Developing Application Materials

Your tasks when preparing your application materials are to communicate your key qualifications, provide evidence of your abilities and demonstrate your potential as a future colleague and member of their team.

Unlike graduate school and academia, most non-academic job applications require a resume, as opposed to a CV. While the terminology is sometimes used interchangeably, resumes are quite different from CVs. In addition to your resume, most employers will also require a cover letter.

Resume

The Career Center provides resources and tips for developing your resume. Additionally, our advisors have developed resume samples for your reference. We can review your resume through our asynchronous Resume Review+ service or during an appointment with an advisor. 

Tips for your Resume:

  • Start your resume with a professional summary. This can help provide an overview of how you are qualified for the position and is especially helpful if you are pursuing opportunities outside of what is common for your field. 
  • Include anything relevant in your experience section. This can include paid and unpaid experiences. Your research and teaching experiences gained while in graduate school may not be as relevant as your extracurricular activities. 
  • Be sure to include non-technical skills, knowledge and experiences in your resume. These may include event planning, coordinating logistics and training students.
  • Depending on how relevant your degree is for your intended career, it may be advised to put your Education section last.
  • Some typical CV sections are much less applicable for a resume. These include publications and presentations, for example. Instead of listing your citations, include bullet points within your experiences to showcase your written and oral communication skills.
  • You can have a two-page resume if that is the length needed to include all of your relevant content. However, you’ll want the most relevant information to appear on the first page.

Cover Letter

The Career Center provides resources and tips for developing your cover letter. Additionally, our advisors have developed cover letter samples for your reference. We can review your cover letter through our asynchronous Resume Review+ service or during an appointment with an advisor.

Be aware that some industries do not require cover letters. You should only provide a cover letter if it is required or optional.

Tips for your Cover Letter:

  • It may be difficult for a hiring committee to understand why someone with your degree is interested in their position. Use the cover letter to describe why you are interested in the position and how your knowledge and skills align with the employer’s needs.
  • Use positive language when describing you and your experiences. For example, you don’t have to discuss your reasons for ‘leaving’ academia because academia is not the default.
  • Show confidence in your wording. Look for phrases like “I believe” or “potential” and erase them.
  • Keep the length of this letter to one page.