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How to list job-talks on one’s CV?

In our June “how can we help you?” thread, a reader asks:

I have a CV question. For research talks that were given as part of an on-campus invite, should these be in the CV? And if so, should they go under the label “invited talks” or under the general “talks” section? From a tenure-review perspective, I can see why it would be maybe unusual and misleading to list those under ‘invited,’ but I wonder if this is how search committees for tt positions are looking at dossiers. Maybe it depends on the kind of institution.

What do readers think?

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6 responses to “How to list job-talks on one’s CV?”

  1. Anonymous

    Not exactly sure this is relevant, but I attended 24 interviews so far (failed 22), and gave job talks to most of them. If I were to list all of them, it would probably signal that I perform poorly in interviews…

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  2. Anonymous

    I think it is NOT customary to list job talks on a c.v.
    Think about what sorts of reactions it might lead to … if you did not get a job there then prospective departments might say … hey look, that school did not want them, why should we. Perhaps you should ask yourself what is gained by listing such talks on your c.v. I assume/speculate that you want readers of your c.v. to get some sense of the calibre of places that considered you as a viable candidate?!

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  3. Anonymous

    I wouldn’t, but opinions differ.

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  4. Anonymous

    Just for the record, this has come up on Cocoon twice before.

    In 2021: https://philosopherscocoon.com/2021/11/10/listing-job-talks-on-a-cv/

    In 2019: https://philosopherscocoon.com/2019/06/28/listing-job-talks-on-a-cv-2/

    A lot of people think you shouldn’t do it.

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    A job talk is not really an invited talk–it is part of an interview. You wouldn’t put “Failed to win job at university x” on your c.v., so don’t put job talks on your c.v.

    Presentations (whether department colloquia or conferences) count for VERY little (almost nothing) in tenure evaluations, so don’t worry about padding your c.v. in that dimension.

    Reply
  6. Daniel

    My thoughts haven’t changed since the 2021 comment. If you’re going to list them, I would put them under invited talks: you were invited and you gave a talk. But for the reasons noted in 2019 and 2021, it’s probably safest not to list them, since the people who are against listing them will look down on you, and there’s basically no benefit to listing them.

    Reply

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