Resume/CV – UW Graduate School Skip to content

Advice Topic: Resume/CV

Thinking about your own path and preparation

In a typical year, our summer schedules often allow us some space to step back, reflect, and focus on our own professional development. We hope that as we continue to respond to and slowly recover from the current pandemic, you will find a little time to focus on yourself as you prepare for the future. While these are admittedly uncertain times, it’s clear that now more than ever, the world needs well-educated, reasoned and experienced thinkers and innovators to help guide us through the recovery and into the future – this sounds like a description of UW postdocs!

In the past, we’ve shared advice on pursuing your passion projects, identifying your unique skills, and crafting documents for a successful job application. Here, we’d like to share two exceptional resources which allow you to both explore and enhance your skills and professional development: LinkedIn Learning and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Intramural Training & Education (OITE).

LinkedIn Learning: The UW Career and Internship Center has purchased a license for full access to LinkedIn Learning. LinkedIn Learning is a collection of online videos to help you enhance and develop skills. Importantly, everyone with a UW NetID can access the resources. Spend some time exploring the site to get advice for your next career step, including:

NIH OITE: The NIH OITE has responded to COVID-19 by making much of their internal professional development activities open to the public. While some admittedly have a scientific focus, many workshops on wellness and career and professional development are broadly applicable to the academic community (and beyond). Feel free to register (for free) for one of their upcoming workshops. We were particularly impressed with the following seminars:

As a postdoc, it is imperative that you carve out some time to focus on YOU: assess what skills you have already developed and focus on how best to promote them. Equally as important, take the time to determine which skills and experiences you still need to develop as you prepare for your next career step. We encourage you to explore both LinkedIn Learning and the NIH OITE resources in your own time. And as always, we, the UW Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA), continue to be available for consultation and support as you navigate these difficult times.

Crafting an Effective Diversity Statement and Cover Letter

In Spring 2019, the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA), Core Programs in the Graduate School, the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (OMA&D) co-sponsored an interactive workshop led by the UW Postdoc Diversity Alliance, Crafting an Effective Diversity Statement and Cover Letter. A panel of four speakers — Rickey Hall, vice president and university diversity officer, OMA&D; Evangelina Shreeve, director, STEM Education and Outreach, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Butch de Castro, professor and associate dean, School of Nursing; and Cynthia del Rosario, diversity, equity and access officer, Information School — shared insights on topics related to diversity statements and the job application process. We are summarizing the highlights from the panel discussion, including strategies to create effective diversity statements.

Diversity not only includes demographic characteristics like gender, race, and ethnicity; it includes all dimensions of one’s identity, such as first-generation status, economic background, immigration status and more. Some characteristics are more salient and visible than others. Inclusion means that diverse voices are included in the decision-making process. There are distinct differences between equality and equity. Equity involves giving people what they need to be as successful as non-minoritized groups; conversely, equality is to treat everyone the same. Diversity is extremely important in the science community, where different perspectives are and should be highly valued. Organizations that value diversity and inclusion strive to provide a space where all members are respected. If a system or structure perpetuates inequity and inequality, we should encourage one another to challenge this system or structure. While we are making strides to address diversity, equity, & inclusion (DEI) in academia, there is a lot of work ahead of us.

Diversity Statements need to be personalized: they are a reflection of your positionality, and a place where you demonstrate your passion and compassion. You can give examples about how to bring diverse perspectives into your inclusive teaching. While some organizations do not require diversity statements as part of the job application, you are encouraged to provide examples of how you uniquely prioritize DEI elsewhere in your application materials. For example, documents required by government jobs are standard. To distinguish your voice and highlight why you are the right person for a particular position, you can consider framing your cover letter (and all the other application materials) from your diversity perspective when appropriate. Use specific examples from your personal experiences. Think whether your research, teaching or public service addressed any diversity issues. Your statement works the best when you have an understanding of the diversity mission and the holistic strategic plan for your dream organization. If you haven’t had any experience with diversity, propose a plan on how you are going to be more involved when you get hired. Also consider asking your reference letter writers to address how you contributed to diversity. Authenticity is the key: be sure to let your true self come through in your application materials.

