Resume guide: Professor
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Example: Charlotte's Professor CV
Charlotte has a very strong professional background and a good-looking resume. But lets help make it perfect!
Professor CV — summary section
Charlotte's summary is a bit sparse and does not tell us that much about who she is as a researcher. It does stress her competency in teaching, which I like a lot, but we will need to add some parts.
A good idea for Charlotte would be to add an objective goal of her research career or some of her academic achievements. For example she could write her summary in the following way:
With over 10 years of experience as a researcher in Organic Chemistry, my primary objective is to drive the progress in the development of sustainable and environmentally friendly materials. I have a proven ability to design and deliver high-quality courses, catering to diverse groups of students and fostering their learning experience.
Remember, the summary section is the most important part of your resume. Make it perfect! You can read more about the summary section of the resume here.
Professor CV — experience section
For most job applications it is important to keep the descriptions of the work-experience section concise, but academia is slightly different than other industries. In academia it can still be important to convey the message in a brief format, but it is even more important to show the complete picture of your competence.
As such, Charlotte should actually expand her work descriptions with more comprehensive details. As an example she could write the descriptions like this:
By designing and delivering captivating courses, I create a dynamic learning environment that promotes academic growth. Simultaneously, as the leader of a dedicated research group comprised of talented graduate students, our efforts have yielded remarkable outcomes. These include multiple peer-reviewed publications and prestigious grant awards, demonstrating the significant impact of our research contributions.
As the instructor of undergraduate courses, I had the privilege of fostering student engagement. In parallel, my independent research endeavors resulted in significant breakthroughs within the field of sustainable materials. These achievements paved the way for an innovative research direction, specifically focused on advancing the development of sustainable plastics.
Note how Charlotte's passion for sustainable materials now appear both in her summary and experience section. This helps tell the story of who Charlotte is and makes har resume stand out more in the eyes of the hiring manager.
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Professor CV — education section
The education section is of course important for an academic career, but it is not the focus. The degrees are there just to show that you have the relevant background for your research field.
Thus, I like Charlotte's education section a lot, since it is short and to the point (see above). She has a PhD in the relevant field, that is enough. Read more about the education section of the resume here.
Professor CV — skills section
The skills section is the least important section for an academic resume, so it is good that Charlotte has placed it far down on her resume (see above). A few improvements that she should do is to replace the obvious skills "Organic chemistry theory and practical applications" and "Research design and execution" and replace them with "Team leadership" or "Research group leadership". She has shown in her expereince descriptions that she is a competent leader and as such this should also be reflected in the skills section.
Professor CV — other sections
Note that Charlotte has included a references section with the standard wording "References available on request". This is good to include in an academic resume and it helps make it look more professional.
One section that is definitely missing in Charlotte's resume is a publications seciton. She could for instance attach her list of publications as a separate document in her job application and add a simple "Comprehensive publications list provided separately." in her publications section. Alternatively she could have her complete list of publications on page two of her resume. It could look like this:
Adams, C., Johnson, R. "Advancements in Sustainable Materials for Environmental Applications." Journal of Environmental Science. 2023; 45(3): 123-145.
Adams, C., Smith, J., Brown, A. "Exploring Novel Catalysts for Green Chemistry Reactions." Organic Chemistry Review. 2022; 32(2): 87-102.
Adams, C., Thompson, L., White, S. "Synthesis and Characterization of Biodegradable Polymers for Medical Applications." Polymer Science Journal. 2022; 25(4): 231-248.
Adams, C., Williams, M., Davis, P. "Investigating Photocatalytic Activity of Semiconductor Nanomaterials." Journal of Materials Chemistry. 2021; 38(6): 567-583.
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Regardless, since the list of publications is one of the key items for an academic job application she should most definitely include a publications section.