A curriculum vitae (CV) is a comprehensive listing of a person’s relevant history, while a resume is a brief summary of their education, experience, skills, and related information. The difference between the two can vary by location and field. Both are used when applying for jobs, internships, scholarships, or academic programs. It’s important for applicants to know how the terms are used and tailor their documents accordingly.
While they are similar documents and the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference between a curriculum vitae (CV) and a resume. A curriculum vitae is typically a comprehensive listing of a person’s relevant history, such as their professional history for a professional resume. A resume is generally a brief summary of a person’s education, experience, skills, and related information. The difference between a curriculum vitae and a resume can also vary by location, as the terms may be used differently in some countries than others.
Use for these documents
When someone applies for a job, internship, scholarship, or academic program, they will often be asked to submit a resume or curriculum vitae. These documents describe the person’s employment history, highlight his honors and academic achievements, and otherwise affirm his qualifications. A resume or CV is often the first thing a potential employer looks at when considering a candidate. Therefore, both a resume and a CV include the most relevant and pertinent information.
All CVs
A resume is usually one page or not much longer than one page. Some experts recommend avoiding resumes that are more than one or two pages long. Whenever an individual applies for a job, her resume should be tailored to reflect the skills, experience, and other credentials that will be of particular use in that position. For example, if a person were to apply for jobs as a biology teacher and a bicycle tour guide at the same time, they would likely highlight different qualifications in each resume.
background
A CV is typically longer than a resume and includes a comprehensive listing of a person’s relevant history. For example, this document could include all of a person’s positions, a complete listing of his or her academic credentials, as well as information about one’s published works and other significant achievements. In some cases, CVs are many pages long.
Differences between fields
Another difference between a curriculum vitae and a resume is that some fields tend to use one or the other. In general, CVs are required when people are applying for positions in the medical and academic fields. Resumes are usually preferred when people are applying for job positions.
Differences by location
The terms “curriculum vitae” and “resume” are also used in different ways around the world. In the United States and English-speaking regions of Canada, for example, the word “resume” is used predominantly. Even longer documents that more closely resemble CVs are often referred to as resumes in these parts of the world. The term “curriculum vitae” is used most often in Ireland, England, Scotland, New Zealand and French-speaking regions of Canada. In India and Australia, the terms are usually interchangeable.
Tips for candidates
When a person is applying for a job and a potential employer is asking for a resume or CV, it is important that the applicant knows how the term is used. It may be helpful for him to contact the prospective employer to ask about the types of information to include. There are many books and websites that offer tips to help candidates write resumes and CVs.
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