When do you make your academic webpage?

[IRdreams]

So it seems like graduate students often have websites that promote themselves, including a place for their CV and ect if they are academic hopefuls. My question is when is it appropriate to create this website? ABD or only in the job market year? What should one include? Do people find these sites beneficial?

[robot_hamster]

Yeah, they wanted me to do that my first semester. I never got around to it for some reason. I suppose it is appropriate to start one ASAP. It would be nice if you knew what your research will be, but I don't think it is necessary. Remember you can always update things as they change. You can include your degree information, research interests, and any publications that you have. My school suggested having business cards printed with the web address on them. That way you can hand them out at conferences, presentations, etc. I would think it would be helpful if things are hectic and you want to get your name/info out to potential contacts.

[runonsentence]

I personally think it's best to build an online presence and identity as soon as possible, so that you can establish some kind of presence and some connections before you go on the market. Since it's electronic, your site/page is something that can grow with you as you develop as an academic. I go through my sites every break (at the end of each term) and update my CV and re-tool anything that needs tinkering (adding new research interests, etc.).

If it feels overwhelming to tackle all at once, there's a great ProfHacker post on the basics of creating an online presence (things you can do without having to build a website for yourself) here: http://chronicle.com...academics/30458

Because it affords the chance to enter field conversations online, and to show potential future job committee people what you do and think, I do think it's beneficial to have an online presence; thus, I have several websites. One is a research blog I use to help me think through things I read or to brainstorm; I have additional pages for my CV and a recent bibliography of things I'm reading.

Another site is my electronic teaching dossier. I have an "about" page (brief professional bio and description of my research interests), my CV, my teaching philosophy, applicable teaching documents (e.g., sample lesson plans and syllabi, excerpts from positive teaching evals), and a page devoted to my research projects. If you plan to be more research-oriented when you go on the market, then you could create a similar dossier that highlighted more of your research and less pedagogy.

I also have some social profiles (like Academia.edu) and a Twitter account that I use to network and carry backchannel conversations at conferences. I link all of these sorts of sites, as well as my two other sites/blogs, to a Google profile that comes up when my name is Googled.

Edited July 23, 2011 by runonsentence

[fuzzylogician]

I created a website for myself when I entered my MA program and then changed it again when I started my PhD. It's very minimalistic, just one page; I keep a list of current and recent projects with links to papers, handouts and slides, a list of upcoming presentations with locations and dates, contact information and a CV. The CV is the only thing I update on a regular (more or less monthly) basis, the rest I change about twice a year. Teaching stuff goes on a separate site, normally on the platform offered by the university. I keep track of visitors to my site so I can tell that people visit it right before/after conferences and that in general my site does have a certain amount of presence, which is all I need at this point in my career.

[newms]

I'm working on mine now before I start and I'll get it set up during my first semester. That way I can just add things to it during grad school and not have to worry about the hassle of getting it set up while I'm in grad school.

[geochic]

I set mine up as an undergrad and just transferred most of it over to my graduate page. Although for some reason my university has my site password protect which defeats the purpose, yes? So I need to work on that issue ...

I really think it should be standard but for some reason it's not as common as I would expect. Having a site that showcased my accomplishments and professional interests really caught the attention of prospective advisors when I was applying to grad programs. I can't see anything but positive coming from putting an academic webpage together as soon as possible.

Edited July 23, 2011 by geochic

[jendoly]

Huh. I always felt a little weird about putting stuff like a CV or a resume online (like, if my labmates found it, they might laugh their heads off >>) but I guess it's a common thing, then? Not like our lab's website has been updated in 5 years to even link to me =P

[IRdreams]

As a student, I find the CV thing a bit wierd, but it totally makes sense as a professor. I guess I just need to make the transition. I think part of the issue for me is I went to an undergrad where things like grades and accomplishments were not discussed among students so feel awkward having gpa and fellowship information open to the world. Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my accomplishments but it just seems pretentious to display everything....IMHO. But the consensus appears to disagree.

[rising_star]

IRdreams, I don't think I've ever seen a GPA on a CV. As far as fellowship information, my department sends out "Kudos" summarizing all of the awards and grants people have gotten in the last month so they're already public knowledge anyway.

[newms]

IRdreams, I don't think I've ever seen a GPA on a CV.

I guess this may be field specific, since I've seen grad students in my field who have their GPA on their CV. Then again, maybe it's because they were grad students and they didn't know any better, because I don't think I've seen GPAs on a professor's CV.

[natsteel]

maybe it's because they were grad students and they didn't know any better

This.

If someone doesn't know what an academic CV should look like or what should be included, they should ask their professors if they can see their CVs. Or find the CVs of scholars in your field on their department profile webpage.

Generally, for grad students in the Humanities, it is enough to have headings for Education, (academically-related) Employment/Teaching, Publications (if any), Presentations (if any), Honors, Research Interests, References. For those in fields where there are significant foreign language requirements, some add a "Languages" heading.

Even for all that, no grad student's CV should be more than 2 pages.

