Having ran an online briefing session on creating a CV for use beyond academia in recent days this seems to be a topic of interest for researchers.
For those that are considering roles beyond academia it is important to understand that you need to present your information on your CV in a different way to make it make sense to recruiters outside of academia. The first step to consider, before you even begin to redraft anything is, do you have a role that you are aiming for? Do you know the job title that you are targeting? If not, then there may be other things that are a better use of your time rather than moving straight to writing a CV. For example, if you don’t yet know the type of role that you would be best suited then undertaking a skills audit or trying to gain some insights to what you might be suited to through undertaking career exercises and reading case studies can be a better first step than trying to ensure that you have a CV ready to go.
For those that have a role / new direction in mind and those that want to push ahead then the first step in the process of reworking your CV is to really think about how to showcase your skills in the most effective way. Start by examining the job description and person specification in great detail (use a highlighter to identify key skills and experiences) then move to trying to identify examples of these key skills and experiences that you may have. I would advise jotting these examples down separately before tweaking your actual CV document. For those struggling to identify what typical transferable skills employers and recruiters commonly look for the Prosper Portal have a great article on this.
When applying outside of academia your CV needs to demonstrate a careful selection of your achievements, skills and experiences that match the role. In practice this means using section headings with relevant headings and presenting the information in a well organised and clear way (pay attention to font size, use of bold and order of the information). Some elements of an academic CV may not be necessary to include e.g. a full publication list. Space really is at a premium so aim to stick to the two page limit.
Finally, different formats of CVs can work well for different individuals and the roles that they are targeting. It is crucial that recruiters and hiring managers can find the key information quickly and easily so some formats of CV may be best suited to help you do this. For example, if you are aiming to transition into a completely different type of sector and role then you are unlikely to have a lot of direct experience to draw on. A skills-based layout can really help here by allowing you to showcase that you have the relevant skills on the first side.
Further Resources:
IAD Microworkshop: Creating a CV beyond academia
Write a CV for jobs beyond Academia (Careers Service)
Developing a skills based CV (Prosper Portal)
1:1 Career Development Consultation
