Who will read your CV and what are they looking for?

What counts as research excellence differs dramatically from discipline to discipline, so it's important to know the indicators of esteem in your field and understand how these indicators are measured. 

Example: your publication record as a measure of esteem.

Many disciplines count publications as significant measures of esteem, but in the humanities, a monograph will count for more than a conference proceeding, whereas in computer science the reverse might be true. 

Indicators of esteem/esteem tags vary by discipline: 

What does excellence look like in your discipline? Is it more important to demonstrate real-world impact, have strong interdisciplinary collaborations, ties to regional, national or international industrial partners?  Knowing the markers of esteem in your discipline means that you can be strategic in the skills and expertise you plan to cultivate.

Some common indicators of esteem which span several academic disciplines include: publications record; ability to attract research funding; research independence (for early-stage researchers); mobility (for early-stage researchers); awards and prizes; international profile, network and key collaborations; innovation & ability to deliver scientific and real-world impact; teaching & supervision; 'academic duty' & commissions of trust.

Indicators of esteem are measured differently in different fields: 

Is it more significant to your discipline that you have published one elite-level article or a larger number of mid-level papers? Perhaps specific types of conference proceedings or monographs are more significant markers of esteem than journal articles. 

🖋  Task: 

• What are the key ‘indicators of esteem’ in your field? If you don't know, who might you ask?
• Are there any indicators of esteem which are specific to your discipline or sub-discipline?
• How are indicators of esteem measured in your discipline or sub-discipline?

You will only ever be evaluated on your experience commensurate with your career stage. Many funders acknowledge this by adapting their CV templates for early-stage researchers (commonly up to 7 years post PhD).

It's important that you have a clear idea of what you are expected to be able to demonstrate on your CV. You can do this by finding out how you compare with your peers (colleagues and competitors).

 Collect information from key employers' websites and employment documents (job descriptions, person specifications, funders' CV and track record templates, promotion guidelines). These are often freely available online. Ask others to assess your eligibility based on your current CV: you might approach your supervisor, PI, head of department, academic mentor or any other trusted colleagues both within and beyond your department and institution. 

Your suitability for a job or grant might depend as much on your fit with their mission and vision as with your ability to demonstrate a strong track record. In this case, you can curate your CV to demonstrate that your application fits well with the mission and vision of the organisation. 

For example: MSCA Postdoc Fellowships are designed to provide talented early-stage researchers an opportunity to lead their own research project and experience doing research in a different country from the one they studied in. These objectives speak to a drive to support excellent researchers to develop their independence. If an applicant applies who has already achieved independence by leading several high profile projects and working across many countries, they might not fit the mission and vision of the MSCA Fellowship, despite having a competitive CV. Similarly, the mission of the European Research Council (ERC) is to fund groundbreaking, frontiers research. So applying for funding to conduct an incremental project, however excellent and feasible, is unlikely to succeed. 

🖋  Task: 

• Research the website of a funder, funding instrument or prospective employer.
• Can you identify keywords or language which convey information about their mission and vision?
• How might you speak to these, based on your current CV?
• Where might you upskill in order to be more competitive (in the time you have until you plan to apply)?

The evaluation criteria of a position (a new job or promotion) or funding instrument offers the clearest indication of what evaluators will be looking for from your CV. 

The majority of employers and funders now offer clear criteria via person specifications, job descriptions, and in the case of grant funding, evaluation criteria, application templates, CV and track record templates and published guidance for evaluators. These are usually freely available online to read and download. 

Searching, downloading and reading these documents in detail, well in advance of an eventual application, can help you both to understand what is required of you as a candidate and give you time to strengthen any areas of your CV which require development before you are competitive to apply. 

🖋  Task: 

• Locate and download a job description and person specification for a position or promotion you might apply for in the coming years, or a funding instrument you plan to apply to.
• Highlight the key evaluation criteria. Can you discern the indicators of esteem, skills & expertise which are necessary for you to demonstrate, and those which are not necessary but might offer you an advantage?
• How might you curate a CV for this position, based on your current master CV?
• Where are your strengths, and where might you be able to up-skill or develop in order to be more competitive (in the time you have until you plan to apply)?