PhD Resume—Examples and 25+ Expert Writing Tips

Looking around for PhD resume examples—

You’ve probably noticed a common point of confusion: A doctoral student CV, doctoral student resume, and a resume for a doctoral program are all very different things.

A PhD resume is what you want if you’re looking for a job outside of academia—

A CV is the way to go if you’re applying for a post, grant, fellowship, place, etc. at a university.

In this guide:

• PhD resume examples better than most.
• How to create the perfect doctoral resume job descriptions.
• How to write a resume when you’re a PhD or PhD candidate.
• Expert tips and examples to boost your chances of landing your dream job.

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A PhD opens so many doors, a lot depends on your field of study, what stage you’re at, and what you want to do. Check out some of our other guides, whether you’re:

Moving into these non-academic fields:

• Entry-Level Business Analyst Resume
• Business Analyst Resume
• Data Analyst Resume
• Financial Advisor Resume
• Investment Banking Resume
• Computer Science (CS) Resume
• Technical Resume

Entering one of the professions:

• Legal Resume
• Medical Resume
• Engineering Resume
• Architecture Resume
• Biology Resume

Sticking with teaching and research:

• Education Resume
• Teacher Resume
• Research Assistant Resume

Going it alone:

• Technical Writer Resume
• Consultant Resume
• Business Owner Resume
• Stay at Home Mom Resume

Or still working towards or supplementing a PhD:

• Student Resume
• Internship Resume
• Law School Resume
• Scholarship Resume
• MBA Application Resume

Finally, if you’re on an academic track, then an academic CV is what you’re after:

• Academic CV Template

Doctoral Resume Sample

Now here’s how to write a PhD resume they’ll love:

1. Choose the Right Doctoral Resume Format

You’ve got non-academic friends—

You know how their eyes glaze over when you start talking about grad-school politics or your plans for a monograph.

Don’t do that to the hiring managers who pick up your doctoral resume.

Make your resume format as quick and clear as a three-minute thesis final. Here’s how:

Doctoral Resume Format

• Use the chronological resume format to show your most recent stuff first.
• Stick to an understated resume font like Book Antiqua in 11–12 pt.
• Keep the margins of your resume at one inchand budget for plenty of white space.
• How long can your resume be? Submit a one-page resume if at all possible. Cap it at two pages max.
• Include at least these five resume sections: Resume Header, Profile, Experience, Education, and Skills.

Life (and Microsoft) has taught you that the answer to the PDF versus *.docx debate for your resume is PDF.

But—

Always check the job ad and go with any file-type preferences listed there.

Some organizations usedeprecated ATSs (Applicant Tracking Systems) that can’t handle PDF. Keep that in mind when writing your ATS resume. If the jod ad asks for a *.docx file, just send them a *.docx file.

2. Summarize Your Candidature With a Doctoral Resume Profile

This is the elevator-pitch version of your resume.

Short and sweet and basically complete.

Write a career summary if you have some experience that’s relevant to the job at hand.

Use:

1. One adjective (efficient, productive, passionate)
2. Job title (PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineer)
3. Years of experience (3+, 4+)
4. How you’ll help (help Company X reduce costs)
5. Two or three of your most impressive achievements (maintained 94% TEVAL score, received Catafalque Award for best design)

These career summary examples show how:

PhD Resume Summary

Passionate design engineer with 3+ years’ experience working in the industry, currently completing doctoral studies in industrial engineering and operations research. At GDC Allstorm, increased compliance by 17% while reducing manufacturing costs by up to $140,000 p.a. Seeking opportunity to apply proven PCB design and PM skills in helping RottenFruit increase margins.

Design engineer with 3 years’ experience. At GDC Allstorm, specified performance testing parameters and optimized product designs. Seeking opportunity to join a dynamic company with a good benefits package and plenty of professional development options.

Who would you hire?

The first example presents past achievements as predictors of future performance—

It’s concrete, quantified, and all about bringing value to the organization.

OK, but what if you don’t have any relevant experience?

Write a resume objective and talk up achievements from your studies and indirectly relevant jobs.

PhD Resume Objective

Dedicated design engineering PhD candidate with 2+ years experience teaching related engineering and physics subjects, currently completing doctoral studies in industrial engineering and operations research. At UIC, graded 400+ assignments with <0.5% adjustment after double marking, averaged 4.96 / 5.00 on teaching evaluation questionnaires. Seeking opportunity to apply proven PCB design and modeling skills in helping RottenFruit increase margins.

No experience working in the industry, but kept up to date through academic work. Looking to join a team of interesting people from diverse backgrounds.

