CV vs Resume: What’s the difference, and Which One Should You Use?

Whether you are just starting out, looking for your first job, or are making that next step in your career, applying for any position can be overwhelming. You have so much to think about, making sure that your cover letter covers the important things, and then someone throws a spanner in the works.

You’ve spent hours working on your CV, and you are asked for a Resume! Are they the same thing? If not, what is the difference, and do you need both? It's definitely an area of confusion in the job market, but don’t worry, This guide will help you understand everything you need to know about Resumes and CVs, and once you know, try our Resume Builder to make sure you stand out from the crowd. It's completely free to try, and will help you reach that all-important interview for your dream job.

Resume vs CV – Are they the same?

We begin with the basics. It can depend on where you are, but in the U.S., no, resumes and CVs are not the same thing. They are used in the same way, for letting a potential employer see whether you have the skills and experience they are looking for, which is where the confusion arises, but they do it in different ways. For Employers in the U.S and Canada A CV, which is short for Curriculum Vitae, is a comprehensive summary of your education and career experience. It will span multiple pages, with detailed sections about your education, presentations you have made, any work you have published, awards you have won, and more. It is focused on academic roles and is often referred to as an academic CV.

The goal of an academic CV like this is to show your career as a journey, your academic progress from the beginning to your current point.

By contrast, a resume is a more concise document that is designed to highlight specific skills and experience that align with a particular role you are applying for. It will be much shorter, usually one page but sometimes two, and covers the skills, education, and experience that are relevant to the position being applied for.

In the U.S. and Canada, if you are applying for a job in business, government, or non-profit organizations, they will usually ask for a resume; if you are looking for a role in academia, a CV will be requested.

But things can be complicated further, depending on where you are located and where the employer is. With the rapid adoption of remote working, today, people from all over the world can work for

businesses in other cities, countries, and even continents. It is here that the CV/Resume confusion becomes more complex.

Employers in the UK, Europe, and Beyond

In the UK and Europe in particular, there is no real use of the Resume at all, and that is because here the CV is largely comparable to a Resume, they just use CV to describe everything. There are some differences, though. CVs here will often be longer than a Resume, include a Personal Statement, and retain the more comprehensive overview of job experience that a U.S. academic CV may have.

• So, if you are talking to a U.S employer and they ask for a resume, it is more or less the same thing as a CV in the rest of the world. If you are applying for a position in the UK and they ask for a CV, you can send your resume, and it will be fine.

In Australia, India, or South Africa, you might be asked for a resume or a CV; they are interchangeable phrases that mean the same thing.

With all that in mind, it is not surprising that things get a bit confused, so we can simplify it all with a checklist like this:

• For U.S. and Canadian Employers, a Resume is a tailored summary of your skills and experience over one or two pages.

• An academic CV is a more comprehensive document covering all academic qualifications, awards, publications, and experience, usually only requested for roles in academia.

• In the UK, Europe, and the majority of the world, a CV is more or less what Americans call a Resume, with minor differences that have no real impact.

• In India, Australia, and South Africa, the terms Resume and CV are interchangeable.

Which do I use, CV or Resume?

Whether you need a CV or a Resume for your job application depends on where you are and the type of role you are applying for. If you are in the U.S. and applying for a job in business or for the government, or anything outside of academic positions, you need a resume. If you are applying for an academic role, you will need a CV.

In general, look at the application instructions, and it will usually say send resume or CV, whichever it is, send that in.

However, for employers outside the U.S. and Canada, they will ask for a CV, which generally means a U.S.-style resume. In short, unless you are applying for an academic role in the U.S. or Canada, you will usually be fine with a Resume when applying for your next position.

• For US and Canadian employers, send a Resume.

• Unless it is an Academic Role, in which case they will ask for an Academic CV

• For the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world, A CV means a Resume or an Academic CV, depending on the role being applied for.

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