Should journal articles or conference papers come first on an academic CV? The answer depends on the field, and fields disagree. A computer scientist leads with conference papers, a historian with books and a biologist with journal articles, and a resume that leads with the wrong group reads as if someone outside the field wrote it.
Axe Builder, our resume builder for researchers, turns an ORCID iD into an academic resume with citations, h-index, journal quartiles and Crossref data already in place. Since 11 July, its publication list opens with the group you choose. The choice is a single setting in the sidebar, and the numbering, the on-screen preview and the PDF all follow it.
Why the first group sets the tone
A hiring panel forms its view of a research record on the first page of publications. Leading with the output your field counts first, which is usually also the output the university’s job requirements count first, means the strongest evidence is read while the panel is still reading closely. When Axe Talent prepares a candidate for a computer science chair, conference papers lead; for a media and communication chair, journal articles and books lead. The builder lets you make the same choice for your own CV.