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I am currently a scholarship student in my sophomore year in a double major programme in theoretical physics and pure mathematics. I wish to apply for an internship, for which they have asked me for my CV. I checked traditional CVs and I couldn't find anything that is relevant to my current situation. What should I put in my CV and what must I ignore? The following is the skill set that I have in my arsenal. The internship is for a physics research topic so what must I include?

Skills (academic) :

  • Physics (The courses that I have taken with my grades on them)

  • Math (The courses that I have taken with my grades on them)

  • Random courses in the branches of languages and arts
  • Currently involved in a theoretical research project in physics, but haven't really achieved anything in it as yet as I was headed tangentially in the topic
  • High school results (top 1% of the cohort)

Skills (miscellaneous):

  • hyperpolyglot
  • artist (professional impressionist and surrealist)
  • writer and poet (free verse)
  • active quizzer and debater
  • football striker (out of context, but you never know ;) )
  • swimmer
  • sculptor

Interests:

  • Philosophy
  • Psychology
  • Theology
  • Occult Sciences
  • Art and art history
  • Reading (I would read anything with words on it)
  • Literature
  • Languages

And a couple of other things here and there. Also, is there any particular formatting that I should adhere to?

I mailed the professor I wished to work with and he replied as follows: Send me a CV and information on your coursework and results

So what must I put in and what must I deduct? Thanks in advance :)

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  • If it's longer than one page, I think you can take out the Skills (miscellaneous). They are irrelevant to the internship. As the prof. says, write your coursework(contents and grades) of every physics courses. Don't forget your lab experience (I know it's theoretical physics, lab experience and skills are still important).
    – Nobody
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 13:32
  • Ah yes of course :) Does lab experience imply my grades on lab courses?
    – Artemisia
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 14:24
  • You don't need to include grades if you also send a transcript. Non-physics interests and skills are likewise irrelevant. What you've also left out are skills that might help in research: programming, knowledge of statistical or mathematical packages such as R, Matlab, or Sage, and any laboratory skills that might be relevant to the specific project you're working on. (For instance, measurement techniques or prior laboratory work.)
    – aeismail
    Commented Jan 4, 2014 at 18:28
  • 3
    This question can be generalized to non-undergraduate purposes (for instance, a "summer school" application for graduate students). I would therefore recommend reopening the question.
    – aeismail
    Commented Jan 4, 2014 at 18:29

2 Answers 2

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It looks like your list here is pretty comprehensive. I would focus less on the "interests" and more on the relevant skills and experience. interests are nice as a snapshot on your personality, but I wouldn't sweat it if the section is a bit barren or void of "in depth" content here.

From my understanding, a CV is nothing more than an expanded resume. If you have an existing resume, take a few moments to expand a bit on your roles and accomplishments beyond simple bullet points.

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  • I definitely intend to elaborate on the bullet points haha :) I am just not sure if it is sufficient for a good CV.
    – Artemisia
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 14:25
  • I completed a CV and it was pretty much a non bullet version of my resume with small paragraphs as descriptions for the jobs. I had two sections of content: "Relevant experience" and "Leadership experience". Relevant exp I listed those roles that clearly met the job description, and for Leadership i added in experience covering volunteer work, teaching roles, mentor-ships and public speaking engagements. As a note, CVs are generally more robust and should be more than a page...Mine was 3 pages and it was formatted with the assistance of a hiring agency. If they want a CV, they want more info.
    – Phlume
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 15:20
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First of all, what is the focus of the internship and is your resume focused on that?

If they asked you for transcripts with your application, they will know what courses you took; there is no need to reproduce them on your resume.

Nobody cares about your hobbies or non-relevant skills. If anything, to call yourself a sculptor, artist and polyglot makes you sound like an entitled pompous ahole who exaggerates. "Occult sciences" alone should get your resume thrown in the trash bin when you're applying for a science research job, not to be a Ghostbusters crew member.

Your resume should answer the question, "what makes me qualified for the job?" What relevant courses have you taken? What relevant knowledge do you have? What relevant skills do you have that could be applied to the job?

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  • Hahahaha thanks! I just put them on there. Thank you :) but I do work on the aforementioned domains so I am not sure if that is pompous haha :). However, if I only include my academic achievements, it is rather small. Is that enough for my CV?
    – Artemisia
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 14:53
  • Haha yeah I do get paid for it :) and quite a bit too. But ok that's irrelevant. Thanks :) And I am new to the StackExchange websites: still browsing through them :)
    – Artemisia
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 15:19
  • I wish I could accept both answers. And I don't have enough points to vote you up :( Thanks for all your help. All I can say is, live long and prosper :) Cheers.
    – Artemisia
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 15:25
  • As I said, the point is not to include your academic achievements but to indicate to the person hiring you that you understand the requirements of the job and are capable of selecting relevant skills. The fact that you called the occult a "science" (when it clearly is not) and listed theology to boot tells me you know nothing about the research project and are not able to detect what relevant and useful skills you have to assist with the project.
    – user10433
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 15:27
  • Well the occult sciences are termed that way. Everyone knows it's a pseudoscience. I just didn't know what to put in and academic achievements seemed a bit less.
    – Artemisia
    Commented Jan 2, 2014 at 15:28

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