Resume vs Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Are you unsure whether you need a resume or curriculum vitae (CV) for your job search? Below is a breakdown of each of these job search documents and how to approach writing each one.

Resumes Defined

A resume is a short one to three-page document illustrating a job seeker’s relevant experience and qualifications for any given position. The tone or “voice” of language on a resume is concise and forthright. Resumes are the go-to hiring tool for companies and many nonprofits. If you’re looking for a job in either of these sectors, you’ll need a resume as the cornerstone of your application.

What to include in a resume:

• Your name
• Your contact information (phone, email, address)
• A paragraph summary of your key strengths
• Your recent work history or sometimes labeled professional experience going back about as far as your target position requires. For instance, if the job postings that interest you call for five to seven years of experience, take your work history back to 2016. In your work history section, specify the position title, company name, location, and start and end dates for each job.

Depending on your background, you may also want to include one or more of these sections:

• Areas of Expertise (below the summary)
• Prior Experience (below the work history)
• Education
• Certifications
• Languages
• Technical Skills

How to write a successful resume

The rule of thumb: focus only on past work experiences that speak to your current goals. Hiring managers expect to see the big picture of your work history, but they don’t need to know more than the essentials of any past jobs unrelated to their priorities. Follow this process to make sure you’re filling the page with details that matter to your reader and help you get an interview:

Step 1 

For each section that you include on your resume, brainstorm and write down any details or positive experiences that come to mind. Don’t worry about order or organization for now. Instead, try to recall the various items in each section, and then jot down some notes on what you valued about each experience. For example, what projects are you most proud of in your current position? What interesting skills did you learn in that certification program a few years ago? The point of this step is to generate a healthy amount of raw material about the career experiences that have meant the most to you.

Step 2

Now that you’ve written everything down, go back and review it one item at a time, asking yourself the same crucial question: Is this relevant to your target job? Taking the earlier example, are those recent project highlights similar to the type of projects you would manage in your target position? And would you apply the skills you learned in that certification program?

• If your answer is yes, plan to include that information on your resume.
• If not, delete the detail or move it to another document, so it is not part of your current writing process. Don’t be shy about deleting details that are recent or objectively impressive. If they don’t hold relevance to your next position, they don’t need to appear on your resume.
• Finally, if your answer is “sort of” or “I’m not sure,” don’t worry – just set the details aside, for now, understanding that you can bring it back into your resume later if you decide it’s useful.

By taking these two steps, you can generate many details about your career that both capture your strengths and apply to the work you’re seeking. And with this new focus, you will be in a far better position to organize your information into a cohesive and compelling resume.

More resume resources

• How to Write a Resume
• Create a Resume
• Resume Templates
• Over 250+ Resume Examples

Curriculum Vitaes (CVs) Defined

In the US, a curriculum vitae or CV is an often lengthy job search document used by candidates in scientific and academic professions. It’s also common in other fields requiring particular education or credentials, such as pilots, attorneys, doctors and other medical professionals.

How resumes and CVs differ

Resumes and CVs make a very different first impression. While the resume uses a hard-hitting summary of your top selling points, the CV takes a subtler approach, often omitting the summary and letting your credentials speak for themselves. Since education is usually central to a researcher or scientist’s overall candidacy, it usually appears first on their CV. This order differs from the resume, where professional experience should always come first and education second.

Another key difference is job description length. Job descriptions can be robust and extensive on a resume, with bullet points calling out key projects and achievements. By contrast, on a CV, job descriptions are often shorter and more straightforward in keeping with this document’s more understated style.

What to include in a CV

CVs cover a lot of the same ground as resumes, such as work history, education, and certifications. But they can also include various sections specific to the academic and scientific realms, such as:

• Board Memberships
• Fellowships
• Grants
• Internships
• Presentations
• Publications
• Research

Adding sections like these can cause your CV to reach many pages – particularly if you have co-written dozens of articles and given dozens of seminars. But that’s fine since readers of CVs understand and expect that your document may be much longer than a resume.

How to write a successful CV

Despite their length, CVs follow the same core principle as the resume:

1. Focus on relevant details.
2. Follow the two-step process outlined above, and you’ll be on your way to drafting a CV that helps you gain traction in your search.
3. Remember that hiring managers want to see nothing more or less than your relevant qualifications. You can make the right decisions about structuring each CV section, no matter the scope of your career details.

For example, say you have authored or co-authored 25 research articles. If they all align with your current research interests, you can confidently list them in your CV’s Publications section. But on the other hand, if you’re making a career change and only ten of the articles align with your current interests, it makes more sense to include just those ten under the title “Select Publications.” And if none of them align, you may opt not to have a Publications section at all. In every case, your CV’s form should follow the function of connecting your professional past and future.

CV example

What to consider when applying for international jobs

In many regions outside the US, the term CV is essentially just another word for resume. So, if you’re applying to a corporate job in another country and the posting asks for a CV, that may mean nothing more than changing your resume’s file name. However, different regions follow different CV standards. For instance, in some Asian countries, it’s customary to include personal details like your date of birth or marital status. Always do your research to make sure your application fits the international job market you’re targeting.

Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.