Crafting Impactful CVs: A Strategic Guide for Women in Universities
This is a comprehensive guide for women in universities that addresses the challenges of writing a CV. It’s tailored to support your career development through clarity, confidence, and strategic presentation.
The do's and don'ts focus on presenting achievements confidently while avoiding common pitfalls that can unintentionally undervalue women's contributions. This guide offers support and tools for developing a personalised leadership strategy, particularly for those navigating midlife career transitions.
I’ve also asked Claude.ai to generate a number of ‘power’ words to help make your CV sing (here). The key is to choose words that genuinely reflect your accomplishments and then support them with concrete examples and metrics.
The art of creating an impactful CV is demonstrating measurable impact. Too many CVs read like job descriptions—long lists of responsibilities—when what you need is a compelling leadership narrative. Instead, list up to three key achievements for each major role you’ve held.
A few additional tips for implementation:
For the do's and don'ts: Pay special attention to language choices, as research shows women often use more tentative language that can diminish perceived authority. The guide specifically addresses this tendency.
For the power words: Use these strategically throughout your CV, but ensure each one is backed by specific examples. For instance, if you use "transformed," follow it with concrete details about what changed and the measurable impact.
Customization: While this guide provides a strong foundation, remember to research the specific institution's values and priorities to tailor your presentation accordingly.
DO's for Academic Leadership CVs
Content and Structure
Lead with impact metrics: Quantify achievements wherever possible (budget managed, team size, enrolment increases, research funding secured).
Emphasize leadership progression: Show clear advancement through roles, highlighting increasing responsibility and scope. Sometimes role titles can do this. Or think about moving from department to faculty to institution wide responsibilities.
Include strategic initiatives: Detail institutional changes, policy developments, or programmes you've spearheaded.
Showcase collaborative achievements: Highlight cross-departmental projects, partnerships, and team successes.
Feature mentorship and development: Document your role in advancing others' careers, especially other women and underrepresented groups.
Highlight diversity and inclusion work: Include EDI initiatives, committee work, and cultural change efforts but don’t list every committee you have ever sat on.
Include external recognition: Awards, speaking engagements, board positions, and peer recognition.
Detail financial acumen: Budget management, fundraising, grant acquisition, and resource allocation.
Show innovation: Technology implementations, curriculum development, or process improvements you've led.
Professional Presentation
Use confident, active language: Choose strong action verbs that convey authority and achievement. See the CV power language list.
Maintain consistent formatting: Professional, clean design that's easy to scan.
Provide complete contact information: Include LinkedIn, institutional email, and professional website if applicable.
Strategic Positioning
Tailor to the specific role: Customize content to match the leadership position's requirements
Address potential concerns proactively: If there are career gaps, briefly explain with positive framing
Include service with purpose: Show how committee work and service advanced institutional goals
Demonstrate continuous learning: Professional development, certifications, and skill acquisition
DON'Ts for Academic Leadership CVs
Language and Tone
Don't use diminishing language: Avoid "helped with," "assisted," or "contributed to" when you led or co-led
Don't undersell achievements: Resist the tendency to minimize your impact or use qualifying language
Don't use passive voice: Replace "was responsible for" with "led," "directed," or "managed"
Don't include unnecessary qualifiers: Remove "just," "only," "merely," or similar diminishing words
Content Decisions
Don't include irrelevant personal information: Age, marital status, children, or personal hobbies unrelated to leadership
Don't list every committee: Focus on significant service that demonstrates leadership rather than routine participation
Don't include outdated technology skills: Avoid listing basic software proficiency unless specifically relevant
Don't neglect career breaks: Don't leave unexplained gaps that could raise questions
Presentation Pitfalls
Don't use inconsistent formatting: Maintain uniformity in fonts, spacing, and bullet points
Don't exceed appropriate length: Generally 2-3 pages for senior leadership roles, unless discipline conventions differ. NB: For academic roles, you still need to include your publications and grants so your CV will normally be longer.
Don't include weak references: Only list referees who can speak specifically to your leadership capabilities
Don't forget to proofread: Ensure impeccable grammar, spelling, and formatting
Ready to advance your academic career with confidence? Book a clarity session to develop your personalised leadership strategy and discover how to present your expertise with the impact it deserves.
Professor Christina Hughes
Founder and CEO, Women-Space Leadership Limited