1. Perfecting My Resume Theresa M. Duello, PhD Associate Professor
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Associate Director of Diversity Initiatives
Endocrinology-Reproductive Physiology Program
University of Wisconsin-Madison

2. Curriculum vitae or CV –
A history of a person’s professional life and qualifications.
vitae – singular
vita – plural
Resume –
A document that contains a summary of relevant
job experience and education

3. Resume . . . . . . . . A hybrid . . . . . . . . . Curriculum Vita
Changes will parallel your advancement
through the educational system into the
career of your choice

4. Resumes

5. Duello version

6. Absolutely! According to L&S Career Services Rules of resumes
There are very few rules in resume writing. They are:
• Include only relevant information
• Do not have any spelling errors or other typos
• Be 100% truthful
Absolutely!

7. The rest is personal preference with the help of career
advisors, professors, mentors, and other people who
know a lot about resumes or your field. Ultimately,
it needs to come down to what you want. All we can give
you is suggestions based on our experience, such as:
• Use nouns instead of active verbs to begin your descriptive
lines
Supervised vs Supervision of
Developed vs Development of
• Do not use personal pronouns (I, me, my)
• Do not use unnecessary punctuation
• Use bullet points Use indentation to set off categories.

8. • Make sure your format is consistent and flawless.
• Do not include high school information (with exceptions)
(I’ll say more on this topic.)
• If you choose to include a “Relevant Coursework”
section, make sure to only list courses that will show
breadth or depth
• Make it as long as you need to say everything.
Call it a curriculum vita (CV).
• Use caution with templates. Haven’t see a template I like.

9. Why do you need a curriculum vita?
1) To have a record of your professional history
2) To organize what you would submit in an application to
graduate or professional school
3) To plan what you would want to include in an essay/ personal
statement for graduate or professional school
To inform those you ask for letters of recommendations
of your activities

10. Remember that you are providing the CV to a stranger.

11. Common problems and solutions -
Problem: Incomplete contact information
Solution: Complete contact information
Problem: Not list anticipated graduation date
Solution: List anticipated graduation date.
Problem: ‘Objective’ too vague/global or incorrect.
Solution: It is not required to state an ‘Objective’, but if you
do make sure it is specific to the position for which
you applying. (Can state objective in cover letter.)
Have different ‘versions’ for different ‘purposes’.

12. Problem: Don’t know where to list certain activities.
Solution: If you need another category, invent one.
Problem: Having relatives or close friends edit your resume.
Solution: Have several people from your field of interest
critique your resume.
Not just people who love you.
Not just people with whom you share living space.
Not only the one graduate student or professional student you happen to know.

13. Problem: Poor description of research.
Solution: Speak as a scientist. Do not just list techniques.
You are not applying to be a technician.
“Talk the talk. Walk the walk.”
Problem: Inability to connect references to experiences.
Solution: Indicate supervisor or principal investigator with
activity, but do NOT list contact information.

14. Bold or underline headings. Don’t use both.
Do not abbreviate. University of Wisconsin-Madison, not UW
GPA on a 4.0 scale GPA 3.3/4.0
Do not use parentheses around dates (or anywhere else)
Capitalize ‘Present’ Ex: Present
Do not number lists of activities
At least one inch margins

15. Abbreviate months.
Phrases. Not sentences.
Absolutely no personal pronouns.
Never put contact information for employers/supervisors
in the body of a resume or CV
Research or Laboratory Experience does not include
chemistry/physics/biology course labs
Extracurricular activities are only organizations, not
‘interests’ or hobbies

16. Where?

17. Anticipated Grad May 2012

18. Add a category if you need one -
Certifications/Licensures
Professional Societies
Campus Student Organizations

19. Margins too small. Not easy to read.

20. splitting?, feeding, reproduction
No lab slang

22. Resume/CV Hybrid

23. One inch margin
all around
No OBJECTIVE on CV

24. Name and
contact info
EDUCATION is always next.
Then LICENSURES if any.
Then HONORS AND AWARDS

25. One font
Only headings in BOLD
Do not need to BOLD and
underline and use italics and
use colons. Just messy.
No lines dividing

26. Double
space
Institution
Major
GPA on scale
Graduation

29. The first part is standard.
Now things begin to vary.
What would make sense?

30. What would make sense? If you are looking for a research position,
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE goes next.
If you are looking for a teaching position,
TEACHING EXPERIENCE goes next.
If you are looking to do community outreach position,
COMMUNITY OUTREACH goes next.
If you need another category, make one up!

31. Your title
Department
Institution
City, State

32. Not ‘Smith lab’
Indicate PI or Supersivor

33. What you did.
Noun
Maybe what you found.
“Demonstration of two forms . . “
Why it is important

34. Same as when you interview -
I worked with Dr. Theresa Duello in the Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology who studies the disparate burden
of infant mortality to African American women.
This is what we did
This is what we found
This is why it is important Significance!

36. Standard bibliographic format

37. Standard bibliographic format

39. Can summarize
activities

40. Nevers These are some categories that shouldn’t be included on a CV.
• Height, weight, and social security number
• Reasons for leaving previous jobs
• Pictures of yourself
• Salary information
• References
Note: Some people put date of birth, place of birth, marital status on CV.

41. References on separate page
Not ‘References upon request’

42. Curriculum Vita

44. Please see me IF –
You are a medical student interested in a visiting rotation
in Surgical Oncology
in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
You are an MD with an oncology specialty
or a PhD interested in a career in patient-oriented
therapeutic research who would like to train in our
Academic Clinical Oncologist Training Program.

45. Thank you SNMA for allowing me to present.
The pleasure is mine!
Theresa M. Duello, PhD