Is a ‘CV mindset’ holding you back?

The curriculum vitae, or CV, is a quintessential academic document that’s been in use for many years and isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Fortunately, it’s usually straightforward to produce and keep current. Scientists and engineers are comfortable with facts and take research integrity and data quality seriously, so a document that reports on where you have been and what you have done feels right. The CV is a retrospective or backwards-looking document.

However, when you bring a CV, just-the-facts mindset to other assets, such as your LinkedIn or other social media profiles, your website, or your speaker bio, you are missing a big opportunity. These items should be forward-looking, not backwards-looking like a CV. There are benefits to looking a bit more established, like attracting more students and collaborators, but the biggest benefit of being aspirational in the portrayal of yourself and your career comes to you.

The biggest objection to portraying a future-version of one’s self is usually a fear of misrepresentation. However, there are many ways to use something like a LinkedIn profile to show where you are going that do not involve bending any facts. Consider the following updates:

• Replacing a profile picture from grad school with a professional headshot of you in your lab or at your current institution

• Emphasizing keywords in your summary or bio that represent your new research topics or areas you want to move into and deemphasizing areas you want to move away from

• Replacing lists of technical skills with language that conveys your leadership in a field

• Sharing and commenting on news stories related to research topics that you would like to move into, even if you are not yet an expert in those areas

• Connecting and engaging with people from outside your discipline, industry or government if you would like to grow collaborations

Updating your profile and products to highlight not just where you are now but where you are going will help you clarify that direction. This exercise also gives you a chance to ‘try on’ new directions without commitment: Write something out and see how it feels! Starting to see your future-self take form will help inform decisions on what opportunities to say yes or no to. Don’t let the CV, or a backwards-looking, mindset keep you from a powerful opportunity to chart your course.

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