Diversity work is important. As Ricky Hall said, “Let’s hold ourselves and our colleagues accountable. We lead by engaging.” Good luck with preparing your application materials. And know that your efforts to improve the climate and culture at the UW and beyond are appreciated.

Making a strong first impression when applying for jobs

There are multiple components to a successful job application, including a resume or curriculum vitae (CV), letters of reference and a cover letter. All are important, but you just get one chance to make a strong first impression and convince the reviewers to give the rest of your application materials a look.

The cover letter is the first opportunity you have to convince the hiring manager or your future boss that you are a great fit for the job. Even if you use primarily the same CV or letters of reference for many applications, it is always well worth the time to tailor and target your cover letter each time.

Regardless of sector, and whether requested or not, the cover letter allows you to connect specifics from your experience to the position and organization. Here are some tips for writing a cover letter that will help you stand out from the applicant pool:

  • Highlight and expand on some of the details listed in your CV or resume, but do not merely repeat what is already detailed there. The cover letter, or statement of interest, is the chance for you to bring your resume to life for a reviewer.
  • Use specific examples to convince your future employer that you are the right person to do the job. Similar to letters of reference, don’t simply list your skills and traits. Give specific examples on how you used the desired skills to successfully solve a problem or move a project forward. A detailed description will provide great insight into you as a person and a future employee.
  • Read the job description and personalize your letter for the specific job posting. Most readers can readily tell when you’ve sent out cover letters in bulk, with little effort to address the hiring organization and skills required for a particular job. When compared to a well-researched letter, the candidate with the non-specific letter will surely not be invited for an interview.
  • Your letter should include the skills and competencies outlined in the job posting. Many companies use computers to perform the first screen during the evaluation process. If your letter is not responsive to the job posting, then your application might be discarded prior to the start of the real evaluation.
  • Be concise. Hiring managers don’t have time to read long letters, especially when a single job posting receives hundreds of inquires. While providing enough specific details to stimulate excitement for your application and a more careful review, be sure to keep you letter to two pages (or one). The goal of a letter is to get invited for an interview, and there you’ll have the opportunity to expand at length!

As you start to think about your future job search, we encourage you to attend the Future Faculty Fellows workshop that takes place in June each year or check out the online guides provided by the Career & Internship Center. You can always reach out to us at the OPA with questions, or make an appointment to go through draft materials with you.

Graduating soon, and what next?

“I am a fifth-year doctoral student and will be graduating soon. I’m at the point in my graduate education where I am thinking about possible careers. What are some simple steps I can take to start my career planning?” –Anonymous

Lucky you, grad student, you get two answers to your question! One is from Catherine Basl, career counselor with Career & Internship Services. Catherine manages the center’s programming for graduate students. Another is from the Core Programs team, who support personal and professional development of grad students at the UW. You know what they say, two heads are better than one!

Catherine Basl, career counselor, Career & Internship Services:

Leverage your research skills for career planning! Aim for a mix of independent reading about options and connecting with professionals in coffee chats or at events.

A few ideas for getting started:

  • Talk to one alum of your graduate program who works outside of academia in an area of possible interest. Graduate Program Advisers could be a good resource for finding alumni.
  • Attend an event on campus (Core Programs and the Career & Internship Center host many) that is focused on employer connections or exploring options.
  • Reflect on your time here at UW. Consider all of the roles you have held as a graduate student (TA, research assistant, mentor, tutor, lab manager, writer, coder, etc.). Looking at each role, what were the tasks and activities you enjoyed most? Least? See if patterns emerge across roles. For an example of this activity, see pages 8-10 in the Career Guide.
  • Paula Di Rita Wishart’s article on Career Callings also provides some great activities for reflecting on your graduate school experience and next steps.
  • LinkedIn’s Alumni tool shows you where actual UW alumni work and you can sort by location, employer, and field of study to see possible career paths.

