Tracking experiences and achievements with a “Junk Drawer CV:” Opinion

“There is a drawer in your kitchen or bedroom that is a catch-all for anything and everything. The place where we throw things quickly to clean off our counters,” writes Kate Stuart for Inside Higher Ed. “Your career journey needs a junk drawer, too.” Stuart discusses the creation of a “junk drawer CV,” an easily accessible file for tracking experiences, achievements, lessons, new techniques, and the highs and lows of the career journey. This file helps to facilitate reflection for academics, bring together ‘data’ for better understanding professional interests and values, and identify the patterns in what often feels like a hectic professional experience. Stuart adds that this document also can be used to inform answers to behavioural interviews and recommendation letters for mentees. Inside Higher Ed Note: Archived stories may contain dead links or be missing source links.