There is no upper limit in the way there is for professional CVs. A postdoctoral researcher may have a 4 to 6 page CV. A senior professor with 20 years of publications, grants, students, and administrative service may have a 15 to 20 page CV. The principle is completeness and accuracy. Every item should be verifiable and relevant. Items that are neither (old conference abstracts, minor workshop presentations decades ago) can be omitted at senior career stage to keep the document focused.
An academic CV (curriculum vitae, meaning course of life) is a comprehensive, chronological record of all academic and professional activity: education, employment, publications, grants, teaching, supervision, service, and achievements. A resume is a targeted, selective document typically 1 to 2 pages long, edited for a specific employer. Academic hiring processes almost always require a full academic CV, not a resume. Some academic job applications outside tenure-track positions (administrative, industry research) may request a professional resume or CV.
Yes. Conference presentations are a standard component of an academic CV. Create a dedicated section with subsections: invited presentations, peer-reviewed conference papers, posters, and workshops. Include the conference name, year, and location. Keynote and invited presentations should be listed separately and prominently. For early-career researchers, conference presentations may constitute a significant portion of your public research record and demonstrate engagement with your field community.
A research statement is a 2 to 5 page document describing your current research program, how it fits into the wider field, and where you plan to take it over the next 5 years. It should be intelligible to someone broadly in your discipline but not necessarily your exact specialism. Lead with the central question your research addresses. Describe your methodology and what makes your approach distinctive. Explain your current projects and their status. Articulate your 5-year research agenda including planned publications, grants, and collaborations. Close with a paragraph connecting your research to the teaching and graduate supervision you would do at the institution.
The H-index is a measure of both productivity and citation impact: an H-index of N means you have N papers each cited at least N times. It is widely used in STEM fields and increasingly in social sciences. For academic job applications, include your H-index (from Google Scholar or Web of Science) alongside your total citation count. Both Google Scholar and Web of Science are accepted sources; state which you are using, as they give different numbers. The H-index is less meaningful for humanities scholars, where book chapters and monographs are the primary output form.