CV/Resume woes

[justanotherperson]

Hi guys,

I noticed many schools require applicants to upload CVs or resumes, and I was wondering what you'd do if you were like me: No articles published, no conference attended, no senior thesis whatsoever (which I guess is pretty rare... I had to take a test, instead of writing a thesis, to graduate). I only have academic scholarships (which aren't big) and dean's list sort of thing.

I do have work experience (in journalism) and some volunteering experiences, but I don't think it'll help my CV/resume to look any better. Do you think listing papers I wrote for undergraduate classes would be laughed at? Any way I can possibly improve my CV/resume and make it look a tiny bit more academically relevant, so to speak??

Thank you in advance for any insight. And good luck to everyone

Edited October 14, 2011 by justanotherperson

[LLajax]

Hey justanotherperson- I had a bit of the same problem: no senior thesis (stupid history department at my school wouldn't let me because they thought I "already had too much on my plate", no publications, etc. I've written a ton for classes though in the 10-30 page range, so I was advised by a pre-grad advisor at my school to add a section of "Seminar Papers", basically to prove that I am capable of research. If you're afraid that a straight CV or traditional resume wouldn't show you off to the best of your ability, then I'd go with a CV/resume hybrid (it's what I'm going with). So you can pick and choose elements of either that you can fill out. Feel free to add non-traditional sections that make you shine.

[RWBG]

The thing about a CV/Resume hybrid is that political science admissions committees are not going to care about your work experience unless it in some way says something about you as a scholar. Virtually anything that does can be shoehorned into a CV category (e.g. "Professional Experience"). But you need to be careful about including irrelevant information.

The "seminar papers" (maybe "research papers"?) section is, I think, a good suggestion for CV padding, as it gives an idea of your research interests, as well as some basic idea of how you approach questions. You can also include things like computer skills (if relevant), languages, and contact info for your references. That should bring you to at least one page, which I suspect is sufficient for applications.

[gradcafe26]

@RWGB

Could you elaborate a little bit more about computer skills, like proficiency in Excel?

Also, what is the role of a CV/resume in the admission process, I mean if I am already including information like conference presentation, research assistance experience in the SOP?

Thanks!

[RWBG]

If you used Excel for data work (or maybe used Solver?) it could be worthwhile to add it to your C.V. However, what I meant was more along the lines of programming languages, STATA, SPSS, LaTeX, etc.

I think, in general, you should avoid making your SOP too "CV like," and instead have it contextualize your background within your academic goals/interests. If done in this way, it shouldn't be redundant; you might mention that your RA experience with Prof X taught you Y and influenced your research interests in Z way, and then have the details of the project in the CV.