Academic CV builder

What it does

Share your degrees, publications, research, grants and teaching record. It orders the sections for your target academic role and formats each part. You get a CV draft, field-specific layout notes and a checklist of missing details to confirm.

What goes in and out

You give it

• Your degrees, publications, grants and teaching history.
• The academic role and field you are applying to.
• Resumes or CVs (optional)
• The job description (optional)

You get

• A structured academic CV draft.
• Notes on section order and field conventions.
• A list of missing or unconfirmed details.

How the task works

• Choose the section order. Orders the sections for a research, teaching or other academic role.
• Ask for what is missing. Asks for missing details one at a time before drafting, such as dates, DOIs and your role on each grant.
• Format your record. Puts what you supplied into consistent sections in your field's style.
• Check the details. Checks dates and publication status, and lists what you still need to confirm.

Full instructions

• Gather your details first: degrees with dates and advisors, a publication list with DOIs, grants with amounts and your role, and the job advert.
• Open Claude, ChatGPT or Gemini and paste the skill instructions. No code, files or paid tools are needed.
• Paste your details, and tell your AI the role and field you are applying for.
• Answer any questions your AI asks about missing details.
• Check the draft against the job advert. Confirm every item on the missing-details checklist.
• Replace any sample names, grants and dates before you send the CV.
• Next, paste the confirmed draft into your application. Ask your AI for a cover letter or research statement as a separate task.

Full instruction file

Academic CV Builder

Before you start

Use the material below to do this job. If facts or tool access are missing, explain what you can finish and what must wait.

What you need (use your own material or the linked skill):

• A document (yours): a finished document, such as a Word file, a PDF or a page of notes.

Makes it better (optional):

• Resumes or CVs (yours): the resumes or CVs this job uses, pasted or attached.
• The job description (yours): the role's title, team, duties and level, as a job post or plain notes.

How to start:

1. Look first. Use what they've already attached, pasted or put in their about-me note. In a coding assistant with file access, look in the project too for these by name.
2. Check what's missing. Look for a document, resumes or CVs, the job description. They can attach files, paste the details, or share a file path your assistant can read. Ask only for missing facts that change the result. If they ask you to start with what they have, complete the parts you can and mark the gaps.
3. Do the job. Follow the skill below with the facts and tools you have. Mark each gap with MISSING: where it belongs and never invent a fact to fill it.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user:

• Is applying for academic positions (faculty, research, postdoc)
• Needs to create or update a curriculum vitae
• Wants to format publications, grants, and teaching experience
• Is in academia or transitioning to academic careers
• Mentions: "academic CV", "curriculum vitae", "faculty position", "research CV", "professor resume"

Core Capabilities

• Structure CVs for academic positions
• Format publications, presentations, and grants
• Organize teaching and research experience
• Include appropriate academic sections
• Tailor for different academic roles (tenure-track, postdoc, lecturer)
• Balance research, teaching, and service

Academic CV vs. Resume

Standard Academic CV Sections

Typical Order

1. Contact Information
2. Education
3. Research/Academic Positions
4. Publications
5. Presentations
6. Grants & Funding
7. Teaching Experience
8. Mentoring
9. Service
10. Professional Memberships
11. Honors & Awards
12. References (or "Available upon request")

Section Order Varies By:

• Research position: Publications, grants, research experience first
• Teaching position: Teaching, course development first
• Administrative position: Leadership, service first

Section-by-Section Guide

AI Blocks note: every name, grant, amount, date, advisor and student in the examples below is placeholder text. Never carry any of it into a real CV. Use only the details the person gives you, and write MISSING: where a detail was not given. Ask for missing details one at a time before you draft.