Some notes:

  • Looking at job postings when you aren’t sure what you want to do can be overwhelming. Job boards become much more navigable when you have established criteria for what you want in a position. The same goes for large career fairs.
  • Gather multiple data points. That means talking to more than one person, reading about career options on more than one website, and testing out the information you hear.
  • Realize career planning is like all research projects—sometimes things fall into place quickly and sometimes you encounter roadblocks along the way. If you feel stuck or would like someone to brainstorm with, consider booking an appointment with a career counselor and checking in with mentors.

A few more resources for exploring:

Core Programs Team:

Dear UW Grad Student,

Thank you for reaching out! This is a great question, and one we hear frequently from graduate students who are further along in their degree programs and thinking through different career paths. Whether you are thinking about working in industry, non-profits, government, or academia, there are several resources that can help you do intentional career planning (many of which we’ve learned through collaborations with partners at the Career & Internship Center).

First step: do some self-assessment work. Where are you with your skills, strengths, interests, passions? Then, use a planning tool like an Individual Development Plan (link) to start to map out possible goals and steps you can take toward them in the next few months. You can also utilize this helpful career planning guide from the Career & Internship Center that provides several clear, proactive steps you can take towards finding that job you’re passionate about.

To explore and open your possibilities, do LinkedIn searches for professionals with jobs you’re interested in learning more about and set up informational interviews to hear more about their unique career trajectories.

Explore different career options within academia and/or job sectors outside of academia with the amazing resources on the Career Center website.

We totally get that you are 100% focused on your dissertation work and graduation – it’s a lot! And, we know that setting aside 1-2 hours per week (starting right now) to explore, research, draft, attend something that helps you refine your career search will really help you identify career options and opportunities for your next steps. It’s worth it – give it a try!

Sincerely,

Core Programs Team
#UWGradSuccess
 

Summer Lovin’ for your resume

Don’t have a summer gig lined up? Or maybe you’ve secured work unrelated to your field, and want to stay mentally sharp during the next few months? Here are 10 tips for professional and career development – a few of which will even get you outdoors! And, as Dylan High, student experience coordinator for Museology reminds us:

“No matter what you do over the summer, stay active and reflective about what you have been involved in over the school year. You never know when inspiration will hit — whether you are at a workshop or up on a mountain. Make space to be creative, and have time for intentional and spontaneous reflection.”

This answer has been provided after consultation with Kelly Hoeft, academic adviser for the School of Social Work, Linda Ruffer, assistant director for the School of Social Work, and Dylan High, student experience coordinator for Museology.

  1. Ship’s not sailed for summer internships
    The Career & Internship Center says it’s not too late to find summer internships. Don’t know where to start? Check out the career fair in the HUB on June 14.
  2. Temp work
    Temp agencies can help you find short-term paid work, and will also help build your contacts at employers across the city.
  3. Plan the next Fyre Festival SXSW
    Event planning and event management skills are well sought-after, especially in the areas of non-profit work. Hone these skills by helping plan a summer festival — either by getting involved with the organization hosting the event or the participating organizations that set up booths or activities.
  4. Head back to summer camp
    Summer camps may have opportunities to volunteer or lead activities outside of working as a camp counselor. If you’re interested in education, it’s an opportunity to hone your lesson planning, facilitation and classroom management skills.
  5. Join professional associations and attend workshops
    This is an opportunity to learn something new and build your network. If a workshop or conference is expensive, consider volunteering for it. If your local association doesn’t have anything planned, talk with the leaders of the chapter to see how you could organize a meet-up. There are also plenty of one-day workshops or short-term courses offered by colleges, universities, and other organizations during the summer.
  6. Set up informational interviews
    Informational interviewing — casually meeting with someone in your field without the agenda of a job offer — is a great way to learn about successful careers, gain insights into an industry and expand your network. Use LinkedIn to connect with someone, then ask them to grab coffee.
  7. Prepare for job hunting
    Visit UW Career Services, where they can help you polish your resume, conduct a mock interview and more. Alumni can visit for free for up to two years.
  8. Contribute to a blog
    Most of your favorite blogs will be happy to have guest contributors. Blogging will keep your writing skills in shape over the summer, get your ideas out in front of your peers, and keep you involved in your professional community.
  9. Read!
    Check out books, news articles and blogs that are not required for class but are related to your field, especially those that build your creative approach to your work.
  10. Stay in touch with your department
    Your department is a great resource to find out about new projects, research opportunities, and resources of interest. Share what you’re reading with your department, and ask them to do the same — this is what makes us all an academic community.

