Résumés, CVs, and Cover Letters

Setting the Scene

  • Communicate how awesome you are to a potential employer

  • Education

  • Experience

  • Skills

What is a CV?

Curriculum vitae - literally, “course of life”

  • Usage is different in different countries
World map

Resume vs. CV 🇺🇸

  • Résumé: short career summary
    • standard for non academic jobs
    • 1 page (2 for longer career)
  • CV: exhaustive list of everything you’ve done
    • academic/research oriented jobs, grad school
    • as many pages as necessary

Resume vs. CV (🇬🇧,🇦🇺)

CV is used more than résumé

  • Complete professional/educational history
  • 2-3 pages

(slightly longer US-style Résumé)

Essential information

  • Name

  • Contact information (address, phone, email)
    (be careful with what you post online)

  • Objective - 1 sentence summary of your job search goal. Highlight skills if possible

  • Education (school, location, graduation date)

  • Relevant experience (title, company, location, dates, brief list of duties)
    Include non-relevant experience only if space isn’t limited.

  • Skills

Additional useful information

  • Awards/Honors (name, awarding group, date)

  • Activities/Hobbies (role, if relevant, and dates)

  • References (2-3 people)

    • Teacher/Professor
    • Work supervisor (current/past)
    • Coworker or character reference

Cover Letter

  • Specialized type of business letter
    OTC Ch 2 business letter advice applies

  • Try to fit on a single page

Cover Letter Structure

  • Introduction:
    • State interest in the specific position
    • Preview your argument: I am a good fit for this position

Cover Letter Structure

  • Body: Build argument
    • why do you think you’re a good fit?
      • skills
      • company values/mission
      • growth opportunities
    • cite examples from your experience
      • provide context that isn’t in your resume
      • what skills have you developed from the experience

Cover Letter Structure

  • Closing:
    • restate interest in the role
    • summarize why you’re a good candidate
    • thank reader for time/consideration
    • offer to provide more information

Activity: Data Science Resumes

Associate Data Scientist
Data Science Student
Data Scientist Intern
Data Scientist
Data Visualization
Educational Data Scientist
Entry Level Data Scientist
Healthcare Data Scientist
Python Data Scientist

What works? What doesn’t?