How to craft a compelling professor resume?

As a professor, you guide your students and instruct them in an array of subjects that are taught beyond the high school level. If this was not enough, you often conduct research and publish scholarly papers and books.

Whether you work in a public or private institution, you strive to pass the most accurate and well-researched information to your students, employing a high level of intellectual freedom you have in your role. It is, indeed, one of the perks of your position.

You obtained your doctoral degree and established yourself as a successful publisher of your academic work. Now is the time to apply to positions that will be hugely rewarding. And how else to start other than crafting an A+ professor resume.

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1. Select the best format for your professor resume

You presented your best work and wrote a wonderful piece on your past responsibilities and achievements, yet you’re not getting any calls from recruiters. How would that be possible?

“Less is more” is not just a cliché when it comes to building your resume. There’s only as much time available for a recruiter to review a CV as they get. And well, it’s usually 7 seconds. It is with this in mind that you should organize your resume into a concise and neat piece of writing.

The following tips may help you design your professor resume effectively and with an emphasis on the most important aspects:

• Space out individual sections clearly, and make their headings stand out.
• Employ bulleted lists, avoiding large blocks of text when describing your past work experience.
• Remember to name your past achievements and responsibilities reverse-chronologically.
• Use ideally a two-column layout and keep your resume no longer than two pages.
• Avoid bright colors or flashy images. Make it simple.
• Use a traditional typeface, such as Georgia, Calibri or Cambria.
• Save your CV in PDF format. Use Word only if your prospective employer requires it.

2. Craft an eye-catching professional profile for your professor CV

A professional profile serves as a brief statement that encompasses your role and your biggest achievements. It should catch a recruiter’s attention in a trice, conveying your aptitude for successfully performing the job you are applying for.

Many candidates commit the same mistake — they make their professional profile too long, too vague, or simply irrelevant.

Don’t be those candidates, and ensure that the hiring manager gets the picture of your exceptional skills from the very beginning.

• Tailor your profile to the job posting using the most important keywords from it.
• Be relevant and concise when introducing your duties.
• Mention your exceptional skills.
• Use quantifiable achievements.
• Employ impactful verbs and attributes.

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3. Include the most effective hard and soft skills in your professor resume

In order to select the right skills for your professor resume, you may first need to answer the following questions:

• What competencies is my prospective employer looking for?
• What are my relevant hard skills for this specific position?
• What soft skills should I put on my professor CV?

You may use the job posting as a cheat sheet to answer the first question. There may be certain common skills required by many employees, regardless of the industry. Such skills are called “transferable”, and they could include communication, active listening, or problem solving. Mention them at the top of your list.

As for your hard and soft skill-sets, these will, again, differ based on a specific job ad. However, you may want to include any relevant abilities that you possess and will make your professor resume stand out.

4. Make your professor work experience section shine with accomplishments

To write an effective work experience section for your professor CV, follow these handy tips:

• Describe your past roles in a reverse-chronological order, starting with the most recent position.
• Use bulleted lists to describe your responsibilities and achievements.
• Focus on your accomplishments rather than your daily duties.
• Use numbers whenever they apply (courses taught, thesis supervised, scholarly articles published, etc.).

5. Make your professor education section count

You will typically need a doctoral degree to become a university professor. However, some institutions may hire professors for specific degree programs focusing on their experience in the field instead of their education.

Regardless of your situation, you will typically need to list your school name along with its location, degree, and graduation year.

If you do not have much experience, you may want to include your academic achievements, relevant coursework or areas of interest that will make your education section stand out.