Most PhD students and postdocs are very familiar with curriculum vitaes (CVs), and you probably already have one! CVs are used for lots of academic purposes – applying for graduate programs, grants and fellowships, and for academic jobs. You probably don’t need to go far to find examples of a good CV in your field; you can ask your advisor or PI or check out versions from class or lab mates. But if you are beginning to look at career opportunities in industry outside of academia, you have probably heard that you will need to create a new document – a resume!
If you’ve ever opened a blank resume document and thought, “How do I fit years of research, teaching, publications, and leadership into a resume?”—you are not alone. Resume writing is one of the most common questions we hear from Penn PhDs and postdocs exploring careers beyond academia.
That’s why Career Services created a new collection of sample resumes designed specifically for PhDs and postdocs. These examples are intended to help you move beyond formatting questions and think strategically about how to communicate your experience to employers.
One of the biggest challenges for doctoral students and postdocs is translation. Employers outside academia may not immediately understand the scope of your work, and you want to showcase how your experience is valuable to them. Research, teaching, mentoring, project leadership, communication, collaboration, data analysis, and problem solving are all highly transferable. The sample resumes show examples of how academic experiences can be reframed into language that helps employers quickly understand your strengths and impact.
The samples also demonstrate an important reality of the job search: there is no single “correct” PhD resume.A resume should reflect both your background and your target audience. The way you present your experience may look different depending on whether you are pursuing roles in industry, research, higher education administration, consulting, nonprofit work, or another field. These examples illustrate different approaches and show how emphasis and organization can shift depending on career goals. The examples highlight how to focus attention on the experiences and accomplishments most relevant to your target role, helping readers think intentionally about content selection and organization.
As you explore the examples, remember that these resumes are meant to be starting points, and not templates to copy.The strongest resumes are tailored to specific opportunities and tell a clear story about who you are and what you bring to an organization. Use these samples to generate ideas, identify strategies that resonate with you, and think about how to position your own experiences.
Ready to get started? Explore the new PhD & Postdoc Sample Resumes and begin building a resume that reflects your experience and your goals. Ready for a deep dive into how to build a resume or want some personalized feedback? Check out our Resume Guide for Graduate Students and Postdocs, and request a career advising appointment on Handshake. Career Services is here to help and excited to work with you!
