Translation of academic experiences into business language (opinion)

It has become cliché to tell graduate students and PhD students leaving higher education to translate their academic experiences into terms that business and industry employers will understand. This is often presented as the first step of converting an academic CV into a resume.

Such advice is sound. However, few people appreciate the monumental challenge this translation poses to many graduate and doctoral students, especially those who have spent most of their adulthood thus far embedded in the academic cult and who may not have never written a non-academic resume in their life. .

To translate means to overcome a language barrier. Academics are advised to translate from their native language – “academic”, let’s call it – into the language of the country where they seek admission, or “business”.

But how can it be translated into a language they have never spoken, originating from a country they have rarely, if ever, visited? How can one speak to the wants and needs of non-academic employers with whom they hardly ever interact?

Graduate students and doctoral students are often told that, because of their writing and teaching experiences, they possess strong communication skills. This is true in the narrow sense – that they are fluent in their disciplinary dialect of academia.

But business is another language. It has its own unwritten rules, its own tacit assumptions and cultural norms, its own criteria for effective communication. The difference between academics and business people is a profound lesson that many academic expats learn the hard way: through flashing phone screens, backgrounds of rejected resumes and the eerie silence of an empty mailbox the week after the last round of interviews.

Academic translator in business

This table is designed to make the translation process as straightforward as possible. It aims to help graduate students, PhDs and anyone else leaving higher education to begin to overcome the academic/business language barrier. It can be especially useful for writing a non-academic resume, building a LinkedIn profile, or formulating answers to common interview questions.

Academic	BUSINESSES
I wrote a dissertation, published a book, or conducted some other major research project.	Conducted a multi-year research project that resulted in an X-page dissertation/book and numerous public presentations at national and international conferences. Managed parallel and long-term research objectives and synthesized them into a large-scale research report. Took ownership of all phases of content production and optimization, including planning, information gathering, writing, revising, editing and final approval. Communicate effectively with stakeholders and cross-functional teams consisting of X, Y and Z.
I have published in scientific journals.	Published X articles in peer-reviewed journals while balancing multiple priorities on tight timelines. Conducted research and communicated key findings and insights to subject matter experts.
I have received scholarships, grants or awards.	Secured over $X in funding from local institution as well as multiple international organizations. Produced high-level summaries of research projects. Summarized the key details of the project while articulating wider significance for various organizations and stakeholders.
I have presented at conferences.	Organized X panels and gave Y public presentations at national and international conferences. Communicate complex ideas effectively to diverse audiences, including non-native English speakers.
I taught or TA’d courses.	Managed X students across Y course sections. Tracked learning objectives and developed criteria to assess student success. Planned and presented over X lectures of one hour each on a wide range of topics, communicating complex ideas to diverse audiences with varying degrees of preparation and familiarity with subject material. Increase retention rate by X percent over a Y-month period. Exceeded college averages in content understanding and overall student satisfaction by X percent. (Course evaluations can help quantify this.) Graded and provided critical feedback on over X assignments. Express complex ideas to students clearly and diplomatically. Provided ongoing constructive feedback on assignments, resulting in improved writing and analysis. Coordinated teaching assistantships and administered midterm and final exams. Conduct interactive and engaging games, debates and other learning activities.
I designed my own courses or programs.	Design and conduct in-person and distance courses. Developed exam tasks and essays to assess student understanding and critical thinking. Designed appropriate learning activities based on course requirements and learning objectives. Proposed and negotiated structural revisions for undergraduate programs covering X subject sections per year, providing Y percentage of course completion. Collaborated with faculty and department chair in revising the program’s core course of study offered to over X students.
I have taught, worked with, or assisted students in some other capacity.	Taught students to significantly increase overall course grades by X percent. Managed a class of X students during an intensive Y-week summer session involving over Z hours of instruction. Trained and mentored student/faculty liaisons and trained students for professional success. Delivered X hours of lessons through e-learning and learning management systems (Moodle, Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, etc.).
I was a department chair, graduate student liaison, or some other admin role.	Served as X for Y department at Z University. Helped increase student enrollment/retention/completion by X percent over a Y-month period.

These bullet points are designed to be imported into the Experience section of a resume. However, they are not set in stone. If you’re using this chart to write a resume, tailor each point to your circumstances and the jobs you’re applying for.

Begin each line with a strong action verb, ideally one that conveys an improvement of some kind: “enhanced,” “surpassed,” “repaired,” and so on. Add numbers wherever possible: students taught, funding secured, percent improvement, and the like. The numbers give a concrete measure of professional achievements. If you don’t have exact numbers, take a guess on the ground.

You can expand or combine many of these points in STAR stories to establish during a non-academic interview. If you’re not familiar with the STAR method, an interview technique that provides a format for telling a story by describing the situation, task, action, and outcome, see this article. STAR is the most common structured interview method. If you are looking to break into business and industry, always keep two to three STAR stories in your back pocket.

To summarize, at all stages of the job search—resume writing, interviewing, and beyond—translating academic experiences into business and industry terms is essential. Effective communication requires more than writing and public speaking skills. It requires the ability to address the audience in their own language, using familiar terms to articulate their wants and needs, taking into account the tacit assumptions and cultural norms behind everything said. Translating it’s possible, and experience is the best teacher. This table is intended as a starting point only.

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