Making your CV work… …some words of wisdom? Many “how to guides” e.g. see Curriculum vitae = summary of education and academic background  Research and teaching experience  Publications and presentations  Awards and honors  Affiliations, etc. Resume = short, concise document, specific to a particular job There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all CV!

Assumption: seeking a “research position”  Academic (tenure track)  Government (federal, provincial)  Research Scientist  Research Officer (e.g. biologist)  Industry, NGOs, etc Tailoring your CV…

The Academic CV 1  The “3 pillars”- teaching, research, service  An example… A LLAN L. C ARROLL, Ph.D. Associate Professor (Tenured), University of British Columbia, Department of Forest Sciences… E DUCATION Ph.D.University of New Brunswick 1993… B.Sc.Simon Fraser University 1988… A CADEMIC E XPERIENCE Adjunct Professor,Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1994 – 2002… Board Member, Biopsychology Program Administrative Committee, Memorial University of Newfoundland… C OURSES T AUGHT Forestry 307: Biotic Disturbance (University of British Columbia) 2009 – present Biology 6351: Behavioral Ecology (Memorial University of Newfoundland) 1994 – 1995 M ENTORING Post-doctoral… Post-graduate… Supervisor Advisor External examiner Undergraduate… The first “pillar” - teaching University/student advisory bodies? TAs? Teacher training? Summer students?

The Academic CV 2 R ESEARCH E XPERIENCE Research ScientistInsect Ecology (RES-03). Canadian Forest Service, … A WARDS Chaire internationale, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Université d’Europe, 2010… G RANTS R ECEIVED Future Forest Ecosystem Science Council… P UBLICATIONS A CCEPTED AND I N P RESS Scientific journals Books and book chapters Departmental reports Conference proceedings Non-refereed publications Theses Publications submitted I NVITED P RESENTATIONS 2011 Climatic perturbation... North American Forest Insect Work Conference, Portland, USA. May 9-12 P APER P RESENTATIONS Sambaraju, K., Carroll, A.L., Zhu, J.and Aukema, B.H Climate change could alter the elevation… The second “pillar” - research Summer student research? Personal grants/consulting? Papers in preparation? Dept. seminars?

The Academic CV 3 P ROFESSIONAL A PPOINTMENTS Federal Mountain Pine Beetle Ministerial Advisory Board, … M EDIA I NTERACTIONS ( SELECTED ) International 2010 Sveriges Radio (Sweden). “Skogsdöd kan ge bättre träpriser”. Broadcast Aug. 17, National 2011 The Globe and Mail. “Alberta winning battle against beetles…” Published Jan. 4, 2011… Regional 2010 Edmonton Journal. “Alberta slowly winning pine-beetle…” Published Nov. 9, 2010… C ONFERENCE AND S YMPOSIA O RGANIZATION Steering Committee Member for the 2011 North American Forest Insect Work Conference… P ROFESSIONAL A CTIVITIES Governing Board Member, Entomological Society of Canada… The third “pillar” - service Any other activity related to service to the academic community Advice given to community groups? Student symposia? Society memberships?

The Academic CV – covering letters  Covering letter  Statement of research interests  Statement of teaching philosophy Focus on the job description/posting. Address all points.

The Academic CV – evaluation  Committee  Faculty  Staff  Graduate students  Undergraduate students  Evaluation =  Oral examination  Research presentation  Teaching seminar Consider makeup of the committee when drafting covering letters.

The Gov’t Scientist CV 1  2 pillars – research productivity, influence*  An example… The first “pillar” – research productivity A LLAN L. C ARROLL, Ph.D. Research Scientist, Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service… E DUCATION Ph.D.University of New Brunswick 1993… B.Sc.Simon Fraser University 1988… P UBLICATIONS A CCEPTED AND I N P RESS Scientific journals Books and book chapters Departmental reports Conference proceedings Non-refereed publications Theses Publications submitted P APER P RESENTATIONS Sambaraju, K., Carroll, A.L., Zhu, J.and Aukema, B.H Climate change could alter the elevation… G RANTS AND C ONTRACTS Future Forest Ecosystem Science Council… Papers in preparation? Personal grants/consulting? Dept. seminars?

The Gov’t Scientist CV 2 P ROFESSIONAL A PPOINTMENTS Federal Mountain Pine Beetle Ministerial Advisory Board, … I NVITED P RESENTATIONS 2011 Climatic perturbation... North American Forest Insect Work Conference, Portland, USA. May 9-12 M EDIA I NTERACTIONS ( SELECTED ) International 2010 Sveriges Radio (Sweden). “Skogsdöd kan ge bättre träpriser”. Broadcast Aug. 17, National 2011 The Globe and Mail. “Alberta winning battle against beetles…” Published Jan. 4, 2011… Regional 2010 Edmonton Journal. “Alberta slowly winning pine-beetle…” Published Nov. 9, 2010… C ONFERENCE AND S YMPOSIA O RGANIZATION Steering Committee Member for the 2011 North American Forest Insect Work Conference… U NIVERSITY S ERVICE Adjunct Professor Post-doctoral supervision Graduate student supervision Teaching/Instruction The second “pillar” - influence Advice given to community groups? Student symposia? University/student advisory bodies? Teaching, TA’s, etc.

The Gov’t Scientist CV 3 P ROFESSIONAL A CTIVITIES Governing Board Member, Entomological Society of Canada… E MPLOYMENT H ISTORY 2005-present, Research Scientist – Insect Ecology (RES-03). Natural Resources Canada… P ROFESSIONAL A WARDS Chaire internationale, Université Libre de Bruxelles and Université d’Europe, 2010… S CHOLARSHIPS AND F ELLOWSHIPS Post-doctoral NSERC Postdoctoral fellowship… Postgraduate NSERC PGS4 Postgraduate Scholarship… A CADEMIC A WARDS Fraser Prize for Excellence in Forestry… The second “pillar” – influence cont’d Any other activity related to influence in the research community Society memberships?

The Gov’t Scientist CV – covering letter  Single covering letter  Focus on the job description/posting  Address all points

The Gov’t Scientist CV – evaluation  Committee  Scientists  Research manager(s)  HR personnel  Evaluation =  Oral examination  Research seminar Consider makeup of the committee when drafting covering letters.

The Gov’t Research Officer  CV similar to Gov’t Scientist, but…  CV is not the “front line” of the application  Online application (complete all sections)  CV and covering letter upload/append to application  Tailor to job description/posting

The Gov’t Research Officer - evaluation  HR personnel conduct initial screening  Incomplete applications disqualified  Research Scientist and/or Manager conduct second screening  Unqualified applications disqualified  First examination of CV  Interview/examination by committee  Written and/or oral examination  Exam administered by Scientists, Manager and HR  Successful candidate = “best fit”, not best grade

Final remarks  Seek inside information  Contact author of the job posting  Academic = Dept. Head  Gov’t Scientist = Research Manager/Director  Gov’t Research Officer = Research Manager or Senior Scientst  Pay very close attention to job description details  Academic and Gov’t Scientists = cover letters  Gov’t Research Officer:  Online application – all fields filled  Cover letter  “Best fit” candidate