The Resume and Curriculum Vitae (CV) are both documents that list educational qualifications, work experience, skills, and achievements of an individual. The resume is the most used document of the two documents, used by most organizations in the private and public sectors. CV is a long document, covers your entire career and static in nature. A resume is a short document, concise statements and highly customizable.
The most considerable difference between a resume and CV is perspective. The most noticeable difference in format between the two documents is the length. The next most noticeable difference between the two documents is in the level of detail.
CURRICULUM VITAE (CV)
A CV is a complete document containing a detailed information about job applicant’s qualifications, experience, skills, and achievements, etc.
RESUME
A Resume is a concise document containing only essential information of job applicant’s academics, past work experience, and achievements, etc.
COMPARISON
| CURRICULUM VITAE (CV) | RESUME |
|---|---|
| A CV is most widely accepted in Europe, Africa, India and most Asian countries. | A Resume is most widely accepted in the US and Canada. |
| Number of Pages | |
| CV is a lot more detailed and has no page limit, but usually is 4 to 5 pages and in some cases more than that also. | The resume is generally restricted to 1-2 pages and focused. |
| Consists of | |
| CV's contain a comprehensive list with full information about the individual and his activities along with other professional activities. | Resume do not contain detailed information it only includes concise statements. |
| What did it tell? | |
| A curriculum vitae (CV) tells the reader what you know i.e, qualifications and skills. | A Resume tells the reader what you know how to do i.e, experience. |
| Focused On | |
| A CV is a more detailed document that focuses on your academic training in order to demonstrate your potential as a scholar. | A Resume summarizes your background and experience in order to demonstrate your ability to match with the job of a specific position. |
| Usefulness | |
| A CV is used when applying for job or an academic position at a college, university, or research institution. | A Resume is used when applying for a non-academic position in the corporate or public sector. |
| Modification | |
| A CV is a standard document and need not necessarily be changed when applying for different posts. | The Resume is a dynamic document and can be changed from one job application to another according to the needs of the specific post |
| Contents of document | |
| A CV is a chronologically organized document and it helps the reader to get an overview of an individual easily. | A Resumé need not be chronologically organized. It is customized according to the needs of the job. |
| Jobs | |
| CV is more focused on Academic jobs. | A Resume is centered on skill-based jobs. |
| Work Experience | |
| A CV is a document which is generally used for work experience less than 5 yrs. | A Resume is called as CV when the experience is over 5 years. |
| References | |
| Recommendations or References are included in curriculum vitae (CV). | Recommendations or References are not included in Resume. |
CONCLUSION
The person who is interviewing you judges you based on your Resume/CV and if your Resume/CV is good there is a good chance that you are hired. apart from that, if your Resume/CV is much more appealing to the interviewer he will appreciate your creativity and may offer you a good salary package.
Follow some simple rules in preparing your CV or Resume and you will surely be in advantageous position. Both the documents CV and the Resume will help to get you to the next level of the selection process in an interview, so carefully organize your CV or resume so that your greatest strengths are given priority. Do not use different fonts or sizes.
