Despite being unsuccessful when I applied last year, I opted to apply to grad school again this year because I believe – given my areas of interest and what I want to do as a career – I need to have at least a master’s degree.

As part of my graduate school applications, I was required to submit a curriculum vitae as part of my package. Unlike a resumé, which is a short listing of your most relevant work and volunteer experiences, a CV includes years of experience and accomplishments and can be multiple pages long.

Even if you don’t plan to apply to graduate school, you should still develop a CV or master resumé. You can also use your CV as a means to organize all of your work and volunteer experience since all of your accomplishments are in one place – it makes it easier for you to make new resumés that way (gotta love copy and paste).

Since I didn’t get in last year, I have taken more actions to improve my chances of getting in this year, and one of them was having my CV critiqued.

Most, if not all, post-secondary institutions have some kind of career services office which can help students improve their existing skills or learn new ones, find a job or have their resumé critiqued. I consulted some of the career services staff at McMaster to help me with my CV.

It was quick and relatively painless since I used a style guide that is used at career services and other departments at McMaster. I was told to ensure I use Canadian spellings and correct verb tenses, but otherwise, the staff member who looked at my CV said it was pretty good.

After a few quick edits, my CV and the rest of the components of my applications were dropped off in the mail. Now I play the waiting game for the next few months to see how my applications went this time around.

What if you are no longer in school, or would like a second opinion on your own resumé or CV?

TalentEgg is here to help you out!

TalentEgg recently launched a new component of the site called Answers, which is a discussion forum. The forum has different sections where you can post questions for your peers, TalentEgg staff, and industry professionals, including (so far) Resumé help, Jobs and career paths, Career-launching events, and Job hunting and career building. In the Resumé help section, you can even submit your own resume to be critiqued.

Also, a copy of the CV I submitted as part of my grad school applications is posted for other users to check out and comment on.

Remember, just because you think your resumé or CV looks good, it never hurts to get a second (or third) opinion!