CV for a PhD application in applied mathematics

Question

In my CV I want to know whether the following ordering of the categories is suitable. I thought of giving prominence to research work because I am applying for a PhD.

1. Personal Details (name,address,e-mail)
2. Career objective
3. Education
4. Publications
5. Conference presentation
6. Research Interest
7. Skills
8. Work Experience
9. Co-curricular activities
10. Extra curricular activities
11. References

Is the placing of Research Interest okay? Should I move it up? Where should I keep it?

As Career Objective should I write in general what I plan to do i my career once I finish my PhD or should it include the particular area that I am trying to research as my PhD. Say the specific field in applied mathematics. For example: Should it be,

1. Applying for admission into X university’s Doctor of Y program. or

2. Career objective : Become a leading researcher in the area of Z and contribute to the betterment of society

Answer 1

• Firstly, the Career Objective section is a thing of past and should not be present in a CV or resume. Not only it is old-fashioned, it actually makes one change their CV or resume every time one applies to different organization and position. It is much better to place relevant position-focused information in a cover letter, which should be adjusted to a particular position anyway.

• Secondly, do not put personal details, like mailing and physical address, on CV or resume. An e-mail address and, maybe, a phone number is more than enough. You don't expect potential employers to send you postal mail, do you? Plus, the physical address would jeopardize the security of one's identity.

• Thirdly, the section Research Interests should be higher in the list - I would say, even prior to the section Education (or, at least, right after it).

• Fourthly, I suggest you to create two versions of your CV (the following is not applicable to resume) - one with references, for organizations that require them as part of initial application, and another without ones, for those that require them later or using different communication channel (say, Interfolio).

• Fifthly, go ahead and search Internet for examples of academic cover letters (there are plenty of them - stick with the ones from reputable universities). Hope this helps. Good luck!

P.S. I would reword section titles, as follows: Conference Presentations => Talks & Presentations; Research Interest => Research Interests; Co-curricular Activities => not sure it makes sense to extract them in a separate section - why not list them below relevant educational info; Extra-curricular Activities => Extracurricular Activities.

Answer 2

Your proposed order looks fine to me as a default. If you think you really shine in one category it is okay to move things up or down based on that.

I am assuming most of your experience has been academia. Someone who spent a lot of time working outside of academia would want to prioritize that experience instead.

Research interest placement is fine subject to my above comments about what your want to emphasize.

Your second career objective sounds much better: "Become a leading researcher in the area of Z and contribute to the betterment of society"