CV?

[__________________________]

Some applicants will have large gaps on their CV because their employment wasn't relevant (retail, food service, admin work, etc). Hell, I have nothing on my CV between my BA and my MA because I was working at Borders (RIP!). 

Yeah, I don't even include the more blue collar jobs I've had on my regular resume anymore, let alone my CV.  No academic will care that I was a landscaper or a janitor or a dishwasher, but a couple years working at a reference desk in an academic library is perhaps of some relevance...

 

I would think that anything that you have some sort of pride of is relevant for a CV.  I'm using it as an opportunity to show off things that don't get mentioned elsewhere in the app.  I have awards, scholarships, and a category of "recent work experience" of academic-related jobs I've had.  I'd think anything related to editing or publishing would be relevant because it makes you seem all the more interesting.  An MA thesis would, I think, be relevant too -- from programs I've looked at, not all MAs require one (correct me if I'm wrong) and it shows you can do a lengthy scholarly project.

[ProfLorax]

I would think that anything that you have some sort of pride of is relevant for a CV. 

I think this is a great rule to follow for CV's. There are no right or wrong answers for what absolutely belongs on a CV, especially at this early stage in our careers. So, when thinking about if you should include something, ask yourself, "Is this something I want the adcomm/hiring committee to know about me as a candidate?" If the answer is yes, put it on! 

[Dr. Old Bill]

Yes, I think MollifiedMolloy's point is a good one. I only list my "relevant" work experience (which is basically two jobs), but the C.V. gives me a chance to list a boatload of poetry publications...which I can only sort of hint at in my SOP without it sounding too MFA-ish. If I didn't include those, it would be a pretty short C.V., really, given that my career plans only shifted in this direction at the end of 2011. If it was a true, "full" C.V., it would be several pages long...but since it's geared toward getting into grad school, it just has stuff that is pertinent to that goal.

[wetheplants]

Oh I'm so glad there is already a CV thread, I was about to make one!!

Me: Applying to US and UK Schools hoping to Medieval AND Renaissance drama - focus on performance history as well as lit. 

Three Questions:

1. Languages. What do I include...?
My languages background isn't really great for someone looking to do medieval... I did two semesters of Old English that I'm pretty proud of (although somewhat unrelated) and 3 semesters of mediocre French grades in college. Did 4 years of Latin in HS. Better than nothing... but not much better. 
Should I include like... reading ability in Old English? Basic Latin and Basic French? 
Or just skip the whole thing altogether? (I do have a line in my SOP about wanting to improve my Latin and continue Old English)

2. Creative Writing Thesis?
So I had a concentration in Creative Writing as part of my English major for my undergrad, so I wrote a novella as a thesis (and yes that was AWESOME and I will never regret it.) I figure I may as well include it, but I know most people write like a description of their research... so I put in my tag line? Is this totally weird? Here's what it looks like.

HONORS THESIS  ___ _____

“Strada di Casa: The Road Home” May 2013
Advisor: Jennifer Finney Boylan
Second Reader: Adrian Blevins
Completed a 108 paged novella utilizing multiple languages.
When the jaded and cynical senator Paul Cattello agrees to take a road trip through his ancestral Italian homeland with his teenage brother and incorrigible grandmother, he begins to wonder if home isn’t as far away as he imagined.
Presented in May of 2013 at the Colby College Undergraduate Research Symposium.

-----
3. Descriptions of jobs/teaching experience?
 I've got some teaching related work done, so I wanted to put that in, but I see some of you guys are saying not describe things? So no bullet-style, resume style descriptions of what an individual job would be?

Just if anyone else is interested, I'm also including a section each for which of my plays have been produced and what poetry I've published. 

[wetheplants]

Ah! That's exactly what I used as a guide this past summer.

I just went through this... woof, that's a lot of stuff. I wonder if all of it is relevant for younger academics who haven't had any college teaching experience or academic publications though. Or a Masters degree. I have some teaching experience, but it's all like random positions where I was working with high schoolers (which I think is pretty good for a kid who is 23), so I don't really know what to do if I don't describe it at all. What kind of order did you end up using for yours, if you don't mind me asking? 

Mine is: Education, Honors Thesis, Research Experience, Teaching Experience, Play Productions, Published Poetry...

Yeep.

 

[wetheplants]

Yes, I think MollifiedMolloy's point is a good one. I only list my "relevant" work experience (which is basically two jobs), but the C.V. gives me a chance to list a boatload of poetry publications...which I can only sort of hint at in my SOP without it sounding too MFA-ish. If I didn't include those, it would be a pretty short C.V., really, given that my career plans only shifted in this direction at the end of 2011. If it was a true, "full" C.V., it would be several pages long...but since it's geared toward getting into grad school, it just has stuff that is pertinent to that goal.

Oh, also, how did you cite your poetry? Did you like do a full MLA citation, or just list the magazine/anthology and the date?

[Dr. Old Bill]

Oh, also, how did you cite your poetry? Did you like do a full MLA citation, or just list the magazine/anthology and the date?

 

Mine are all formatted thus:

 

“Poem Title,” Journal, no. 19, September 2011

 

I probably looked at a style guide for reference at the time, but can't recall specifically.

[wetheplants]

Thanks!

 

How does this sound:

I have Education, Teaching Experience (I've taught high school. Everyone has encouraged me to include this), Writing (it's basically just my MA thesis. Would it be weird to include writing I've done for a political blog?), Professional Experience (I've decided to include my academic publishing experience since this seems at least tangentially relevant), Community Involvement (I've helped run some activist events and spaces that pertain to my research), and Skills (I just have languages. Should I leave these in?).  

Oh, and I know this is a bit late, but I would definitely include political blog writing. It's like freelance writing and it'll show that you're committed to producing professional written work and you've made an effort to get your writing out there- even if it's not in a journal.