CV Vs Resume: What’s the Difference?

If you’re currently looking for a new job, you’ll likely notice that some job application forms will ask for a resume or a CV. You might be wondering, “Are a CV and a resume the same thing?” Well, it depends. In some countries, the words resume and CV are used interchangeably. However, in some countries, like the United States, there are distinct differences between the two requiring you to make a different document. In this article, we’ll explore the components of a resume and CV, compare CV vs resume in terms of differences and similarities, and answer common questions you may have about them.

Key Components of a Resume

1. Contact Information

There is a proper resume format you want to follow when writing a resume. At the top of the resume, you’ll need to include your contact information. Here, you’ll include your name, city and state/province, email address, and telephone number. These details are important to add as hiring managers will use this information to contact you for an interview after they’ve reviewed your resume.

2. Resume Summary

Your resume summary is a one to two sentence summary of your qualifications and credentials for the role you’re applying for. You can use a resume summary generator to instantly create one for you based on the details of your resume. You might include your biggest accomplishment, how long you’ve been working on your craft, any key skills you’ve developed, or big goals you have. For example, “Energetic enterprise salesperson with 10 years of experience closing six-figure deals looking for an opportunity to work at a fast-paced company.”

3. Work Experience

One of the key components of a resume is your work experience. You’ll often include three to five jobs with three to five bullet points per role. In the work experience of your resume, you’ll highlight your biggest accomplishments in every position you’ve done. Doing this will help hiring managers determine whether or not you’re the right fit and it’ll also help them envision what working with you could be like.

4. Education or Certification

Next, is education. Typically, you’ll include relevant education to showcase credentials. You don’t need to include the year if it’s been over 10 years since you’ve been in school. Education is also important as some jobs require formal education to do a job. For example, an engineering degree is required for engineering jobs. A medical degree is needed to become a doctor. So, adding education on your resume is necessary in many cases.

5. Skills

The skills section of a resume is growing in popularity. These days, ATS scans resumes for keywords to determine whether or not to pass a resume over to a hiring manager. It’s not a complicated process and most of the time you will make it through. Keep in mind the skills section isn’t just adding keywords to get your resume seen. You need to have the skills on your resume, as lying on a resume can be illegal.

Key Components of a CV

1. Contact Information

On a CV, you’ll include a contact section which includes your name, phone number, email address, and possibly a link to either your website or LinkedIn profile. This is an important section because it gives the information an employer would need to contact you regarding an interview.

2. Personal Statement

The personal statement on a CV is a short 2-3 sentence paragraph that summarizes all of your career goals, job qualifications, and what makes you an ideal candidate for the role. It’s basically a quick snapshot to help someone understand the value you could bring to a role.

3. Work Experience

The work experience section on a CV details your employment history. You’ll list your job title, employer name, employment dates, and your achievements and responsibilities in that role.

4. Academic History

On a CV, the academic history section provides the complete background on your education. From degrees earned to relevant coursework, you’ll highlight all the key distinctions you’ve achieved during your academic career.

5. Skills and Qualifications

A skills and qualifications section on a CV highlights hard and soft skills that are relevant to the role you’re applying for and that you’ve developed from previous roles you’ve held. You might include tools you’ve used, languages you’re fluent in, and common skills related to your job. This is often done in bullet form so that it can be easily scanned. These keywords often help job seekers pass ATS filters to ensure they’re qualified for the role they’re applying for.

6. Awards and Honors

Your CV can also highlight some of your greatest achievements. For example, academic awards, scholarships, or professional milestones to help separate you from other candidates applying for the same role.

7. Publications and Presentation

A CV will often have publications or presentations on it. It might list books, journal articles, papers, or presentations you’ve authored or worked on with others. You’ll also need to include titles, publication dates, and the place they were published or presented.

8. Professional Associations

On your CV, you can list your professional associations. Many industries like HR, PR, engineering, and so much more will have paid membership programs. In these programs, you can access events related to your industry, attend networking events to get to know people in the same space as you, and access exclusive job opportunities. Adding these associations to your CV when you’re a paying member showcases that you’re actively involved in these groups and you’re an engaged member of the industry.

9. Scholarships and Grants

Your CV can also include scholarships and grants. If you’ve received financial support for academic or research projects, you can list them on your CV. It shows that people outside of your institution have recognized your work.

10. Licenses and Certifications

A CV often includes licenses and certifications that directly relate to your career. For example, a teaching license, medical certification, electrician license, and more can be examples of professions where specialized licensing and certification is required. Not only do some jobs require schooling, but up to date certifications or licenses can be an additional requirement to ensure you’re qualified and legally allowed to work in those specialized professions.

