When you look at your CV or resume, what do you see reflected back? A perfect exemplar who has a curated list of select accomplishments? Years of work and life distilled to a few pages? What about the work you've done that is left out and significant life experiences that inform who you are? Whether you live to work, work to live, or fall somewhere on that spectrum, let's stop letting others dictate our value and define it for ourselves by creating a shadow CV or resume. Consider bringing a copy of your current CV or resume to this session.
In this workshop, we will discuss shadow CVs, reflect on our individual work experiences, and create a draft shadow CV or resume with the option to share in small groups. We will begin this session with a brief mindfulness exercise to center ourselves in the moment and create group norms so we can establish boundaries for a welcoming and understanding space. During this session we will draw on theories and practices around contemplative practice, slow librarianship, and others in order to look at our multifaceted identities, realizing that work is just one of many identities we have, and often not the most important, in contrast to the story our CVs tell. Bring your current CV or resume and explore what your shadow CV might look like. Presenters will share a couple shadow CV examples as inspiration and craft materials will be provided or you can bring an electronic device to work on.
Related Literature
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Castro, Franz, et al. "Experiences of faculty and scientists with disabilities at academic institutions in the United States." medRxiv (2024): 2024-02.
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Eckstein, Lydia E., Amelia B. Finaret, and Lisa B. Whitenack. "Teaching the Inevitable: Embracing a Pedagogy of Failure." Teaching & Learning Inquiry 11 (2023).
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Gawuga, Cyrena. “Forget the Failure CV.” Inside Higher Education, 8 June 2023. https://www.insidehighered.com/opinion/career-advice/diversity/2023/06/08/researchers-need-shadow-cv-highlight-inequities-opinion
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Jaremka, Lisa M., et al. "Common academic experiences no one talks about: Repeated rejection, impostor syndrome, and burnout." Perspectives on Psychological Science 15.3 (2020): 519-543.
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Looser, Devoney. "Me and my shadow CV: what would it look like with not just the successes of my professional life but also the many rejections?." The Chronicle of Higher Education, 18 Oct. 2015.
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Stefan, Melanie. "A CV of failures." Nature 468.7322 (2010): 467-467.
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Supiano, Becky. “Teaching: How and why to tell students your academic-failure story.” The Chronicle of Higher Education: Teaching Newsletter, 22 Feb. 2024. https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/teaching/2024-02-22
