Most academic hiring committees work within strict pre-determined guidelines. They will have a list of teaching, research, and service characteristics essential to the new role, and a strict ranking system by which to evaluate these categories. Making your skills, experience, and qualifications easy to identify and rank gives you a much better chance of success.
A strong academic resumé needs to include as many of the following as possible:
This should include your name and title, your contact details, any current affiliation and academic position, and any employment conditions (such as needing a visa).
Keep this section of your resumé short and make sure the information is easy to use—hyperlink email addresses, for example, and include the area/country code with your phone number.
This should definitely include any teaching and research experience you have, including both paid and voluntary or trainee experience.
It might also include relevant professional experience—for example, if you are applying to teach criminal justice, experience serving as a law enforcement officer is highly relevant and should be listed.
Help the hiring committee determine where you might fit into the current teaching schedule by providing a sample list of classes you have taught in the past.
If you haven’t yet taught any classes, it’s time to start gathering this experience. In the meantime, consider listing classes you would be interested in teaching instead, taken directly from the institution’s course catalogue.
It indicates that you keep up-to-date with developments, hold yourself accountable to professional standards, and are engaged in a professional network of other researchers.
Be sure to list all memberships to professional organizations in your academic resumé, as well as any offices you hold within those organizations.
Try to list a good mix of local, national, and international presentations; similarly, aim for a good mix of peer-reviewed articles, books, edited collections, and book chapters, and review pieces. Popular or textbook/teaching publications can also be included if they are relevant to your field.
Aim to demonstrate at least one publication and one presentation per year where possible—more is always better. To find out the types of research product and the level of research expected at the institution you are applying for, check the profiles of other department members at the same level on the institution’s faculty page.
From committee work to help with open days and student organizations, the more service experience you list, the better.
Be specific about the type of service, the dates you served, and the level or position you held (i.e., were you a committee chair or just a member?).
It is therefore worth listing any awards you have won or grants and funding you have been awarded that are relevant to your field.
Again, be specific: list the title, the awarding body, and the date you received the award or grant.
Do your values and priorities align with theirs? Can you fill a much-needed gap in their department’s teaching profile? Is your research travelling in a direction that aligns well with other faculty?
Your personal statement is your opportunity to anticipate these types of questions and show how you are the perfect match. Divide your statement into three sections: teaching, research, and service. Try to emphasize key strengths and avoid simply repeating the information from the rest of the resumé.
Knowing the information to include in an academic resumé will help you get off to a great start in your academic job hunt. However, a great resumé naturally depends on the extent of your experience and preparedness for an academic career.
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