Translating Your Postdoc Experience into Practice

An academic journey is an interesting thing. After focusing on developing specialized knowledge in a field during your PhD and then digging deeper during your postdoc, it is understandable to wonder how you might use your specific expertise in different settings – whether inside or outside of academia.

A recent panel of Ph.D.s working in industry highlighted the importance of translating your doctoral and postdoc experience into broader terms. Taking an inventory of your skills, capabilities, and strengths can help you gain confidence as you begin to imagine you do have something remarkable to offer to a future employer or to leverage for success in your career.

Skills learned during graduate school and a postdoc fellowship have set you up to be a competitive applicant for most industry and start up jobs, in addition to the traditional academic track. By the completion of your training, you are highly intelligent, with an ability to learn and teach yourself “what you don’t know.” You are adept at gathering all the available information and making a good decision regarding what it means and what’s next. You have developed great analytical and logic-minded skills, which you can apply to move an issue, experiment or conversation forward. All it takes is stepping back, and reframing your experiences for a different audience.

Need some ideas about how your graduate and postdoc experiences have prepared you for a rewarding career inside or outside of academia? Check out this list from Peter Fiske’s keynote at the National Postdoc Association meeting 2017 (#NPA2017) to get you started:

  1. Ability to function in a variety of environments and roles
  2. Teaching skills; conceptualizing, explaining
  3. Counseling, interview skills
  4. Public speaking experience
  5. Ability to support a position/viewpoint with argumentation and logic
  6. Ability to conceive and design complex studies and projects
  7. Ability to implement and manage all phases of complex research projects and to follow them through to completion
  8. Knowledge of the scientific method to organize and test ideas
  9. Ability to organize and analyze data, to understand statistics and to generalize from data
  10. Ability to combine, integrate information from disparate sources
  11. Ability to evaluate critically
  12. Ability to investigate, using many different research methodologies
  13. Ability to problem-solve
  14. Ability to do advocacy work
  15. Ability to acknowledge many differing views of reality
  16. Ability to suspend judgment, to work with ambiguity
  17. Ability to make the best use of informed hunches

As you develop your own inventory, keep in mind that similar skills or capacities may be called different things in different sectors or fields. Do your research when you are targeting a job prospect and develop tailored versions of your CV or resume and cover letters to reflect the field specific terms.  You are prepared – it just takes a little translation to help others see it easily. We invite you to budget an hour or so a week to explore the references below for more tools and ideas.

Tips from Employers to Guide Your Career Search

A few weeks ago, Core Programs in the Graduate School, Career Center, and the Alumni Association sponsored an employer panel for graduate students and postdocs. We would like to share a few pearls from the terrific UW alums who sat on the panel and who also hosted conversations during the networking reception that followed.

The job search is about finding the right fit for your talents. Be creative about your career options, test out new ways to tell the story of your (deep) experience and skill set, and it is never too early to start exploring and building your network.

