Updating Resume for Graduate School Admissions in India: Adding Online Courses

[Wrichik Basu]

I am about to start applying to different graduate schools in my country (India) for pursuing a Masters in Physics. Unfortunately, very few Indian universities actually want a resume, and offer admission based on competitive exams only. Nevertheless, I am updating my resume and keeping it ready, in case anyone asks for it. Furthermore, I am trying to apply for the Introductory CERN Accelerator School in 2023, where I will need a résumé.

I have taken a few online courses which I want to add to my résumé. One is on accelerator physics. Another is on numerical computation using MATLAB. A third one is on (introductory) semiconductor physics, but I took this many years back while I was in high school. I have certificates for all these courses, which can be verified online as well.

My current résumé looks like this:

​

Where, and under what section, should I mention the online courses? Should I mention the topics covered, or just link to the course page online (available for everyone)?

Any other changes that can be done to improve the document?

 

[Choppy]

I would add them under "education." You could add a bullet called "additional education (courses taken outside of degree program)" and list those courses. I'm not sure how likely people are to follow links on a CV, so if there's information you want to include about the topics covered, I'd include it specifically. You appear to have lots of room.

I would also either remove the "Strengths" section, or at least move it down to the second page.

Do you have any work/employment or volunteer experience? Most CVs will have a section for that. If the experience you have is not directly relevant to your immediate objective, you can move it to the second page. But I would make sure to include it somewhere.

Have you received any awards or meritorious recognitions? Scholarships? That's another section on most CVs that I don't see here.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

I would add them under "education." You could add a bullet called "additional education (courses taken outside of degree program)" and list those courses. I'm not sure how likely people are to follow links on a CV, so if there's information you want to include about the topics covered, I'd include it specifically. You appear to have lots of room.

I would also either remove the "Strengths" section, or at least move it down to the second page.

OK, will do that.

Do you have any work/employment or volunteer experience?

Unfortunately, no. None. That's a big issue for me, and I am trying to include these online courses to somehow make up for that.

Have you received any awards or meritorious recognitions? Scholarships? That's another section on most CVs that I don't see here.

I did get one scholarship a long time back, in high school. I can include it, but it's highly possible that not many people know about it.

Do you think I should move the "Conferences attended" section above "Skills"? It's because these conferences are important ones for my field, and I could attend them because they were held online due to Covid.

I was also considering rearranging my skills according to what's used most in my field of interest.

 

[Dr Transport]

Remove strengths, they are superfluous and not needed ever. Utilize the entire page, you have lists that can be spaced across the page in the Conferences and Header sections, i.e., use the right hand side of the page.

Tighten up the skills, just list them, no need to detail out the nit-noids.

I agree that you can put the online material in the education under additional courses. Remove the personal material about your father passing away, it isn't professional at all.

Since you have zero work experience, anything more than a page is fluff that isn't needed.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Remove the personal material about your father passing away, it isn't professional at all.

Actually, I included it because last time I applied for Technical Studentship at CERN, they emailed me specifically asking for a reason why my graduation is being delayed, and asked me to add it to the resume.

 

[Dr Transport]

Actually, I included it because last time I applied for Technical Studentship at CERN, they emailed me specifically asking for a reason why my graduation is being delayed, and asked me to add it to the resume.

That is a very specific case. I'd pass over your resume with that info in it, the only thing I'd be interested in is that you finished, not the reasons why it was delayed.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Modified it to this:

 

[Vanadium 50]

Honestly, I don't think "took a not-for-credit online class" is going to move the needle. (If it was for credit, mention it with all your other for-credit classes)

I'm trying and failing to imagine a case where one wouldn't select a candidate and then say "Whoa! Almost made a mistake here passing this one up! He took an online class!"

So it probably doesn't matter.

Might it backfire? Probably not, but maybe. The expection for people just starting out is that their CVs be thin. Padding them turns some people off.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Honestly, I don't think "took a not-for-credit online class" is going to move the needle. (If it was for credit, mention it with all your other for-credit classes)

Maybe the credit wasn't added to my B.Sc. studies, but I had to sit for a proctored exam in order to get that certificate for the accelerator course. The MATLAB course was different, however, because the exams were cancelled due to Covid. Hence, the ones who paid for the exam got a certificate based on the assignments submitted, and that's clearly mentioned in the certificate.

Almost everywhere outside my country, universities are asking for research experience. I have none, thanks to the system in my country. Hence, I have to rely on the online course, even though I have a bit more knowledge than what was taught in the course. Worst case, I won't be considered, but at least I will be happy that I had tried.

 

[Vanadium 50]

You could spend your time and energy arguing with us that this should move the needle. But I don't think that's a good way to spend them. I gave you my opinion. Do with it what you like.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

You could spend your time and energy arguing with us that this should move the needle. But I don't think that's a good way to spend them. I gave you my opinion. Do with it what you like.

Very well. It seems I shouldn't have replied.