1. Contact Information

FIRST MIDDLE LAST, Ph.D.
Department of [Field]
[University Name]
[Building, Room Number]
[City, State ZIP]

Email: email@university.edu
Phone: (555) 123-4567
Web: www.yoursite.edu
ORCID: 0000-0000-0000-0000

2. Education

Format: Degree, Field, Institution, Year

EDUCATION

Ph.D. in Molecular Biology, Stanford University, 2019
  Dissertation: "Title of Your Dissertation"
  Advisor: Dr. Jane Smith
  Committee: Dr. A, Dr. B, Dr. C

M.S. in Biology, UC Berkeley, 2015

B.S. in Biochemistry, UCLA, 2013
  Summa Cum Laude

Include:

• All degrees (in reverse chronological order)
• Dissertation/thesis title
• Advisor(s)
• Committee members (for PhD)
• Honors (cum laude, etc.)
• Relevant minors or certificates

3. Research/Academic Positions

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

Assistant Professor of Biology, University of Michigan, 2022-Present
  Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology

Postdoctoral Fellow, MIT, 2019-2022
  Advisor: Dr. John Doe
  Lab: Computational Biology Lab

Graduate Research Assistant, Stanford University, 2014-2019
  Advisor: Dr. Jane Smith

4. Publications

Most Important Section for Research Positions

Formatting Options

Option 1: Numbered List (Common in Sciences)

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles

15. Last, F.M., Co-Author, A.B., & Senior, C.D. (2023). Article title. Journal Name, 45(2), 123-145. doi:10.1000/xyz

14. Last, F.M., & Co-Author, A.B. (2022). Article title. Journal Name, 44(1), 10-25. doi:10.1000/abc

Option 2: Categories (Useful for Multiple Types)

PUBLICATIONS

Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles (15)

Book Chapters (3)

Books (1)

Under Review (2)

In Preparation (3)

Formatting Details:

• Bold your name in author lists
• Include DOIs when available
• Note impact factors if requested/relevant
• Indicate student co-authors with asterisk*
• Some fields expect reverse chronological; others expect chronological

Categories to Consider:

• Peer-reviewed journal articles
• Books and book chapters
• Conference proceedings
• Technical reports
• Non-peer-reviewed publications
• Works under review
• Works in preparation

5. Presentations

PRESENTATIONS

Invited Talks

"Talk Title," Conference Name, Location, Date.
"Talk Title," Department Seminar, University Name, Date.

Conference Presentations

"Poster/Talk Title," Conference Name, Location, Date. [Poster/Oral]

Categorize By:

• Invited talks (keynotes, seminars)
• Conference presentations
• Campus talks
• Public lectures/outreach

6. Grants & Funding

GRANTS AND FUNDING

Awarded

NIH R01 (Co-PI), "Project Title," 2023-2028, $2.5M total ($500K to my lab)

NSF CAREER Award (PI), "Project Title," 2022-2027, $650,000

Internal Grant (PI), "Project Title," 2021, $25,000

Pending

NIH R21 (PI), "Project Title," submitted January 2024

Not Funded (Optional)

[Some fields expect you to list unfunded submissions]

Include:

• Funding agency and mechanism
• Your role (PI, Co-PI, Co-I)
• Project title
• Dates
• Total amount (and amount to your lab if split)

7. Teaching Experience

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Courses Taught

BIOL 301: Molecular Biology (Instructor of Record)
  University of Michigan, Fall 2022, Fall 2023
  Enrollment: 45 students
  Developed new course curriculum

BIOL 101: Introduction to Biology (Lab Instructor)
  Stanford University, 2015-2018
  
Guest Lectures

"Topic," Course Name, Professor's Name, University, Date

Include:

• Course number and title
• Your role (Instructor, TA, Guest Lecturer)
• Institution and dates
• Enrollment numbers
• Course development or new preparations
• Teaching evaluations summary (if strong)

8. Mentoring

MENTORING

Graduate Students
- Student Name (Ph.D. expected 2025), Dissertation: "Title"
- Student Name (Ph.D. 2023), Current position: Postdoc at MIT

Postdoctoral Fellows
- Name (2021-2023), Current position: Assistant Professor at X

Undergraduate Researchers
- Name (2022-2023), Thesis: "Title," Current: PhD program at Y
- Name (2021-2022), Thesis: "Title," Current: Industry position

