As soon as you are a doctoral student, it is time to develop your CV or curriculum vitae. A CV is basically a long ugly resume that is specific to academic accomplishments.

Do work on your CV now, because it will be used during introductions for informational interviews, for scholarship applications, and more.

Do NOT wait until the moment you need a CV to craft one. It is best to have it developed and polished well ahead of time.

Do NOT add a few bullets to an old resume. Start fresh for this new type of document.

Do follow a model (or blend models) of others’ CVs that you like, finding them online or by asking your advisor.

Do have some aspects of your CV that are specific to your stage as a student. This could include a short section on courses completed. (Make sure to give course titles as course numbers are meaningless on their own). This could include a section on class paper topics. After you have some publications to report, you will consider dropping this section.

Do include information from your life before graduate school, but be selective. This is not a place where people will look for continuity and gaps. Only provide information on previous employment or internship-type activities if it helps showcase your skills and professionalism (e.g. a foreign language or managerial or technical experience).

Do NOT include information for the purpose of showing that you are well-rounded, such as clubs, sports, or religious activities.

Do include undergraduate academic accomplishments, such as academic awards, scholarships, or publications.

Do include manuscripts that are submitted to a journal in a section called “Under Review” or similar.

Do NOT include manuscripts at any stage prior to being submitted, (e.g. “in preparation”). This state of work is too speculative and is a flag for a padded CV.

Do NOT worry too much about having a perfectly-formatted page, because this document is designed to grow and grow as you do.

Do, however, make sure to use clean fonts and indents for clear organization and easy reading.

Absolutely ask your advisor + others to critique your CV. There may be an office at your university that can also help, but make sure they know you are developing a CV, not a resume.

Do save your CV with a date, and continue to update it as you grow your academic fabulousness.