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CV Clinic 

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Clarissa

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I helped two graduate students at the CV clinic: a woman from India and a young man in Early Modern English. 

It’s sad that so many grad programs do nothing to help students work on their CVs and cover letters. I’d gone on the job market with a 7-page cover letter and I’m shocked that anybody actually wanted to interview me after that. 

In the case of the Indian woman, it’s to be expected that she wouldn’t have anybody at her school who’d know the conventions of North American CVing. But American students who don’t have their CVs in order can only be blamed on careless and uncaring program directors.

2 responses to “CV Clinic ”

  1. Vic Crain Avatar
    Vic Crain

    There are three exceptions schools in the US that focus on work skills: Drexel, Northeastern and (if I recall correctly) Cincinnati. The core programs are five year, with the students interning (at full pay) for government agencies and major companies in the US and Europe for 6 months during the second, third and fourth years. There are mandatory classes on resume writing and interviewing, and the students are required to interview and be accepted for internships. My son attended Drexel and got permanent job offers from two of the places where he interned. That happens a lot. One of his classmates interned with the insurer, Lloyds of London, and was hired there after graduation. I’ve often wondered why more state colleges haven’t moved in that direction. It makes so much sense.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar
      Clarissa

      For undergrads, it’s very hard to offer something like this because they simply don’t show up. I tried, and provided the services of a professional job recruiter (for free, obviously) but students can’t be persuaded to care. Moreover, they don’t understand the word “CV.”

      Graduate students are different, of course.

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A conservative literary critic and college professor

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