Treating your CV as a Tool for Growth!
In the academic world, your curriculum vitae—CV or vita for short—is the document summarizing and recording all of your academic and professional achievements, including: college degrees received or in progress, research publications, grants and fellowships received, conference presentations, research experience, teaching experience, internships, community involvement, and languages studied. Unlike a professional resume, CVs have no page limit and grow in step with your advancement as a scholar. As such, they function as a full record of your achievements over time and typically list your academic accomplishments in reverse chronological order.
We recommend that you think of your CV as a tool. Rather than let your accomplishments occur haphazardly, think instead about actively cultivating your academic record, carefully choosing which opportunities to pursue based upon the kind of record you want to present to future fellowships reviewers, graduate admissions committees, and hiring managers. For example, if you have built a deep record of research related accomplishments (lab experience, poster presentations, and perhaps published articles), consider building up your community engagement or leadership experience to increase your competitiveness for fellowships that prize those kinds of experiences. By treating your CV as a tool, you can greatly expand your future opportunities.