11. References

On a resume, references are typically not allowed or recommended. However, on a CV it’s common practice to include references, such as professional or academic contacts who can confirm your character and qualifications. In this section, you’ll include their name, job title, relation to you, and contact details. You will need to request their permission beforehand to use them as a reference for your CV.

What are the differences: CV vs resume?

1. Document length

When comparing CV vs resume the main difference is the document length. A resume is often recommended to be one page in length, though it could be two pages. A CV is often much longer, with more than two pages for the document. A CV can typically run up to eight pages in length.

2. Purpose of document

A notable difference when comparing resume vs CV is the purpose of creating such documents. A resume is all about summarizing the work experiences and skills that a person has. It’s often tailored to a specific job they’re applying for, using a resume tailor. A CV is the entire look at a person’s career. It’s typically used in academia or research, so it includes more details that give a broader picture of what their career path has really entailed.

3. Focus of expertise

The focus of expertise varies when looking at CVs and resumes. A resume is all about your work experience, related skills, and qualifications to help determine your fit for a job you’re applying to. A CV is all about your academic accomplishments. This might include publications you’ve had, research you’ve been part of, and your career history.

4. Document structure

A resume is often written in one of three resume formats.: chronological, functional, or combination. A CV is often written in chronological order with the full scope of your career details.

5. Countries that use them

United States and Canada: CV is typically used in academia, law, science, or medicine-based roles. It gives a deep dive of your educational background, research history, publications, and more. Your resume is the most commonly used document for job applications in every other field. It does a deep dive of your work experience, job skills, and educational background.

United Kingdom: The word CV is usually used instead of resume. It’s the key document people use for all job applications and may include other details. The word resume is less commonly used.

Other European countries: In Europe, resume and CV are often used interchangeably, though the word resume is used less frequently. In these countries, they’re documents for the job search. There are standard CV formats that European countries use for their job search.

Asia: In certain Asian countries like India and Japan, people use CV and resume interchangeably. The format of these documents can vary depending on the roles they’re applying to. The word resume in these countries is a little different than in Western countries.

Australia and New Zealand: Like the UK, the CV is the standard document for applying to jobs. It highlights work experience, education, and skills. A resume is not used as frequently.

6. Customization

When comparing CV vs resume in terms of customization, a CV is a static document, meaning it’s only updated when there are new achievements or qualifications developed. However, a resume is changed frequently as most people tailor their resume for the specific job they’ve applied to.

What are the similarities: CV vs resume?

1. Both include contact details

Both a CV and resume include contact details, such as name, email address, phone number, city and state or province, and a link. The link is typically to a website or LinkedIn.

2. Both include details about education

Both a CV and resume include a section about your education. This might include your academic background, degrees or certifications you’ve earned, or publications you’ve been in.

3. Both help you find employment

Both a CV and resume help you find employment. They’re both documents used in the job search process to gain a role in your industry. Even though the roles that require each document may be different, if you’re actively job hunting, you’ll either be creating a resume or a CV to help you land an interview.

4. Both highlight professional experience

Both a resume and CV highlight your work history or professional experience. In each document, you’ll be showcasing all your past positions and the achievements you had in those roles.

5. Both highlight your skills

Both a resume and CV have a skills section, where you include relevant skills either hard skills or soft skills, languages you’re fluent in, tools you’ve used, and more to showcase where your skill set lies.

FAQs about CVs and Resumes

1. Is a CV better than a resume?

A CV is not necessarily better than a resume. It depends on the context. In academic or research job applications, a CV might be a better choice than a resume. However, for your typical job application a resume is usually better.

2. Are CVs and resumes the same thing?

CVs and resumes are sometimes used interchangeably. Whether or not they’re considered the same thing depends on which country you’re based in. In the US, CVs and resumes are not the same thing. Typically, CVs are used in academia and research whereas in a marketing job you’d likely apply with a resume.

3. Do I need a resume and a CV?

If you work in academia or research and are applying for both traditional and academic or research based jobs, you could create both a resume and a CV. For most people, you’d only need the document that’s most commonly used in your field.

4. How long should my resume or CV be?

Your resume should be one page long, though it can extend to two pages. A CV can be much longer than that and sometimes extends as long as eight pages.

5. How can I build a resume?

If you’re looking to build a resume, you can use Huntr’s resume builder to start building your resume with beautiful template designs to choose from. To start building your resume, sign up for Huntr today.