Once again—

Focusing on what you hope to gain is not a winning strategy.

Feel a case of the dreaded writer’s block coming on?

Write your resume profile last—

It’ll be much easier and you’ll be able to do a much better job.

3. Create the Perfect Job Description and Skills Sections for Your Doctoral Resume

Show, don’t tell—

Make your resume work history section a showcase of accomplishments.

How to write a resume job description for a PhD resume:

1. Re-read the job ad (it’s not the driest thing you’ve had to read more than once).
2. Pay attention to the skills and duties mentioned there.
3. Think of times you’ve wowed superiors by leveraging those skills.
4. Write resume bullet points that focus on the benefits you brought to your higher ups.

These PhD resume examples show how:

PhD Resume Job Description

Design Engineer

GDC Allstorm

June 2018–present

• Specified performance testing parameters, boosting compliance by 17%.
• Optimized product designs to reduce manufacturing costs by up to $140,000 p.a.
• Established 10+ project development schedules from concept to production implementation in line with business requirements.
• Developed integrated circuit security solutions that circumvented 15% of known attack vectors at the hardware level.

Design Engineer

GDC Allstorm

2018–present

• Specified performance testing parameters.
• Optimized product designs.
• Established project development schedules in line with business requirements.
• Developed integrated circuit security solutions.

Same candidate—

Huge difference.

The first example is all about achievements—

The second, duties.

Both make decent use of resume power words, though.

One more thing:

You’ll be needing a skills section.

The trick:

Be selective.

Let the job ad determine which skills to put on your resume.

And don’t overshoot the mark, at least not by much—

More is not more.

The following are just examples, yours will depend heavily on your field and line of work.

Skills for a Doctoral Resume

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4. Handle Your Education the Right Way

Whatever your motivation for getting into doctoral studies—

Do your education justice.

Here’s how you can make sure it has maximum impact:

List degree names (including majors), school names, and years graduated.

Then:

Add a couple of bullet points that prove key skills or detail your theses.

This PhD resume example shows how:

Education Section for a Doctoral Candidate Resume

PhD in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research

University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

2024 (anticipated)

• Thesis: PCB Design Optimization Using Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning
• Thesis supervisor: Prof. Gary Young

MS in Electronics Engineering

University of Illinois, Chicago, IL

2018

• Thesis: Minimizing Water Usage With a Linux-Driven IoT Irrigation Monitoring and Controller System
• Thesis supervisor: Dr Jamie Nuttall

BS in Mechanical Engineering

Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL

2015

• Pursued a passion for control systems coursework.
• Excelled in circuit design elective coursework.

Work history looking a little sparse?

Include projects, classes, and relevant academic accomplishments in your resume education section.

5. Expand Your Doctoral Resume With Added Sections

With all the talk of increasing the workforce readiness of postgrads—

You don’t want to pass up the opportunity to show your readiness.

Add one or two extra sections to fill in the blanks:

• Additional Activities
• Foreign Languages
• Classes Taken
• Awards
• Hobbies and Interests
• Volunteering on a Resume
• Certifications
• Professional References

These two PhD resume examples show yes vs no no no:

PhD Resume Examples—Extra Sections

Software

• OpenSCAD
• AutoCAD
• Creo
• Solidworks
• Matlab
• GNU+Linux

Programming Languages

• C++
• Python
• Java

Software

• CAD software
• Mathematical software
• Operating systems

Hobbies and Interests

• Sandcastle building (competitive)
• Speed dating (competitive)
• Tennis (recreational)

A-, meet D+.

Hobbies and interests are absolutely fine—

As long you follow the golden rule:

Every single thing you add has to be directly relevant to the position at hand.

One final step:

You’ll need to write a cover letter to go with your doctoral resume.

Irrespective of your field, a cover letter is part and parcel of any application process that requires a resume.

Consider yourself exempt only if you’ve explicitly been asked not to include one.

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Key Points

For a doctoral resume that gets interviews:

• Use the PhD resume examples given throughout this guide. Like peer-reviewed articles, they’ve been tested and tried.
• Put relevant achievements in your resume profile, work history, and education sections to show you’ve got what they need.
• Choose the right skills to include in your doctoral resume. The job ad or announcement to which you’re responding will tell you what the right skills are for you.
• Write a doctoral cover letter. Use it to demonstrate your enthusiasm and state your case.

Need more guidance on how to write a doctoral candidate resume? Not sure how to list doctoral candidate on a resume? Leave a comment, we’ll be glad to reply.

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