Front Page Today's News Information Technology Distance Education Teaching Publishing Money Government & Politics Community Colleges Students Athletics International People Events The Chronicle Review Jobs Colloquy Colloquy Live Magazines & Journals New Grant Competitions Internet Resources Facts & Figures Issues in Depth Online Market Site Sampler This Week's Issue Back Issues Related Documents About The Chronicle How to Register How to Subscribe Subscriber Services Change Your User Name Change Your Password Forgot Your Password? How to Advertise Corrections Privacy Policy Feedback Help

Friday, September 17, 1999 The CV Doctor By MARY HEIBERGER and JULIA MILLER VICK How good is your C.V.? Putting together an effective curriculum vitae is one of the most crucial tasks in your job hunt. But if you're like most academics, it could probably use a little polishing. Take a look at the five C.V.'s below, submitted to us for public critique in our column by scholars in disciplines ranging from art to biology. We selected C.V.'s that were already strong but that could benefit from some revisions. Many of our suggestions were designed to emphasize a candidate's key qualifications. Search committees are often overwhelmed with materials, and you want a C.V. that looks impressive when someone glances at it for a few seconds. One of the biggest mistakes candidates make is omitting information that would be relevant or interesting to a hiring committee. It would be helpful to go over your C.V. with a senior colleague who knows you and your work. Keep in mind that even the best C.V. might be revised to highlight one's qualifications for a specific position. For more information, consult The Academic Search Handbook and the materials put out by your disciplinary association. Social sciences Education or other professional school Humanities Fine or creative arts Sciences Have a question you'd like the Career Talk advisers to answer? Send it to us at careertalk@chronicle.com PREVIOUS ADVICE COLUMNS Mary Morris Heiberger and Julia Miller Vick are the authors of The Academic Job Search Handbook (University of Pennsylvania Press). They have provided career services for thousands of graduate and professional students since 1985. Ms.Heiberger is associate director and Ms. Vick is graduate career counselor at the Career Services office of the University of Pennsylvania. You can order their book directly from the University of Pennsylvania Press or from either of the on-line booksellers below. Easy-to-print version E-mail this article How to list job openings on this service How to search Sign up to receive notification by e-mail that we have new jobs in your field. 1,042 job announcements from the March 2 issue of The Chronicle -- exclusively for Chronicle subscribers (password required). 1,166 job announcements from the February 23 issue of The Chronicle -- available here free. Career Talk: Common mistakes by job hunters Previous columns: Beyond the Ivory Tower Career Talk Catalyst Moving Up Ms. Mentor Ryan Moore: Just call me Dr. Temp Slave Previous First Person diaries Have you had a job-seeking experience you'd like to share? If so, tell us about it. You can also read others' stories. Martha W. Gilliland: Surviving the presidential search Previous Spotlight articles Training in transition: preparing future faculty Science Next Wave Missing data and no tenure New contract Higher pay Peer Review THE CV DOCTOR: The Career Talk columnists critique 5 C.V.'s submitted by readers. FROM C.V. TO RÉSUMÉ: Margaret Newhouse shows an aspiring science writer how to transform her C.V. into a résumé. OFF THE TENURE TRACK: A new study confirms what academe has known all along: low-paid, part-time faculty members make up almost half of the teaching staff in many humanities departments. SMART CAREERS: Profiles of people who have found interesting careers in and out of the academy. WHAT FACULTY MEMBERS EARN at more than 1,800 colleges and universities. A SPECIAL SECTION with in-depth information about employment issues in higher education. Links: other job-market resources on the Internet Bookshelf: guides for the academic job seeker An index of all Career Network articles and columns arranged by topic Copyright © 1999 by The Chronicle of Higher Education