Table Of ContentHOW TO
Prepare Your
Curriculum
Vitae
Revised Edition
Acy L. Jackson and C. Kathleen Geckeis
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DOI: 10.1036/0071426264
To my beloved grandchildren
Jamil Allette-Jackson
Lourdes Bronté Jackson
Quinn Sterling Julius Jackson
who constantly inspire me to excel in all my endeavors
—Acy L. Jackson
(cid:1) (cid:2)
To my parents
Jean and Roger Tucker
whose love and support sustain me in everything that I do
—C. Kathleen Geckeis
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Contents
Acknowledgments vii
1
Getting Started 1
2
Identifying Competencies and Skills 5
3
Preparing Your Curriculum Vitae 19
4
Correspondence for the Application
Process and the Job Search 63
5
Sample Curricula Vitae 85
6
The Electronic Curriculum Vitae 147
7
International Curricula Vitae 159
v
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vi Contents
AFinal Word 167
Appendix A: Action Verbs 169
Appendix B: Selected United States and
Canadian Professional, Learned, and
Scientific Societies 171
Appendix C: Suggested Reading 180
Acknowledgments
We wish to express our deepest appreciation to our
esteemed colleagues and friends, who advised and
encouraged us as we prepared this edition of How to
Prepare Your Curriculum Vitae.
With gratitude, we thank Gerry Bazer, Dean of Arts
and Sciences at Owens Community College, Toledo,
Ohio, for his support and encouragement throughout
this project. We are also appreciative of Deborah
Wingert, Research Librarian at Terra Community
College, Fremont, Ohio, whose congeniality and knowl-
edge of resources have been of infinite value to us.
In addition, we are indebted to Dr. Orlando Reyes-
Cairo and Dr. Warren Dick for their valuable contribu-
tions to the new chapter, “International Curricula Vitae.”
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to Robin Bliss-Atkins for
typing the appendices, and our sincerest thanks to Denise
Betts, our patient and supportive editor.
vii
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1
Getting Started
The curriculum vitae, commonly referred to as a CV, Vita,
or Vitae, is a detailed biographical description of one’s
educational and work background. It differs from a
résumé, a one-page description of one’s work experience
and educational background not only in length but also in
detail. The origin of the term curriculum vitaeis Latin
and means “the course of one’s life or career.” As such, a
CV includes detailed information regarding one’s aca-
demic coursework, professional experience, publications,
and so on.
The curriculum vitae, long in use among professionals
in higher education, has gained currency among under-
graduates applying for admission to graduate and profes-
sional schools, as well as among applicants for selected
areas of employment such as those in research, teaching,
and management. Moreover, because of the growing ten-
dency to use brief application forms—often only two pages
1
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2 How to Prepare Your Curriculum Vitae
long—some graduate and professional programs actually
encourage applicants to enclose a CV with their applica-
tions. For these reasons, the curriculum vitae is often
referred to as an “academic résumé.” We have included
sample curricula vitae in Chapters 5, 6, and 7.
This book provides effective and timely guidelines for:
• Soon-to-be college graduates
• Continuing graduates
• Professionals who need to prepare a CV
• Professionals who need to update a CV
• Professionals planning a career transition
As a resource, this book is especially suited to the
needs of faculty and staff who provide academic, personal,
and career/vocational counseling to those who are prepar-
ing to write their CVs and are in need of guidance.
As you prepare your CV, it is important to use the
critical-thinking skills you have learned as a result of
your education or training. Few individuals realize that
the critical-thinking skills they acquire as they pursue
an academic degree are transferable to other aspects of
their lives. Take the skill of analysis, for example. Upon
graduation, one can assume that an individual has
acquired analytical skills such as problem solving and
decision making. The biology major, for example, will
have honed analytical skills by studying courses in the
discipline, performing experiments in the laboratory,
writing reports based on observations, and using data
to reconsider the conditions under which those observa-
tions occurred. These very skills are transferable as the
biology graduate begins the process of writing a CV and
reexamining his or her life and academic career. Use the
exercises provided at the end of this chapter to examine
your life and your academic career. As you do so, remem-
ber to examine specifically those academic skills that are
transferable to other aspects of your life and career.
