transferable skills

Some of these may not be relevant to your experience, and you might have other examples outside of this list, so try to demonstrate those which are most important for the role you are applying for.

Formatting of an academic CV

Usually an academic CV can be longer than a non-academic CV. You might still sometimes be limited to the standard two pages of A4, so always check the requirements set out by the employer.

With a longer CV, it can be even more important to ensure that the most relevant information is near the top, so that the employer can quickly see that you are suitable for the role.

This can be a good option even if you are using a chronological CV format, to ensure that the most relevant experience isn't lost in the text if it is not the most recent.

The different sections of an academic CV

Your CV will be formed of several different sections; research, teaching, and other academic duties and responsibilities.

Your CV for a non-academic role will have different requirements to those used in academia.

Read through the information in this section to find out how to build a strong CV for a role outside academia, and check out our example non-academic CV.

Writing about your PhD

When writing a CV for a job outside academia, one of the most important things will be to remember that your PhD is a job, and that the skills you gain throughout your doctorate degree are transferable to industry.

Simply listing your experiences will not be enough, you will need to demonstrate clearly how the skills you have developed can be directly applied to the role you are applying to.

For example, if you have presented to other researchers at several poster conferences, you will have developed a similar skillset required for presenting a new product or service to potential clients.

If you'd like to read more about how to identify your transferable skills, our webpage highlights what researchers have to offer employers 

Formatting of CVs outside academia

In terms of formatting, your CV will usually need to fit onto a maximum of two sides of A4, which is shorter than those required for academic jobs.

For this reason, there will not be space for a long list of publications or other achievements from your academic career. You will need to be more concise and carefully choose the most important experiences to include.

You will usually need to use a chronological style CV, which is covered above. It might feel natural to include your PhD in the education section of your CV, however it can be more valuable to include it in the work experience section instead. This demonstrates to employers that you have several years of work experience from your PhD, rather than seeing it as a course.

If you are considering or are in the process of applying to a job abroad, the format of the CV or resume could be different to the above advice. GoinGlobal is an international careers information resource providing advice on applying for jobs including CV formatting in 42 countries.

UoN students and graduates can access GoinGlobal free of charge by logging into MyCareer

Go to GoinGlobal for advice on applying for jobs abroad

If you've made your CV and would like some feedback, we have specific PhD CV appointments available.

Ensure you have considered the advice on this page, and then talk to a member of our team.