Getting Started

  • Evolve your resume. Your resume should always be evolving and tailored to each job you are applying for. Also, describe examples of specific accomplishments, including those that came up during your education and training. What problems did you approach, how did you solve them, with what results? Find out more about building your resume here. If you’re interested in careers beyond academia, here are tips on how to revise your CV into resume format.
  • Build your experience. Find out what key skills or top tools are used and needed in the field of interest, and learn them. Look at the whole picture of your experience, inside and outside of graduate education. Align your skill sets to particular positions or organizations. Use specific examples in your talking points and written materials with the goal of making yourself stand out from an applicant pool. Learn how to get internship and related experential skills as graduate students at this upcoming workshop.
  • Demonstrate excellent communication skills (in writing and in person). Be able to discuss complex ideas in a simple, clear, concise fashion. Be ready to describe the research you are working on in 30 seconds or less–and in a way that anyone can understand.
  • Consider entry-level positions. Don’t get discouraged by entry-level positions. It can be helpful to get your foot in the door, demonstrate your contribution and capability. Depending on the organization (check this out first), you can move up within 3-6 months.
  • Find your passion. Pay attention to your energy and passion as those are the kinds of jobs you should be looking for (and not others!).

Networking

  • Start early. It is never too early to start building and growing your network. Networking is possible even for those of us who initially shy away from it.
  • Talk about your talent and passion. Practice. Get comfortable. Own it, but without arrogance. Do mock interviews.
  • Set up networking meetings. Identify target companies to narrow your options, and then set up informational interviews.
  • Use LinkedIn strategically. Start with classmates, alums, professors. Join LinkedIn groups in order to initiate professional connections and learn about new job postings.
  • Attend receptions. Face-to-face conversations can spark interest and connections at these professional gatherings. Send a resume to those you’ve connected with as a follow up. Personal connections always move a resume up if it is already in the pool.
  • Ask questions. You are interviewing the informant and the organization to determine fit as much as they are interviewing you. Show them you want to know what the work is like, that it matters to you (that is, you aren’t just looking for “a job”). Questions you can ask: What is your day-to-day work like? What is the best part of what you do? The most challenging? What is the culture like here? What would you change about your job (or the organization) if you could?

Interviewing

  • Phone interview. Always prepare for this as you would an in-person interview, and follow up with a thank you email or note.
  • Answering technical questions. If a potential employer asks you a technical question, or to solve a technical problem during the interview, how should you handle it? The interviewer mostly wants to know how you strategize solving a problem. It is important to show how you would approach the problem, what you’d consider, and why.
  • Be relationally savvy. Organizations are looking for people who will be colleagues.
  • Show resilience. You can’t always control what interviewers will ask or how they will behave. Show some resilience and keep your composure, as well as keeping things in perspective. If you don’t like how you were treated in an interview, chances are you don’t want to work there anyway!
  • Not hearing back. You might not hear back. Be persistent. Keep honing your materials and learning from the process.

Best Wishes on Your Career Paths!

Kelly, Jaye, and Ziyan
Core Programs Team

Finding the Right Fit for Your Talent

In late January 2016, the Graduate School co-hosted an annual Career Symposium for graduate students and postdocs. We wanted to share just a few pearls from the terrific UW alums who sat on the panel and also hosted conversations during the networking reception. Bottom line: the job search is about finding the right fit for your talent. Be creative about your career options, test out new ways to tell the story of your (deep) experience and skill set, and it is never too early to start exploring and building your network.

Getting Started

  • Evolve your resume. Your resume should always be evolving.  Describe examples of specific accomplishments, including those that came up during your education and training.  What problems did you approach, how did you solve them, with what results?
  • Build your experience. Find out what the key skills or top tools are used in the field of interest, and learn them. Look at the whole picture of your experience, inside and outside of graduate education.  Align your skill sets to particular positions or organizations. Use specific examples in your talking points and written materials with the goal of making yourself stand out from an applicant pool.
  • Demonstrate excellent communication skills (in writing and in person). Be able to discuss complex ideas in a simple, clear, concise fashion. Especially, be ready to describe what you are working on for your research in 30 seconds or less in a way that anyone can understand.
  • Consider entry-level positions. Don’t get discouraged by entry-level positions.  It can be helpful to get your foot in the door, demonstrate your contribution and capability and depending on the organization (check this out first) you can move up within 3-6 months.
  • Find your passion. Pay attention to your energy and passion as those are the kinds of jobs you should be looking for (and not others!).