9. Service

SERVICE

To the Profession
- Editorial Board Member, Journal Name, 2022-Present
- Grant Reviewer, NIH Study Section XYZ, 2023
- Conference Organizer, Conference Name, 2022

To the University
- Graduate Admissions Committee, 2022-Present
- Faculty Search Committee, 2023
- Curriculum Committee, 2022-2023

To the Department
- Seminar Coordinator, 2022-Present
- Undergraduate Advisor, 2022-Present

10. Professional Memberships

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS

American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), 2015-Present
Society for Neuroscience (SfN), 2018-Present

11. Honors & Awards

HONORS AND AWARDS

NSF CAREER Award, 2022
Best Paper Award, Conference Name, 2021
Outstanding Graduate Student Award, Stanford University, 2018
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 2015-2018
Phi Beta Kappa, 2013

Role-Specific Emphasis

Tenure-Track Faculty

Emphasize:

1. Publications (especially recent, high-impact)
2. Grants (especially independent funding)
3. Research trajectory and vision
4. Teaching experience
5. Mentoring record

Postdoctoral Position

Emphasize:

1. Publications (from PhD and postdoc)
2. Research experience and skills
3. Collaboration experience
4. Future research potential
5. Any funding/fellowships

Lecturer/Teaching Faculty

Emphasize:

1. Teaching experience (courses, evaluations)
2. Course development
3. Pedagogical training
4. Mentoring undergraduates
5. Teaching awards

Research Scientist

Emphasize:

1. Publications
2. Technical skills
3. Grant writing experience
4. Collaboration record
5. Relevant research experience

Discipline-Specific Conventions

Sciences (Biology, Chemistry, Physics)

• Author order matters (first author, last author = senior)
• Impact factors sometimes included
• Numbered publication lists common
• Conference presentations less weighted than publications

Humanities (History, Literature, Philosophy)

• Single-author publications highly valued
• Book publications crucial
• Conference presentations important
• Public scholarship valued

Social Sciences

• Both solo and collaborative work valued
• Mix of journal articles and books
• Funded research important
• Policy impact valued

CV Length Guidelines

Rule: Your CV grows throughout your career. Don't pad, but don't artificially constrain length.

Output Format

When creating an academic CV:

# ACADEMIC CV STRUCTURE FOR [NAME]

## Recommended Section Order
[Based on position type and field]

1. [Section]
2. [Section]
...

## Section Content

### Education
[Formatted education section]

### Publications
[Formatted with appropriate style for field]

### [Other Sections]
[Formatted content]

---

## Formatting Notes
- [Field-specific conventions to follow]
- [Style guide recommendations]

## Things to Add/Update
- [ ] [Missing item]
- [ ] [Item needing update]

Next steps

Once the person has confirmed the checklist, they can paste the draft into the job application. For a cover letter or research statement, ask for it as a separate task. This skill builds only the CV.

After this

When you've handed it back, suggest what they could do next in one short question. It's a suggestion: if they're done, that's fine. Offer these, and say they can type their own:

• The Resume version organizer. It takes the resumes or CVs.
• The Resume parsing checker. It takes the resumes or CVs.
• The Creative resume layout planner. It takes the resumes or CVs.
• The Applicant shortlist builder. It takes the resumes or CVs.
• The Product manager resume reviewer. It takes the resumes or CVs. If they pick one and that skill is added here, carry straight on with what you just made. If not, give the link and say what to bring.

Academic CV Checklist

• ✅ Contact information complete (including ORCID if applicable)
• ✅ Education includes all degrees, advisors, dissertations
• ✅ Publications properly formatted with your name highlighted
• ✅ All grants listed with amounts and your role
• ✅ Teaching experience comprehensive
• ✅ Service documented
• ✅ Consistent formatting throughout
• ✅ Reverse chronological order (usually)
• ✅ No unexplained gaps
• ✅ Updated within last 6 months