[fuzzylogician]

Generally, for grad students in the Humanities, it is enough to have headings for Education, (academically-related) Employment/Teaching, Publications (if any), Presentations (if any), Honors, Research Interests, References. For those in fields where there are significant foreign language requirements, some add a "Languages" heading.

Even for all that, no grad student's CV should be more than 2 pages.

My CV includes headings for Contact Info, Education, Publications (subheadings for journals, refereed proceedings, non-refereed papers/other), Presentations (subheadings for refereed talks, posters, other = grad students meetups, reading groups, local workshops, etc), Honors, Research Experience, Teaching Experience, Service, Languages. I've recently decided to take out all the local reading group talks and practice talks for conferences, although many students I know do have them on their CVs. Even so, it's still about 5 full pages, narrow margins, single space, with entries separated with blank lines. Even if I removed all the white space from the document, there is no way it could all fit in two pages. I guess that's another one of those field-specific things.

[IRdreams]

Come to think of it, mine doesn't have GPA on it any more either. However, academic honors are on there. Which is pratically the same thing.

[eco_env]

Speaking of CVs, how do people get their CVs to look so pretty? Is it just MS Word?

[newms]

Speaking of CVs, how do people get their CVs to look so pretty? Is it just MS Word?

Many people use LaTeX.

[BlueRose]

I've got a webpage. I made it towards the end of undergrad, and it's pretty minimal: a paragraph about who I am and what I do, a picture, a CV, and my email address. (I haven't updated in a year or so...I'll put my papers up before grad school starts, and I also ought to figure out how to put analytics on it.)

As for CV-making, I did mine in LaTeX. I tried it in Word, but I'm finicky about formatting, and trying to get everything lined up nicely in Word made me want to drop-kick a kitten. LaTeX is so much better.

Edited July 24, 2011 by BlueRose

[ktel]

I definitely need to do this. I get a webpage at U of T and one day I will need to set it up. I also definitely need to change my CV to be more of an academic CV and less of an applying-for-grad-school CV. Hence certain things, like my GPA, would be removed.

[theregalrenegade]

Our Graduate Program Director sent out a template and example of a proper CV and yes, it included GPA for coursework. Maybe once you get your PhD you remove it?

[natsteel]

I have an Academia.edu page, an About.me profile page, and my own website, which I made with Tumblr. Oh yeah, I also have a one-page, static thing on my department's website.

If you just need something quick and easy, you can create a profile page at Academia.edu and upload your CV. Then create a profile page at About.me and and put in a link to the CV on your Academia.edu page (this is because the docs you upload to Scribd via Academia.edu are not opened to public searches on Scribd).

[runonsentence]

Even so, it's still about 5 full pages, narrow margins, single space, with entries separated with blank lines. Even if I removed all the white space from the document, there is no way it could all fit in two pages. I guess that's another one of those field-specific things.

Must be. Mine is at 4 pages.

[rising_star]

Yea, I'm thinking it's field-specific. My CV is about 2.5 pages, but I could shorten it by not listing the titles of all the grants I've received. I like to list the titles because they show a clear trajectory in my grant funding. I also list the dollar amounts. (Also, this is probably field-specific but I apply for--and have received--small grants to support predissertation fieldwork and larger grants to support dissertation fieldwork. This is, by far, the longest section of my CV.) Conventions on what goes on a CV and how to list it vary by discipline. I copied the formatting of my CV from another prof in my department. I'll probably copy my webpage format from someone as well.

I don't have an academic webpage yet, but I'm probably going to make one this fall. When I do, it will have sections for teaching, research (including a list of research interests and a link to a PDF of my MA thesis), my CV, contact information, and a link to my research-related blog.

[Behavioral]

If/when making an academic webpage, I'd also advise for those of you to register a domain name to forward to just for easier recall when trying to link others (verbally, business card, etc.).

It's easier to remember

"firstnamelastname.com"

than

"university.edu/school/department/studentprofiles/yearx/~firstinitiallastname",

...and the former first a whole lot more handsome on a business card

Edited July 25, 2011 by Behavioral

[IRdreams]

If/when making an academic webpage, I'd also advise for those of you to register a domain name to forward to just for easier recall when trying to link others (verbally, business card, etc.).

It's easier to remember

"firstnamelastname.com"

than

"university.edu/school/department/studentprofiles/yearx/~firstinitiallastname",

...and the former first a whole lot more handsome on a business card

I'm computer illiterate so please excuse the question, but how do you get the yourname.com website to forward to the location where you website is actually hosted?

[TheSquirrel]

I'm computer illiterate so please excuse the question, but how do you get the yourname.com website to forward to the location where you website is actually hosted?

In your domain settings, you'd probably have the option of doing a "cloaked" redirect to another website.

[Behavioral]

I'm computer illiterate so please excuse the question, but how do you get the yourname.com website to forward to the location where you website is actually hosted?

What TheSquirrel said, or if you have a Wordpress (i.e., external from school) account, I think they have a module you can fill out to use a custom domain name.