<p>My CV is currently 2 pages long, and friends who are applying to grad school have said I should shorten it to 1. </p>
<p>I have 2 research experiences I list and discuss major projects (2-3 sentences bullet point paragraphs), and 2 "additional" experiences I have that are science but not research related.
Then I have my 2 publications at the end. In total it ends up being more like 1 and 2/3 pages. Should I cut it down? My friend says to get rid of paragraphs and just do short sentence bullet points. Suggestions?</p>
<p>Absolutely get rid of paragraphs. Your application will go into detail about each research experience – the point of the CV is to give the very brief overview at a glance.</p>
<p>Yes, get rid of the paragraphs. You should have all of your academic experiences on there, but no paragraphs - just bullet points if necessary to describe projects. It’s not even so much about the length (some CVs are 10+ pages long) but just that paragraphs don’t belong there.</p>
<p>Some CVs can go well over 10 pages, as well. My advisor just had to put together a “full” CV and it weighed in at around 100 pages. Included all of his papers, awards, invited talks, grads students and post docs for the last 40 years or so.</p>
<p>I disagree with the above advice that you HAVE to get rid of paragraphs. Some resumes/CVs use bullet points, and some use paragraphs. I’ve received advice advocating using either one, depending on the situation.</p>
<p>The key is readability. If your CV is difficult to read or to get the key points at a glance, it’s too cluttered. If someone who has never seen your CV before can’t skim through it and needs to buckle down and plow through it to get any information, it’s too cluttered. You have to make a judgement call when it comes to CVs, and it’s hard for other people to see where you can improve without knowing you or looking at the CV.</p>
<p>If you’re still in school (or in the area), try taking it to the career services center or the writing center at your university. They will likely be able to give you tips on things to cut out, different formatting options, and what length would work the best for you. Ask your professors in your field about what they think the appropriate length is.</p>
<p>My CV when I applied to grad school was 2-3 pages, and my application cycle was successful. There’s nothing inherently wrong with having a CV that’s longer than one page, as long your CV is readable (especially if someone just glances at it) and relevant.</p>
<p>There’s a difference between a CV and a resume. Resumes should generally be kept short (1-2 pages), but CVs don’t have a page limit. They’re much more thorough.</p>
<p>Ok So I’ve cut it down a bit, shaved off some superfluous wording. It’s about a page and a half now but easier to read, which I am ok with. Here’s what my most important research experience looks now: </p>
<p>Lab Researcher II<br>
Dept. of Pediatrics, Division of Cell Biology; Principal Investigator: —, PhD</p>
<p>I play a pivotal role in the execution and analyses of a variety of experiments for the overall purpose of elucidating tissue-specific stem cell behavior in lung injury models. Significant projects include:</p>
<p>• A time-course study of a murine model of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) that revealed significant dysplastic changes in the tracheal epithelium as a precursor to the development of SCC in the bronchial epithelium.
• Human study of lung biopsy samples that showed a drastic increase of a CD151+ population in pathologically abnormal biopsies compared to normal biopsies.<br>
• Investigation of TGF-beta napthalene injury models that revealed significant disparities in cell phenotype between TGF-beta knock-out mice and TGF-beta wild type controls. </p>
<p>One more question: Is a career objective at the beginning of the CV/resume stating something like “To obtain admittance into the XYZ PhD program in ABC University in order to…etc.” necessary or redundant?</p>
The first part of the sentence is all filler – it doesn’t actually say anything useful.</p>
<p>IMO, the bullet points are too technical, and it would be better to have a broader view of the purpose of the experiments and the questions being addressed. Try to give each project a short (<5 word) title, then a few words of greater detail.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, this is the entire “research experience” section of my (postdoc) CV:
<a href=“Postdoc%20Institution,%20City,%20State”>quote</a>
Post-doctoral advisor: (Advisor’s Name), Department of Genetics
Beginning Jul 2013. Identifying genes responsible for developmental disorders of the human brain.</p>
<p>(PhD Institution, City, State)
Dissertation advisor: (Advisor’s Name), Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology
Jul 2007 – Jul 2013. Identifying molecular controls that regulate neuronal subtype specification.</p>
<p>(Undergrad Institution, City, State)
Faculty supervisor: (Advisor’s Name), Department of Biology
Aug 2003 – Aug 2006. Investigating the molecular basis of neural plasticity.