CV Tips for Physicists: Secure Postdoc & Research Jobs

Full Chapter List – So You Want To Be A Physicist… Series

• Part I: Early Physics Education in High schools
• Part II: Surviving the First Year of College
• Part III: Mathematical Preparations
• Part IV: The Life of a Physics Major
• Part V: Applying for Graduate School
• Part VI: What to Expect from Graduate School Before You Get There
• Part VII: The US Graduate School System
• Part VIII: Alternative Careers for a Physics Grad
• Part VIIIa: Entering Physics Graduate School From Another Major
• Part IX: First years of Graduate School from Being a TA to the Graduate Exams
• Part X: Choosing a Research area and an advisor
• Part XI: Initiating Research Work
• Part XII: Research work and The Lab Book
• Part XIII: Publishing in a Physics Journal
• Part XIV: Oral Presentations
• Part XIII: Publishing in a Physics Journal (Addendum)
• Part XIV: Oral Presentations – Addendum
• Part XV – Writing Your Doctoral Thesis/Desertation
• Part XVI – Your Thesis Defense
• Part XVII – Getting a Job!
• Part XVIII – Postdoctoral Position
• Part XIX – Your Curriculum Vitae

Curriculum Vitae (CV): What to include

I am going to backtrack a little bit and talk about writing your Curriculum Vitae (CV) and what you should focus on in search of a job in physics. This includes looking for a postdoctoral position, a research position, and possibly a faculty position at a university.

I base this on my personal experience hunting for jobs, conversations with others who were in my position, discussions with supervisors looking for candidates, and my experience browsing applicants’ CVs when filling several positions. Too many applicants do not pay close attention to their CV, and sometimes one wonders whether they are truly interested in the position they applied for.

Items that MUST appear on your CV

1. Name, mailing address, e-mail address, phone number.
2. A brief objective: one short paragraph or even one sentence describing your career goal.
3. Educational background: list degrees in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
4. Skills, expertise, and technical knowledge: this section is critical — see below.
5. Awards and recognitions.
6. List of publications: if you have many, list only the most relevant or important ones for the job.

Length and focus

Keep your CV to about two pages. People reading applications have many CVs to review; if yours is too long it loses interest quickly.

Most of the items above are self-explanatory, and applicants generally know what to include — except item #4 (skills and expertise). From the CVs I’ve read recently, this is where many applicants drop the ball.

Highlight skills and expertise — tailor your CV

Many CVs focus too much on the specific physics content of the research. That can be appropriate if you’re applying for a position almost identical to your research area. More often, however, the open position may be in a different (sometimes very different) area. What matters in those cases are the skills and expertise you bring that the employer needs.

So: emphasize the skills and expertise clearly. Don’t bury them under long descriptions of subject matter. If your CV reads like a generic document you sent to many places, it suggests you didn’t tailor it to the job. That impression comes across regularly when reading applicants’ CVs.

An example: fabrication skills

Say I’m looking for someone who can make photocathodes for a particular application. I am not expecting a specialist who “majored in photocathode physics” (that’s uncommon). Instead I am looking for someone with material fabrication expertise — for example, experience making thin films using deposition methods such as chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

Many applicants write about the physics or chemistry they studied but gloss over the fabrication details. For example, this original phrasing is not very useful:

“Ability to make thin films for XRD and XPS studies to at the strain-stress effects on the band structure.”

That leaves the reader asking: what did you use to make the thin films? The technique and materials are often the critical information for the hiring scientist.

Instead, state the skill and tools directly. For example (edited for clarity):

“Ability to fabricate metal and semiconductor thin films using MOCVD and related deposition techniques; experience producing epitaxial films and analyzing them with XRD and XPS to evaluate film quality.”

Better yet, list the specific thin-film materials and deposition systems you have used. This communicates a transferable technical skill that applies across many subject areas (and even outside physics).

Final tips

• Tailor your CV for the position. Put the most relevant skills near the top of the skills section.
• Use concise bullet points for technical skills (techniques, instruments, software, languages).
• If you have a long publication list, include a selected publications section on the CV and link to a full list (personal website or institutional page).
• Proofread carefully: small typos or sloppy formatting weaken the impression of professionalism.

If you follow these guidelines, your CV will better communicate the skills employers want and improve your chance of being contacted for an interview.