When to include a poster presentation in a CV

You might add a poster presentation to your CV if you led conference presentations or conducted research relevant to your desired job. You can feature a section specifically for your presentations in your CV depending on your academic experience, the number of presentations, the amount of research you conducted, the conferences you attended and the number of papers you published.Some other instances in which you might add poster presentations to a CV include:

• If you won an award at a conference
• If you presented your work to legislators or large companies
• If you volunteered to be part of an event or project educating the public about topics related to the job description
• If you presented work that helped an organization achieve specific goals
• If you participated in an event as an industry leader or expert

It’s important to categorize your poster presentations and feature those not directly attached to your work. For instance, if your previous employer gave you a project as part of your work duties, consider highlighting it under the work section rather than listing it in the presentation section.

How to include a poster presentation in a CV in 7 steps

Here are seven steps to help you include a poster presentation on your CV:

1. Choose presentations to include

If you have many presentations in your repertoire, consider choosing the ones you believe to be the most significant. Also consider which presentations are relevant to the job for which you’re applying, which ones are recent and which ones reflect your current skill set. Remember to include presentations that demonstrate professionalism and in-depth research.

2. Include a presentation section

If you have several poster presentations, consider creating a specific section for presentations in your CV. If you have a long list of publications, your presentations should be a subsection of the publication section. The publication or presentation section typically appears after your education, work experience and research sections. If you prefer to list all your presentations, consider titling your section Poster presentations. If you list only those most relevant to the role but want to indicate that you’ve completed other presentations, name the section Selected poster presentations.

3. Include author’s names

List the authors’ names in the same order they appear on the poster or official publication, with last names first. You can abbreviate the first and middle names. Bold your own name and separate names using commas. Underline the presenter and end with a period.

4. Add the title

Add the poster title as it appears on the poster. If the title is too long to reasonably include in the CV, shorten it to convey the topic of your presentation. End the section with a period.

5. Write the event or conference name

Once you add the title, add the event’s name and the location where the presentation occurred. If the name has a date attached to it, such as The 2019 American Union Meeting, include this as well and finish with a semicolon. Similarly, the name and date should match what appears on the poster.

6. Add the date and the location of the event

Add the date and location where the event took place. When writing the date, be sure to include the year. Include the city name and state. If any of your listed presentations took place in another country, use the city and country format for those presentations, and add “United States” for any presentations that took place domestically. Finish with a period.

7. List from the most relevant to the least relevant

Arrange your presentations from the most recent to the least recent. You might provide a few important details about the presentation topic. For example, you might specify that a presentation was an oral presentation. Only include the same presentation twice if there is updated data and a different poster for the same project.