CV vs Resume

[anonymouseuser]

If you haven't published papers or done any serious presentations, does it matter which one you choose? The applications say either is fine but I'm wondering if a resume looks amateurish (my cv looks bare and kind of pretentious at this point).

Comments

[hejjhog]

I'd go with CV.

I also had trouble when I started compiling it (thought I had too little to say), but after adding in all the research/teaching/ academic/work experience I had, it came up to quite a lot.

The professor who is my first choice for adviser called it "impressive", both to me and to my LoR writers. And I have no publications or conference theses in there...

Believe in yourself, you're probably more "CV"able than you think!

[tisiphone]

I'd go with the CV unless you have significant pre-academic professional experience that directly applies to your field of study. Everyone's CV is skimpy to start. It gets better!

[greekdaph]

I submitted a resume and did just fine. Though, as per ladykathryn's comment below, my work experience--teaching English--was directly relevant to my applications for English PhD programs.

[bananainpyjamas]

I'm applying to business PhD programs, so I'm submitting a kind of hybrid resume/CV that highlights both my work and research experience. If you're applying to a traditional arts & sciences program, however, I would go with the CV. It's okay if it's a little bare, you're not expected to be a superstar before you even start graduate school.

[shil]

I'd go for a mostly-CV hybrid. Write up a CV, but if you have any non-research non-teaching work experience that might still add to your application, include it on your CV under the heading of "Work Experience" or "Other Experience". For example, I had a summer job tree planting in Northern Canada that made it on to my CV - showing that I've done long hours of hard work outside in miserable weather spoke to my ability to survive fieldwork, even though it wasn't directly research-related.

Also, if you haven't already, you can fill out your CV by including some details about your research experience. "Research assistant" can really mean you did anything from simple data entry to designing and running your own studies, so (especially if your experience is closer to the latter) let them know what you've done.

And also, I agree that most peoples' CVs will be pretty bare at this point, so don't worry about that!