The resume - What to include, what to omit, and how to format?

[SydTheKyd]

Hey all,

I'm new here, so I apologize if this topic has been covered already. I couldn't find another post about it, so I'm starting one here.

To give some background, I am a bioengineering graduating senior. I am applying for a PhD in biomedical engineering (specifically biomaterials research) and am sprucing up my resume for my application. I've created tons of resumes before, but they have all been for jobs/industrial internships - all of my resumes are one page long and highlight most of my industry work (I've co-oped with biotechnology companies) and leadership experience (president of this and that, etc). I tend to downplay my "academic" awards and undergrad research, and it's worked well in the past.

I'm pretty familiar with what goes into a resume when looking for a job, but not quite sure what goes into one for a grad school application. Should it be 1 or 2 pages? I have a lot of things I'd like to include - I've done a lot of relevant internships and research, and I don't want to cut something out... each experience has been meaningful.

I hear a lot of different opinions about it, but I'd like to know what you guys think. Do any of you have guidelines on what to put in your resume for a graduate school application? What format did you use when applying? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[rockbender]

I am under the impression that for grad school apps you should be submitting a CV, not a resume...

However I also have a lot of questions about how to build a CV. Most of the ones I have looked at (from professors) focus heavily on publications, talks, and professional activities - none of which I have. I do have research experience but how much detail should be included on the CV? Should I include an abstract? Or just a sentence or two etc?

Anyone out there have CV writing advice??

[teamind]

You can find an example of a CV (along with other helpful resources) someone used for grad school here:

https://sites.google.com/site/gradappadvice/downloads

[SydTheKyd]

rockbender: that is exactly the situation I am in! People say CV, but all the examples of CVs I've seen aren't from undergraduate students.

personearth: Thank you for the link, but that CV example is from a person who was much older and had much more field experience before applying for graduate school. As a student coming straight from undergraduate, I don't have nearly the depth of experience she does. She has so many things to cover that she barely gives descriptions! It does give me a starting point.

For those who applied to graduate school straight from undergrad, what worked for you?

Edited October 19, 2012 by SydTheKyd

[TeaGirl]

I think at the undergraduate level, you need to list your education, work experience if any (a few brief sentence on each detailing the responsibilities, etc.), and projects. Projects don't have to be big research projects, they can be ones that you completed as part of your courses or curriculum, or the senior project you may be working on, and write a sentence on each that shows what you did, skills you used, and what was accomplished.

You can also include any computer related skills or specific software, and relevant courses that you've taken, such as graduate level courses or technical electives related to your chosen sub-specialty.