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On my CV, I have a few talks listed where I was not the presenting author (though I am a co-author on the work).

I have left them on my CV because as a graduate student, my CV is pretty slim. However the work in question was recently published in a journal, which now appears on my CV.

Should I delete all the talks where I was not presenting author? I'm not sure adding length to my CV is really appropriate since the information is fairly redundant (all the same line of research and similar talk titles, just different conferences).

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    What could the possible justification be to include them? Because the talk was based on your work, which you already get credit for as a publication?
    – earthling
    Commented Sep 3, 2013 at 2:42

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The simple answer is no. You should not list items that you have not performed. In this case it would be listed under "talks" (equivalent) and that would be wrong. On th eother hand it represents work that you have done and as such it can be listed but probably under a different heading. The important thing is that it represents what has actually happened. I can see a heading called, for example, "Other work presented at conferences" and then list the talk and state that you was part of the work but that it was presented by someone else. Again, the importance lies in formatting it so that the actual conditions are very clear.

When the CV is short, I think such additions may make sense, later in a career these posts will lose their importance relative to other headings.

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I agree with Peter: unless you're at a very early stage in your career, don't list talks given by others. It clutters your CV, and it looks like you're desperate to lengthen the list (at best), or you're claim credit for others' work (at worst).

However, in this age of scientometrics, you need to keep a list of these things, separate from your CV, as they may be required of you in the future (as I learnt to my misfortune): by your employer, by a funding agency, etc.

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    I would go further: Even if you are at an early stage in your career, don't list talks given by others. Your CV is supposed to list the things that you have done.
    – JeffE
    Commented Sep 3, 2013 at 2:07
  • @F'x, I think agreeing (and even your second paragraph) would work better as a comment.
    – aparente001
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 6:59
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    @aparente001 This answer adds some substantial information: That for an early scientists, the things can be different since even working on a project that was presented somewhere (by someone else) is an achievement that can be worth mentioning.
    – yo'
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 10:07
  • @JeffE I would list these talks under "Local Proceedings", listing all co-authors, not under "Talks", which makes a difference and is not lying anymore.
    – yo'
    Commented Apr 18, 2015 at 10:09
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In general no, but the main issue is that the information in your CV is transparent and accurate. Therefore, you must clearly separate talks where you were the presenting author from those where you were not, so that there is no ambiguity.

To add talks where you were not the presenting author would be largely redundant, especially if the work is included in published articles. However, on a short CV it can make sense, and (to me) it can also be reasonable if you e.g. contributed a lot to producing the actual presentation (writing, constructing graphs, poster layout etc). But as the previous answers state, adding these talks could also be seen as you trying to pad your CV

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