Where to Start?

Start preparing for the job market at least a year before graduation. If you’re still exploring, begin with LinkedIn to track your experience. If you're applying soon, start drafting your résumé, CV, or hybrid. Tailor each to the job, and have a clear sense of the roles you’re targeting before you begin.

The Résumé

  • Best for jobs outside academia (industry, nonprofit, government)
  • 1–2 pages maximum
  • Emphasizes skills, accomplishments, and work experience
  • Tailored to each specific job
  • Prioritizes results and impact
  • May omit publications, coursework, or academic details unless relevant

*In some cases, generally industry, policy, higher education administration, and many governmental positions, you will submit a CV/Resume hybrid. These are often positions that require a Master's degree or Ph.D. More on those below!

 

KU GRAD STUDIES RESUME TEMPLATE

Resources for Crafting Résumés

The CV Résumé Hybrid

  • Ideal for roles that value both academic and professional experience
  • Typically 2 pages
  • Balances academic credentials with transferable skills and experience
  • Combines the Chronological and Functional Resume Formats
  • Useful for Higher Ed Administrative roles, policy jobs, NGOs, consulting, industry with an academic specialty or research focus
  • Allows inclusion of select academic elements (e.g., research or teaching)
  • Still tailored to the job, like a résumé

 

KU GRAD STUDIES RESUME TEMPLATE

Resources for crafting Résumé CV Hybrids

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

  • Used for academic positions, postdocs, or high-level research roles
  • Can be multiple pages (no length limit)
  • Focuses on academic achievements, including publications, teaching, and service
  • Includes full academic history
  • Often contains sections on grants, conferences, awards, and committee work
  • Updated continuously throughout your academic career

The goal of your CV is to clearly communicate and illustrate your educational background, your research and publication record and creative works for those in the arts, teaching experience, presentations, honors & awards, and funded grants.

 

KU GRAD STUDIES CV TEMPLATE

Resources for Crafting a CV

Your Online Presence

Your online presence should reflect your professional skills, experiences, and work. As you prepare for internships or jobs, take time to:

  • Audit your presence: Google yourself. Remove or hide anything you'd rather a potential employer not see.
  • Adjust privacy settings: Lock down personal accounts (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, Facebook) during your job search.
  • Build a consistent professional brand: Use LinkedIn, a personal website, or other platforms to highlight your work and achievements.

Linked In

An effective LinkedIn profile can help recruiters find and contact you, help you connect with other professionals in your field, and showcase all of your professional skills, experiences, projects, and more. Use linked in effectively as a graduate student by: 

  • Regularly updating your linked in with new roles like Teaching or Research Assistant, Fellowships, Internship's, Project Leads, etc.
  • Tracking and sharing any awards or accolades you receive based on your academic or work performance
  • Connecting with people you work with including other graduate students, leaders in you field, faculty and folks you meet at conferences.
  • Joining professional networks and associations in your field to keep track of industry trends and up to date news

 


 

 

Resources for crafting a Linked In Profile