An academic CV is a complete record, not a summary. Hiring committees look for the same things in a fixed order: research, funding, teaching, service. Length is expected; inconsistency is not. This skill builds the record, orders it for the field and the post, and formats every citation the same way.
Part of the pm-cv bundle.
What This Skill Produces
- The full academic CV
- A section order for the field and post type, with the reason
- A publications list in one citation style, with the person's name in bold
- A short version (two pages) for fellowships or industry research roles, when asked
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
- The post: lectureship or assistant professor, postdoc, research fellow, industry research, and the institution's country
- The field, because conventions differ (author order, conference versus journal weight)
- The record: publications, grants, teaching, supervision, talks, service, awards
- The citation style the field uses, or permission to choose the common one
Framework
Typical order (adjust by field and post):
- Contact and current position
- Research interests (two lines)
- Education, with thesis title and supervisor
- Appointments
- Publications, split: peer-reviewed journal articles; conference papers; books and chapters; preprints and under review (labelled as such)
- Grants and funding: funder, title, role, amount, years
- Awards and fellowships
- Teaching: courses, level, role, student numbers
- Supervision: students, level, status
- Invited talks and conference presentations
- Service: reviewing, committees, organising
- Public engagement and impact, where the system values it
- References, if the country expects them on the CV
Rules:
- Reverse chronological within each section.
- One citation style throughout. The person's name in bold. Equal-contribution marks explained once.
- "Under review" and "in preparation" are labelled honestly and never listed as published.
- For computer science and similar fields, top conferences may outrank journals; put them first.
Output Format
Academic CV: [name], [post]
1. The CV 2. Section order and why 3. Citation check: inconsistencies found and fixed 4. Short version (if asked)
Quality Checks
- Every publication uses the same citation style
- Unpublished work is labelled as under review or in preparation
- Grants show the person's role (principal investigator, co-investigator, named researcher)
- Section order fits the field and post
- Nothing is listed that the person did not provide
Anti-Patterns
- Mixing citation styles. Committees notice and read it as carelessness.
- Inflating status. A submitted paper is not "forthcoming".
- Hiding teaching for a teaching-heavy post, or hiding research for a research post.
- Using the full CV for industry. Industry research roles want the short version.
Example Trigger Phrases
- "Update my academic CV for a lectureship application in the UK."
- "Format my publications list properly."
- "I'm applying for a postdoc. Help me order my CV."
- "Turn my academic CV into a two-page version for an industry research role."