After-thesis academic jobs

Just after the end of the thesis:

• Postdoc positions

• Research engineer

• Temporary teaching and research assistant

Later in the career (but technically possible just after the thesis):

• Research assistant

• Assistant professor

Each type of position (and each position) has its specificities!

General information

Some general tips:

• Do not focus too much on the design

• Academic CVs are often >1 page long (but read the offer’s instructions)

• Don’t hesitate to repeat yourself beteen the CV and the cover letter

• Make a general CV but alter it for each offer to fit it at best

Contact

• Name
• Grade (PhD., MSc., BSc.)
• Physical and email addresses
• (Phone number)
• Social networks: ORCID, Bluesky…
• 2 or 3 key words to describe the application
• 1 sentence to describe your profile/interests

No photo (can be discussed, not expected for international applications, it is a French habit)

Skills

Add categories according to the position:

• Programming (Python, R, C++, MySQL…)
• Spoken languages (English, French, local languages…)
• Practical skills (molecular biology, statistical analyses…)
• Specific tools (LaTeX, QGIS…)
• Briefly show the link between these skills and the position (and detail in the cover letter).

Education

Include relevant diplomas, such as:

• Bachelor degree
• Master degree
• Doctorate
• Engineering degree

For each, include the title, the university, the date and the relevant courses.

Also include relevant formations + its duration (nb of hours, days):

• “Seasonal” schools
• Workshops
• …

Work/research history

Filter for relevant elements:

• Research internships
• Doctoral contracts
• Engineering/technical contracts
• Non-academic relevant contracts/internships

Include the title, the institution, the dates, and a short description of your activities.

Teaching experience

Mostly relevant for teaching-related positions (ATER/MCU). Include:

• Number of hours
• Years
• Type of courses (short description)
• Level (bachelor, master…)

Conferences

Include your participations to conferences with:

• The name of the conference
• The date
• The place (city + country)
• The nature of the participation (poster or oral presentation)

Awards & grants

If you received any “important” award or grant, notify it with:

• The name of the award/grant
• The amount of money for grants
• The year
• The goal of the grant/reason of the award

Publication list

Generally placed at the end of the CV, with no length limit. You may include:

• Peer-reviewed papers:
  • Published
  • In press (accepted but not published)
  • In prep (or to be more specific: under review, submitted, advanced draft), you can specify the journal, the approx. submission date…
• Technical reports
• Conference articles
• Published academic manuscripts (thesis)
• …

Supervision & responsibilities

For more advanced researchers, it is expected to include:

• Internship/thesis supervision activities
• Conference organisation committee responsibilities
• Editorial activities
• Doctoral/other engagement activities
• …

Other activities and trivia

Include everything relevant or that you want to tell about yourself, such as:

• Science popularization/outreach activities
• Software development
• Interviews
• Associative activities
• Hobbies
• Other activities
• …