Networking

  • Start early. It is never too early to start building and growing your network.
  • Talk about your talent and passion. Practice. Get comfortable. Own it, but without arrogance. Do mock interviews.
  • Set up networking meetings – informational interviews. Identify target companies to start with to narrow your options.
  • Use LinkedIn strategically. Start with classmates, alums, professors.  Join groups that might create good professional connections.
  • Attend receptions. Send a resume to those you’ve connected with as a follow up. Personal connections always move a resume up if it is already in the pool. Face-to-face meetings spark interest and connection.
  • Ask questions. You are interviewing the informant and the organization to determine fit as much as they are interviewing you.  Show them you want to know what the work is like, that it matters to you (that is, you aren’t just looking for “a job”). Questions you can ask: what is your day-to-day work like? What is the best part of what you do? The most challenging? What is the culture like here? What would you change about your job (or the organization) if you could?

Interviewing

  • Phone interview. Phone interviews are important.  Always prepare as you would for an in-person, and follow up with a thank you email or note.
  • Answering technical questions. If they ask you a technical question, or to solve a technical problem during the interview, how should you handle it?  The interviewers mostly want to know how you think rather than the answer to the problem.  It is important to show how you would approach the problem, what you’d consider, and why.
  • Be relationally savvy. Organizations are looking for people who will be colleagues.
  • Show resilience. You can’t always control what interviewers will ask or how they will behave.  Show some resilience and keep your composure, as well as keeping things in perspective.  If you don’t like how you were treated in an interview, chances are you don’t want to work there anyway!
  • Not hearing back. You might not hear back. Have persistence. Keep honing your materials and learning from the process.

“Interviews are helpful as I can tell right away if someone has the logic skills of a squirrel.”
– Mike Bardaro (UW Chemistry alum), Senior Data Scientist AOL

 

Originally posted on January 28, 2016.

You’re Hired!

I feel behind my cohort in terms of applicable experience. I’ve applied to several internships/practicum experiences, but my financial situation dictates that I either need a paid internship or another job while I complete an unpaid internship. Because my classes are during the day, I’ve found the latter next to impossible. Additionally, I haven’t revived much interest in hiring due to my lack of experience. How do I find the right positions for this situation?     —Inexperienced

(This week’s answer is courtesy of Catherine Basl, Lead Career Counselor, Career Center.)

Thanks for sharing a bit about your situation. It can definitely feel discouraging when we aren’t having as much luck as we want in the job search and when we are faced with hard decisions about lackluster paid positions versus highly interesting unpaid positions. Below are some tips you might find helpful.

  • Don’t worry! Most graduate cohorts are made up of students who have a range of applicable experience. If they accepted you into the program, they think you have enough experience to be successful! Though it can be difficult, try to stay positive and confident.
  • Consider making a list of what you are looking for in a job or internship. Whether it includes a desired weekly schedule, skills, location, or something else, making a list and prioritizing it can help when mulling over possible options.
  • Applicable experience is more than work experience. Consider your volunteer experience too! If you are within a few years of your undergraduate work you might also include relevant clubs and student activities on your resume. Don’t sell yourself short.
  • Use your network! If you have only been looking online, consult with your graduate program adviser, departmental staff members and faculty about possible internships. Depending on your field, HuskyJobs might also be a good resource.
  • Polish your resume and cover letter! Tailor your resume and cover letter for each position and consider getting them reviewed to ensure they are submission-ready. Sometimes tweaking your materials or doing a mock interview can make a world of difference in the job search.
  • Feeling stuck? Schedule an appointment with a career counselor—we can help you with every step of the process from deciding what’s most important to you to helping you prep for the interview that will land you your dream internship.

Ask the Grad School Guru is an advice column for all y’all graduate and professional students. Real questions from real students, answered by real people. If the guru doesn’t know the answer, the guru will seek out experts all across campus to address the issue. (Please note: The guru is not a medical doctor, therapist, lawyer or academic advisor, and all advice offered here is for informational purposes only.) Submit a question for the column →