Resume Or Curriculum Vitae: Which To Use And When

While both the curriculum vitae (CV) and the resume reflect a person’s skills and experience, they are different documents. Let’s look at the distinctions and what’s more appropriate to submit in a given situation.

Image source: hashtagcv.com

Resumes are much shorter, typically just one to two pages long. Keeping your resume brief and concise means that you’ve to omit older positions and details from time to time. CVs keep these data and add new ones in your career as they are meant to be comprehensive. A typical CV may grow in pages upwards of a dozen, depending on one’s experience.

Resumes often allow management to look at one’s qualifications at a glance, so they require the use of short phrases and often come in a bullet-point format that highlights select accomplishments. CVs are deliberately more in-depth and are studied closely by a company’s HR department.

CVS usually begin with a listing of degrees earned, followed by academic interests and thesis and dissertation titles. These are followed by former work positions, published work, and any grant, award, or honor received. The last entry is usually a list of references.

It is in a job seeker's best interest to have both these documents ready, as they serve different purposes. While resumes are more common for applying for most jobs in the U.S., research work, positions in the academia and grant applications often require CVs.

Image source: bbc.com

Arizona-based retired career consultant Larry Polhill believes that clean and well-written resumes and CVs will help the job applicant stand out. For more insights for jobseekers, visit this blog.