One of the most common questions I get at the beginning of a PhD student's coaching journey is this:

"How do I turn my CV into a resume that lands me coveted interviews in industry?" 🤯

This is often a misguided question. Here's why:

How you craft your CV/resume is heavily dependent on the industry and role you're applying to. Hence, your first and foremost step in a job search should be getting crystal clear on which role you're writing your CV/resume for.

Example 1: CV Template for Behavioral Scientist

This is the CV that landed me a 250K full-time offer at Toyota.

This position is a tech role in Silicon Valley, so why submit a CV?

Three clues:

1. This job posting was cross-listed on LinkedIn AND the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (flagship conference for social psychologists).
2. The language used in the job description contains strong signals for behavioral science expertise ("behavioral science principles", "Degree in Psychology") and social psych PhD training ("PhD preferred", "Expertise in social psych is a plus").
3. This role directly asks for a CV, Google Scholar, and your list of publications❗Nothing screams louder than "we're looking for an academic" than asking for everything that'd be required by an academic post.

In my Demystifying Job Titles guide, I have emphasized that Behavioral Scientist roles are hard to come by.

But when one becomes available, it is your chance to pounce, if you are looking for something closest to what would be an academic research position.

Given the context for this role, I went full blown academic, in my resume, take-home, interviews, and portfolio presentation. Toyota loved it, because that's exactly what the hiring team was looking for.

I provide this CV example to show you that not all industry roles require a resume. In fact, the worst thing you can do during a non-academic job search is to blindly submit a cookie-cutter resume (god forbid, through a "Resume Writing Service") to any positions you can find and spray and pray. This is the surefire way to get burned out and land 0 interview.

Example 2: Resume Template for UX Researcher

Now let's look at a more typical resume example.

This is the resume that landed me a competing 250K full-time offer at Amazon, for a UX Researcher position.

Deciphering The Job Description

The job description is as generic as you can find. This is very common at big tech companies, where they copy paste generic postings for the vast number of roles posted. The interview process is standardized. The team that interviews you may not be the team that you actually work for.

You will notice that I did not meet the "basic" qualifications for this role.

P.S. If a PhD has, ahem, a freakin' PhD, plus 5+ years of "proven success leading UX Research projects", she'd be a Staff UXR (and should be paid as such), not a mid-level newbie.

This job description, as with many UX job descriptions, is written for non-PhDs who have had some work experience under their belt. If you're a PhD who've gone through a 5-year PhD program, you have 5 years of research experience.

Never disqualify yourself.

Two Things Your Resume MUST Have

To get past the recruiter screen, your resume needs to convey two things:

1. You have the core technical skills to do the job.
2. You speak the language of the industry.

You Cannot Skip Core Skills

If you apply for a researcher role, you need to be competent in research skills (interview, survey, usability testing, etc.)

If you apply for a data scientist role, you need to be competent in data science skills (Python, R, SQL etc.)

This is the most important thing recruiters look for when they glance through your resume. No amount of passion, positive attitude, business savvy can make up for a lack of technical skills. I recommend listing your "core skills" at the very top of your resume.

Speaking The Language of UX

The second most important thing is how you present and market your skills:

• Notice I didn't just say "interview" under my research methods. Rather, I stated "in-depth interview", or "iid", a UX-specific terminology.
• I changed "participants" (academic language) to "users" (UX language).
• I spelled out metrics and quantifiable impact ("decrease cancellation rate by 30%").

Looking back, my resume wasn't perfect, but it was good enough to get me interviews at Meta, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and many more companies.

And that's all you need, for someone to look at this marketing document of YOU and go, "I wanna hop on a call with this applicant".

I have an entire module devoted to Resume Dos and Don'ts in my Academic Trailblazer program:

• Why ATS is a myth, with the one exception that will screen you out if you answer wrong
• What titles to use to describe your previous positions, and why you should stay away from words like "student", "associate", or "graduate"
• How to convey business impact when your academic work doesn't have direct, measurable impact
• How to make your resume stand out from a sea of competitive applicants, including those who have had years industry experience

Want More Help?

1. If you are looking for a comprehensive blueprint to break into industry, consider joining my Academic Trailblazer: Career Clear LIVE cohort by submitting an application today. We go in-depth in gaining clarity on your career path, targeting roles that highlight your competitive advantage, and develop a step-by-step plan that has landed multiple 6-figure industry offers for PhDs.

By the end of the program, you will walk away with clarity, conviction, and confidence in charting a career path that feels right to you.

Like my student Lily, who received her dream industry offer this month and is beyond excited to start her new role this week 🎉

2. If you need in-depth help now, book a 1:1 Strategy Session. We will analyze your current situation and develop a step-by-step plan to overcome your immediate roadblock.

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Until next time 💕

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