13 June 2013

Is this good advice?


Things that a student heard at a workshop for students wanting to go into doctoral programs:

  • A 3 page CV is too long.
  • Ph.D. programs are looking for “well rounded students”, not people who are just focused on research, so not appearing “well rounded” is a weakness in a CV.
  • Don’t include relevant classes that you have taken.
  • Include clubs in your CV.
  • Include community service in your CV, and volunteer activities.
  • Don’t put so much research activities.
I think this is terrible advice. This sounds like advice from someone used to industry resumes (which usually are limited to 1-2 pages), not academic CVs. And especially not CVs from students looking to get into grad school in STEM fields. Less emphasis on research?

Thoughts?

Additional: Reactions from Twitter:

4 comments:

Ase said...

For reals? What joker hored that person? That's not even true in Sweden.

Ase said...

Hired. Damned ipad keyboard...

Dr Becca said...

For a student's CV to be 3 pages, I'd imagine there's some stuff in there that shouldn't be. MY CV isn't 3 pages long, and I've been *out* of grad school for the better part of a decade. So yeah, I'd say 3 pages is too long for someone applying to grad school. Obviously not for someone much more senior, though.

The "less emphasis on research" bit is exceedingly terrible advice.

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