Definitely Not Me, But You Get the Point

Having officially begun a research endeavor at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, I have found myself repeatedly requested to supply a “CV” – a Curriculum Vitae” – and decided that from now on, I shall comply.  Maybe it will help me get a job somewhere down the line without having to compile a CV overnight.

Previously, I had contented myself with the simple resume – short, to the point, and never more than two concise pages (one of which was expendable).  I rotated out my oldest or most irrelevant experiences every time I had something new to add, and each detail was customized to best portray my skill set for the position for which I was applying.

What is the difference between a resume and a CV?

Initially, the primary difference appears to be length and thoroughness.  In some areas of the world, the two words may be interchangeable, but in the US, “CV” is often used to describe a document that records every significant career experience, publication, research endeavor, education and certification, and other relevant tidbit about the individual that might display favorable characteristics.

In the world of research, writing, and universities, it appears that CVs are the standard currency for conveying information about experience and qualifications.  They function as a portfolio and a more extensive representation of accomplishments.

Contents of a CV

After performing some basic research, I found that CVs typically contain the following categories, often in-depth:

• Contact Information and Citizenship
• Employment History and Responsibilities/Achievements
• Education
• Continuing Education and Professional Training
• Professional Certifications
• Publications or Condensed Portfolio
• Honors, Awards, and Accomplishments
• Professional Memberships and Societies
• Research Experiences (as applicable)
• Relevant or Significant Volunteer Experiences
• Teaching Experiences (as applicable)
• Mentoring Relationships

The Purpose of a Curriculum Vitae

The benefit of a CV over a resume, in my opinion, includes the opportunity to keep a running, complete tally of qualifications and accomplishments that demonstrate your full range of experiences.  It should function as a portfolio or a record of your professional (and sometimes extracurricular) endeavors.

The style and order of your CV may depend on the type of career you are trying to pursue and which characteristics or experiences you would like to highlight or display upfront to a potential client or new boss.

How Do You Write a CV?

When in doubt, write it down.  Write out all of your professional and scholarly experiences in an organized fashion, divided by category.  If you later determine you have too much information or some truly irrelevant experiences included, you can always weed it out prior to submission to a potential employer.

I looked at the CV of my lab’s principle investigator when creating mine and found the process relatively simple (the only trouble I had was in recalling everything to write down!).  Once I have it all polished and complete, I will be tailoring it for Elance and LinkedIn.  I definitely suggest following a template for the style, content, and depth of your own CV so that you can go through each category of the example as you create your own, as well as to get a feel of what is appropriate for your field or experience level.

Good luck!

One of my most recent writing endeavors involves a new blog at Patch.com, which has been selected as Cleveland Heights’ Blog of the Day!

The article goes over the basics of eating to beat the winter blues and also gives some suggestions on local places to eat said deliciousness.  Righteous.  Check out the full-length article here, and thanks for reading!

Moving from Phoenix to Ohio was a big change for me – leaving friends and family and starting a new life in a strange place.  In an effort to jump in with both feet, I decided to make a sincere, concentrated effort to find new friends.  Not just any friends, but lifelong friends!

I launched the Friendship Endeavor as a way to channel some of my writing toward a personal and creative project that would help keep me focused on meeting people, trying new things, and going a bit out of my comfort zone to find some friends in the wonderful town of C-bus. So far I have had great results, and I have learned a lot about myself along the way.

So in an effort to put embarrassment behind me, I am hoping you all visit the site of my latest project.  I even see another book idea in the making… Anyway, check it out and let me know what you think!

Lil Veggie Patch

Anastasia Pollack

JerseyBlonde

Style Me Swanky

My Perfect Line

HealthAdvice4Life

Your Lighter Side

Read to find out how to eat and write your way to a healthier you!

I came across some really great sites on things dear to my heart: nutrition, health, writing, and fun with friends.  In a potentially rash fit of socialization and outreach, I requested the chance to write about subjects we both share an interest in, and to my pleasure, multiple sites have accepted so far.

It’s hard to underestimate the impact that sharing and communicating with fellow bloggers has on the success of your own site.  It goes far beyond the “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” to something far more meaningful.  The newbie gets to develop their skills and benefit from the knowledge of the more experienced blogger, and the veteran gets the added publicity and ratings bump from extra content of high quality and interest to their readers on their site.

by jscreationzs

It’s almost like a form of mentoring.  The generous host blogger gets a valuable piece for their site, and the guest blogger gets the opportunity to learn how to tailor their message to an audience that is actually paying attention.  The guest also gets to see how a successful blog is put together and run – from the variety of content to the frequency of posts and the degree of inter-connectedness it has with other blogs.

All in all, I would say that having the chance to be a guest writer on others’ blogs has been invaluable – by far the most educational experience I have had in the realm of blogging up to date.  It’s also kind of addicting!  I didn’t think I would become one of those highly-networked, blog-obsessed writers who avidly followed tons of other people’s work.  Yet here I am, finding motivation in others’ success and information in others’ kind provision of opportunities.  And I’m not stopping anytime soon!

Check back soon for a list of my guest post links!

I literally spent hours and hours on the Lose Weight Fast article, tightening it up, revising it, adding relevant content and removing irrelevant info, and lo and behold, I got a thumbs up from another member!

by Michelle Meiklejohn

Then about two seconds later someone reverted all 20 painstaking edits back to the original.

First, I cried. Then I remembered all changes are stored in the wiki page histories. And THEN, I found out that newbies’ changes automatically get undone to prevent edits like the one I saw earlier in the history of the page (someone had erased the article and put something along the lines of “I just saw a chippermunk outside!”).

I suppose their regulations are there for a reason, after all…

Anyway, I revved up my profile a tad and made sure my future edits wouldn’t be rolled back – then fixed up the article again, making the info actually fit the title of the piece. I suppose we’ll see how long these changes last!

All in all, it was an exciting foray into the adventurous land of Oz. Or wikiHow. Either way, I brushed up on my wiki skills and learned a lot about European weight loss body wraps and the HCG diet! Priceless.

Looking forward to doing more in the future. In the meantime, I’m happy to keep working on my list of pregnancy and nutrition articles – being a freelance writer means I get to learn a ton of stuff and get paid for it!

Can’t beat it.

If I am able to continue with this client, I should be able to add a nice bit to my monthly income while I build up my Elance success!

Unfortunately, the project involves ghostwriting, so my work won’t be visibly attributed to me on the web, but that’s the name of the game.  I have no problem trading anonymity for cash when it comes to small articles and bids. 

Next up, more pregnancy articles as well as some work on fitness and nutrition.  I love the variety of always getting new and varied projects on Elance!

So far it seems ghostwriting articles is the order of the day.  I’m finding it quite enjoyable.

Now, the challenge of building a clientèle and bringing in a bit of cash!  My husband is equally eager for this step…

Well, they also have a blog called “Quit Your Day Job” – need I say more? Looking forward to learning lots and lots!