When I work with academics putting together a resume, sometimes they’ll send me a full-on academic CV, complete with peer-reviewed publications and grants awarded.
In academia the length of your CV is a testament to a robust career. The more awards you accrue, the more publications, the more conference papers… the better.
In the context of a non-academic job, however, all of this detail is going to be a hindrance. Some job openings will see hundreds of applications (especially in the dumpster fire of a time we’re living in). Recruiters can’t physically scan that many pages for 300 applications, if, indeed, you manage to land in front of a person.
So what do you do instead? You optimize for efficiency.
A resume, unlike a CV, should be no more than one page.
- Your resume should list 3-5 positions, with 3-5 bullet points each
- Each bullet point should be maximum 2 lines long
- It should list only positions relevant to the job you’re applying for (it’s ok to omit stuff)
- You can list volunteer roles, etc. as their own line items, if you want. Whether you were paid for a job isn’t as important as what you did.
In terms of formatting, there are lots of good templates on the internet. It just needs to be clear.
Focus on skills, not on job titles. Sure, you held this position. What did you actually do? List the skills you have that are relevant to the job you’re applying for. Resist the urge to list what might be considered most impressive by an academic audience (or your parents, or whoever). List the skills that will help the hiring manager understand that you can do the job at hand.
As you’re putting the resume together, imagine that whoever is looking at it will see it for maximum 30 seconds. We want it to be clearly formatted, easy to scan, and contain appropriate keywords.
To ascertain what might be the appropriate keywords, check the job ad. Much of the time the job description will tell you what recruiters are looking for. It’s a lot like a close reading exercise. What does the ad prioritize? Is anything repeated? What’s at the top of the “List of key responsibilities,” and what feels like an afterthought? You can even pull some keywords from the ad itself and use them in your application documents. This is a good task for AI, if that’s something you use. I don’t like AI for lots of reasons (ethical, ecological, it SUCKS as an editor) but it is able to pull keywords out of a garbled job ad and list some synonyms pretty efficiently.
Basically, the resume should be a short, clear document that presents you as someone who has the skills to do the specific job you’re applying to. Yes, this does mean separate resumes per job. If you’re applying to positions in the same industry, though, you’ll most likely be able to use the same one or nearly the same one repeatedly. Same goes for the cover letter, which I’ll talk about in my next post.
I have been telling my advisees and clients for years to think of a job as a cry for help. A company has tasks that aren’t getting done. They need someone to fix this problem and make the headache go away. Your job is to convince them that you are the best person to fix the problem. Frame your skills and accomplishments in such a way that addresses what your understanding of that problem is. Hire me, and I will make this problem disappear for you. Plop me into this job and you’ll never have to think about this again.
If a written resume review or a live call would be helpful in your career journey I would love to help. Times are terrible and we all need all the support we can get. You can check out my humble offerings here. Reminder that prices are doubling on April 1, 2026, so if you’re on the fence I urge you to jump on it.
Good luck, and don’t give up. We’re all going to be ok. x
Sophia