CV vs. Resume: What’s the Difference and Writing Tips

CV vs. Resume

If you’re looking to apply for a new job, a CV or a resume will be requested by a future employer to show off your skills, professional experience and education. But what’s the difference between a CV vs. a resume? Some industries and international companies use the terms interchangeably, which can lead to confusion.

We’ll help you understand the differences between a CV (also known as a curriculum vitae) and a resume, and help you decide which one is right for you, by explaining the following:

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What is a CV?

A CV, or the Latin word curriculum vitae (meaning “course of life”), is a comprehensive document that is a detailed overview of your career, research and academic experience rather than a more general overview like a resume would be.

For jobs in the United States, a curriculum vitae may be required for industries such as academia, entertainment, law, travel, military work, library sciences, engineering, architecture, publishing and government work. The most common jobs that favor CVs tend to be for academic, medical or federal work.

What does a CV include?

A CV is usually much longer than a resume. Here are some of the standard sections you can expect to include as part of your CV format:

What does a CV focus on?

A curriculum vitae’s focus will depend on the industry for which you are making it.

An academic CV, for example, lists all of your previous professional experience in academia, including teaching, speaking, article writing and lecturing. That means an academic CV can be three or more pages long, can have 15-18 sections and doesn’t have to stop at the advised maximum of 10 pages, depending on your level of experience.

The key difference between a CV and a resume is that instead of altering the document to correspond with the open position’s requirements, the focus of your curriculum vitae should be on cataloging all accomplishments such as publications, research, program assistance, relevant professional associations and mentorships, but brevity and clarity are still the focus.

Similar to a standard resume, experiences in the field are outlined in reverse-chronological order with the most recent first followed.

When to use a curriculum vitae

You should only use a curriculum vitae when you’re applying to positions with a strong academic or research focus. For example, you might use a CV if you’re applying to be a professor at a university or if you’re applying for a research position.

In certain cases, people might use the term “CV” to colloquially refer to a resume. If someone asks you for a “CV” and you’re not applying for an academic job, follow up with them and see whether they mean an academic curriculum vitae or a more typical resume.

What is a resume?

A resume is a document that summarizes your professional career. Resumes give prospective employers insight into your skills and experience and, how they will pertain to your new job. The term “resume” comes from the French word résumé, which means “abstract” or “summary.”

A resume is what most people will create and send in with a job application, along with a cover letter. When written well, a resume should tell hiring managers what makes you the right person for a specific job.

When to use a resume

During your job search, unless you’re specifically requested to submit a CV, you should assume that most recruiters are looking for a resume. If you’re expected to have an extensive rundown of academic achievements and accomplishments in your document, then you’re better off using a CV.

ResumeHelp can help you create a resume and a cover letter with our Resume generator, making it easier for you to write a resume for your next job application.

Formatting

A resume should be much shorter than a curriculum vitae, usually only one page in length (two pages at most). While your resume format will impact exactly how you structure your resume, here are the most common elements:

Key differences between a CV and resume

The key difference between a CV and a resume is the narrative.

A resume:

For more resume-writing tips, check our How to Make a Resume article.

A CV:

To learn more about CV writing, read our How to Write a CV article.

CVs outside of the United States and Canada

How we define a CV and a resume is the same in the United States and Canada. However, in Europe and most of the world, it’s much more likely that you’ll hear the term “CV” used to refer to the resume-style document you want to turn in for a general job.

Much like a U.S resume, a UK CV is more of a concise overview of your career history, so there’s no need for things like photos or too much personal information. Other countries like Germany, South Africa and Asia may require not only photos but personal information such as your date of birth and personal ID.

Because a CV is such a specialized document with so much information, it’s always best to double-check with a hiring manager if you’re ever unsure which type of document they’re asking you for.

If you are applying for international positions, it’s important to note that the top countries in which CVs are required in the place of a resume are: The UK, New Zealand, Germany, France, India, Italy, United Arab Emirates, Portugal, Chile and The Netherlands.

Key tips for writing resumes and CVs

Whether you’re writing a resume or a CV, here are some general tips to make your professional documents the best they can be.

• Use keywords. Employers sometimes get hundreds of job applications, so to see only the ones most relevant to the job posting, they use applicant tracking systems (ATS). ATS scans keywords to see if the resume or CV they received matches the job description. It’s important to read the job ad carefully and include the appropriate ones in your document.
• Stay focused. A CV focuses heavily on academic qualifications, while a resume focuses on skills and work experience. Avoid including information that isn’t relevant to your career goals.
• Action verbs are your friends. Instead of starting your bullet points with “Was responsible for…” or “I worked on…”, use action verbs like managed, created or led. They’re words that make your statements stronger and will take your document to the next level.
• Tailor your document. We’ve mentioned before the importance of customizing your resume or CV to the job, and we’ll mention it again because it’s really that important. Make sure that what you write accurately captures what the prospective employer is looking for.
• Review your document carefully before submitting it. There’s nothing worse than realizing too late that your resume or curriculum vitae has a typo. Proofread carefully or better yet, use our Resume Builder and CV Maker. We have a handy spell-checking tool that scans your document to make sure it’s error-free.