CVs for scientists

By December 7, 2012 Career One Comment

The germ of the idea of targeting scientists for assistance with their CVs grew from helping a friend’s son, who was planning his career after graduation. He wasn’t sure about his chances of being accepted to do a higher degree, a doctorate in bioscience. This was Linda’s first experience of looking at a CV for a scientist early in their career. So, Linda and Paul joined forces, offering their help, not just with his CV, but also with his career plan. Because of their unique combination of expertise, they could discuss with him what life was like as a doctoral student and also give hints and tips about covering letters, personal statements and his CV.

Curriculum vitae for scientists ARE different – scientists and, often, IT professionals too, have very long lists of reference material – for scientists, their publications and in IT, software expertise or contracts – which are often the main measure of their suitability for a role. This means that their CVs may be much longer than the typical 2-3 pages that are ideal for other jobs.

Writing a CV is not rocket science, nor is it brain surgery; but the structure of a scientist’s CV is critical – recruiters and potential employers have limited time and pay most attention to the top of the first page and, depending on the seniority of the role, to the list of publications. Many scientists do not write a CV until they are forced to and may struggle to do so, despite their experience with writing scientific documents.

So, if you need help with your CV and career plan, get in touch  linda@thesmartcoachingcompany.com

One Comment

  • Paul Denny says:

    I expect that you’ll be pleased to hear that our friend’s son, who was uncertain about the next steps in his career, decided to start postgraduate training leading to a doctoral degree (PhD) and is now studying at his first choice of university – so we must have done something right!

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