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Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:14 pm
by eshug1
Hi everyone,

this is my first post so sorry if this is a common problem. My professor agreed to write my letter of recommendation but asked for me to show him my curriculum vitae, which i dont have. Have your guys professors asked you for this, or do you just give them a resume or something to assist them to write it. Any advice for me, should I just expand on my law school resume to send him my CV? any assistance would be helpful.

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Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:22 pm
by 06162014123
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Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:22 pm
by Bronte
He probably just means your resume.

Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:24 pm
by Hawkeye Pierce
I'm guessing CV and resume are pretty much interchangeable here. Give him your resume, transcript and any essays/exams so that he can get a refresher of your work.

Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 7:28 pm
by JetSetter68
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Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 2011 11:13 pm
by Kess
Both of my LOR writers asked for this. I go to a large university and I am sure that I wasn't the only one asking for a letter. Having your credentials in front of them allows them to personalize your letter. So in short, your resume/transcript/sample of classwork should give them enough to work with!

Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 2:45 am
by Bronte
Kess wrote:Both of my LOR writers asked for this. I go to a large university and I am sure that I wasn't the only one asking for a letter. Having your credentials in front of them allows them to personalize your letter. So in short, your resume/transcript/sample of classwork should give them enough to work with!
Come on man. It's clear from the OP that he's confused about the distinction between a CV and resume, not whether he should provide either.

Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 3:00 am
by MrPapagiorgio
Bronte wrote:
Kess wrote:Both of my LOR writers asked for this. I go to a large university and I am sure that I wasn't the only one asking for a letter. Having your credentials in front of them allows them to personalize your letter. So in short, your resume/transcript/sample of classwork should give them enough to work with!
Come on man. It's clear from the OP that he's confused about the distinction between a CV and resume, not whether he should provide either.
Like has been mentioned above, a CV is more of an academically-oriented list of accomplishments and qualifications while a resume (at least outside of the law school application process) tends to be shorter and more focused on employment (if you have the work experience, that is).

In my experience professors just use the term "CV" because that is what they are accustomed to in academia and is more of a habit than anything. But also, if you create a resume for applying to law school, you will most likely focus on your academic accomplishments rather than employment and that is where a professor could consider it a CV.

Bottom line: don't be confused by the wording. Give a resume.

Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 2011 2:21 pm
by Kess
Bronte wrote:
Kess wrote:Both of my LOR writers asked for this. I go to a large university and I am sure that I wasn't the only one asking for a letter. Having your credentials in front of them allows them to personalize your letter. So in short, your resume/transcript/sample of classwork should give them enough to work with!
Come on man. It's clear from the OP that he's confused about the distinction between a CV and resume, not whether he should provide either.
Sorry, I forgot to include my main point- that both of my professors asked for a CV and I provided my traditional resume instead. They were satisfied- at least as far as I know.

Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:50 pm
by EMAW12
MrPapagiorgio wrote:
Bronte wrote:
Kess wrote:Both of my LOR writers asked for this. I go to a large university and I am sure that I wasn't the only one asking for a letter. Having your credentials in front of them allows them to personalize your letter. So in short, your resume/transcript/sample of classwork should give them enough to work with!
Come on man. It's clear from the OP that he's confused about the distinction between a CV and resume, not whether he should provide either.
Like has been mentioned above, a CV is more of an academically-oriented list of accomplishments and qualifications while a resume (at least outside of the law school application process) tends to be shorter and more focused on employment (if you have the work experience, that is).

In my experience professors just use the term "CV" because that is what they are accustomed to in academia and is more of a habit than anything. But also, if you create a resume for applying to law school, you will most likely focus on your academic accomplishments rather than employment and that is where a professor could consider it a CV.

Bottom line: don't be confused by the wording. Give a resume.
Sorry to dig up an oldie, but a prof asked me to provide a CV, and after doing a bit of research, I assumed a resume, along with several essays (one of which I wrote for one of his courses), and my PS would suffice. He responded by telling me that he received everything I dropped but, I still needed to give him a CV.

I love this professor, but I have no idea what more he needs. A transcript maybe? In any case, I set up an appointment with my advisor (who is good friends with him) tomorrow to see if she can clarify anything for me.

Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 3:31 pm
by LawperaMan
EMAW12 wrote:
Sorry to dig up an oldie, but a prof asked me to provide a CV, and after doing a bit of research, I assumed a resume, along with several essays (one of which I wrote for one of his courses), and my PS would suffice. He responded by telling me that he received everything I dropped but, I still needed to give him a CV.

I love this professor, but I have no idea what more he needs. A transcript maybe? In any case, I set up an appointment with my advisor (who is good friends with him) tomorrow to see if she can clarify anything for me.
Could you ask your prof? Probably the quickest way to find the right answer...

Re: Professor asking for CV to write LOR

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2012 11:27 pm
by EMAW12
LawperaMan wrote:
EMAW12 wrote:
Sorry to dig up an oldie, but a prof asked me to provide a CV, and after doing a bit of research, I assumed a resume, along with several essays (one of which I wrote for one of his courses), and my PS would suffice. He responded by telling me that he received everything I dropped but, I still needed to give him a CV.

I love this professor, but I have no idea what more he needs. A transcript maybe? In any case, I set up an appointment with my advisor (who is good friends with him) tomorrow to see if she can clarify anything for me.
Could you ask your prof? Probably the quickest way to find the right answer...
For some reason, straight up asking him seemed a bit embarrassing. Especially since he seemed so "matter of fact" about needing a CV, like it was standard practice.

I met with an advisor, and she's pretty close to this prof, who apparently is a pretty popular LOR choice around the university. The advisor determined that he must have been asking for the CV because my resume was on the slim/amateurish side. She advised me to beef up my resume and include some scholarships and service stuff I've been involved in. I resubmitted it to him this afternoon and I imagine that should be sufficient.