Vita Writing for Academic Scientists

Applying for an academic post is considerably different from seeking a job in industry. Hence, the advice given in "Resumé Writing for Scientists” (September 21, 1987) tells only part of the tale. That article may serve those seeking jobs in industry (the resumé writers), but for those applying for an academic position (the vita writers), I suggest the following: DO: List every dollar you have raised by grants, scholarships, gifts and endowments. Include teaching awards you have won Check with your references before including their names on your vita. DON'T: Have your vita prepared by a professional printer. List your hobbies. Try to give the impression that you have written more papers than you have read. ·Never have your vita prepared by a professional printer. Although form and substance go together, that kind of form immediately makes one suspect the substance. Some of the best applications I have ever seen were banged out on an old typewriter. Don’t use an unusual page size or color. Not only is the effect likely to be negative; it is also lost once twenty Xerox copies have been made for distribution to all the search committee members and interviewers. What you need on a vita for a scientific position in a university are your name, address and telephone number, your degrees, post-doctoral training or fellowships, a list of full-length published papers and names of references. Forget the married or single status, especially “married to the former Dorothy Spong.” Do you think somebody on a selection committee is going to say “Hey, I knew a Dorothy Spong at school. Let’s hire him.” Forget the “11 kids.” No one is going to say “11 kids! Give him the job, he really needs it.” Also, forget the details about height and weight. The statement “6 ft. 8 in. and 385 Ibs” would put me off because (a) I wouldn’t have space for someone that size and (b) I wouldn’t like to deal with him when he couldn’t get his way. On the other hand, “4 ft. 2 in. and no bother at all” would be a bit too coy. Never send a photograph, even if it is of someone better looking than you actually are. The elephant man himself could be a successful applicant if he were right for the job. Don’t overdo your list of your degrees and training. List your degrees first, beginning with the Bachelor’s. Then present postdoctoral training. Any prestigious courses such as summer training at Woods Hole can be listed there-after, along with prestigious awards and honors. Forget about the certificate you received for a 1 hour course with Beckman Instruments or the seminars you took on the cruise ship “Learn in the Sun Course” last summer, and leave out such honors as the “Marvin E. Schwartzbaum Award for Best Immestic Science,” no matter what they meant to your mother at the time. Also, leave out hobbies. It’s nice to think of yourself as a well-rounded person who’s not a slave to the lab bench, but listing “softball, golf and round-the-world sailing” makes it sound as if you might not have time for work. On the other hand, do list every dollar and cent you have managed to raise by grants, scholarships, gifts and endowments. Chairmen and deans understand dollars best of all. For teaching experience, give the titles of courses you taught and the levels at which you taught them—graduate, undergraduate, nurses, medical students, etc. Certainly add any awards for your teaching—a “Golden Apple” or a “letter of appreciation.” Chairmen are not able to judge teaching skills as they are grant dollars and publications (i.e., by the number), so every little extra bit of information helps here. Next, the publications—which reviewers can weigh, count or read. They usually count, but don’t try to give the impression that you have written more papers than you have read. Cut out the “to be submitteds” and the “in preparations” but if your numbers are thin, add the “submitted... “papers and give the name of the journal. Even abstracts are not very impressive if the papers are the same as the abstracts. You can certainly list the total number, but you don’t need to include all the titles. Reviewers these days are fairly sophisticated. They will divide the number of papers by the total number of authors to get a truer picture of the individual’s productivity. They recognize good journals from bad journals and generally have a feel for solid contributions as opposed to trivial ones. So, don’t include any letters to THE SCIENTIST. Finally, references. In my experience, academics never interview someone without checking his or her references by letter or phone. Perhaps because scientists in universities are better known to each other than in the industrial setting, the role of references is very important. So do include them. How many and whom should you name? The usual number is three or four. However, if you know one Nobel Prize winner who thinks you are destined to be better than he or she, that might well be enough. It would at least equal two members of the National Academy of Sciences of the same mind or four outstanding professors, and outweigh any number of friends, priests, relatives or neighbors who think you are great, but have nothing to do with science. Obviously, the more prestigious the names, the more impressive your references will be; but don’t be a name dropper unless you can be sure that the individuals will give you a good reference. Before sending your vita, check with them. Explain what you are applying for, give them your vita and ask if they would be willing to give you a letter of reference. People are becoming cautious about writing references these days, for fear that the applicant may sue them if he or she doesn’t get the job and the employer may sue if the applicant does and turns out to be a mess. Best of all, have your nice, friendly, admiring references nominate you for the position. When the search committee is ploughing through those piles of applications, it helps them if they are on the look-out for “that good one we heard about” and it will certainly help you to the next step, the interview. Good luck! M. Ian Phillips is professor and chairman of the department of physiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville, FL 32610.

Vita Writing for Academic Scientists

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of