CV vs Resume: What Is the Difference and Which One Do You Need?

In the United States and Canada, a resume is a short, targeted document of one or two pages that shows an employer the experience, skills and results that fit one job. A CV, or curriculum vitae, is a full record of an academic or research career: degrees, research, publications, presentations, teaching, grants and service. William & Mary's graduate career center puts it this way: a resume is a brief summary that highlights the most relevant positions and skills for an opportunity, while a CV is a more comprehensive listing of a scholar's experience and achievements.

The two also behave differently over time. Augsburg University notes that a resume should be tailored for each use, while a CV "will change very little from use to use" apart from new entries. A resume gets shorter and sharper as you edit it; a CV only grows.

Outside North America the words blur. In the UK, Ireland and much of Europe, a "CV" is the everyday job application document and looks much like an American resume. That is why the right answer depends on the country and the kind of job.

CV stands for curriculum vitae, Latin for "course of (one's) life". The plural is curricula vitae. Merriam-Webster defines it as a short account of one's career and qualifications prepared typically by an applicant for a position, which is nearly word for word its definition of a résumé.

Prospects, the UK graduate careers site, translates the phrase as "course of life" and notes that in countries such as the USA and Canada, CVs are known as résumés. At some US universities you will also hear a CV called a "vita".

On job application forms, a field labeled "Resume/CV" simply means "upload your application document". For a US company job, upload your resume; for an academic post, your CV; for a UK job, your two-page CV.

In the US, use a CV for academic and research applications and a resume for almost everything else. Case Western Reserve University's career center says a graduate student will generally use a CV for an academic position and a resume for an industry position. William & Mary lists university positions, graduate schools and research-intensive academic fields as the places CVs are used. Typical CV situations:

• Faculty, lecturer and postdoctoral positions
• Research scientist roles at universities, institutes and government labs
• Fellowships, grants and scholarships that ask for a CV
• Physician, residency and many other clinical and scientific posts
• Federal jobs that require a CV, typically in medical and research fields, which agencies collect as an "other document" alongside the two-page resume (OPM)
• Graduate school applications that ask for one: follow the program's instructions

In most of the world outside the US and Canada, yes: "CV" is the standard name for a job application document of one to two pages. Formats still differ, so William & Mary advises researching the norms of the country where you are applying.

• United States: a resume for most jobs; a CV for academia, research and medicine.
• Canada: a resume of two pages at most; Job Bank says a photo is not the norm in Canada and advises leaving out age, weight, height and marital status.
• United Kingdom and Ireland: a CV, usually no longer than two A4 pages, with no photo unless you are applying for acting or modeling work (Prospects). The UK National Careers Service also says to leave out your age, date of birth, marital status and nationality.
• European Union: a CV. Many applicants use the EU's Europass CV builder, which lets you create and share CVs in 31 languages and is a format employers and schools across Europe recognize.
• India: both words are used. Campus placement cells often set their own format; IIT Kanpur's placement office takes one- or two-page resumes and verifies each point. A biodata is a different, more personal document.
• Academic jobs everywhere: a full academic CV.

An academic CV starts with education, not a summary, and lists your work in categories. Case Western's career center lists contact information, education, professional experience, skills, honors, activities and professional associations, plus optional research experience, teaching experience, service, publications and presentations. Order the categories by what the position values most: research first for a research university, teaching first for a teaching-focused college.

William & Mary describes a CV as an intellectual biography presented as a list without descriptions, and warns against padding it with unimportant items. Common sections:

• Education: degrees, institutions, dates, dissertation or thesis title, advisor
• Research experience and research interests
• Publications in your field's citation style, with peer-reviewed work listed separately
• Presentations and conference papers
• Teaching: courses, your role (instructor or teaching assistant) and terms
• Grants, fellowships and awards
• Service: committees, peer review, outreach
• Professional memberships, languages and technical skills
• References, if the application asks for them on the CV

To go from CV to resume, start from the job posting, not your CV. Keep the experience that matches, rewrite research and teaching as results an employer recognizes (projects delivered, methods and tools used, people trained, budgets managed) and cut the rest to fit two pages.

• Replace the full publication list with one line, such as "Five peer-reviewed publications in catalysis; list available", or name the two or three that matter for the job.
• Keep academic titles but give them industry bullets: methods, instruments, software and outcomes.
• Add a three-line summary and a skills section built from the posting.
• Going the other way, from resume to CV, add the academic sections (research, publications, presentations, teaching, grants), list them completely and move education to the top.

Match the document to the job and the country, not to the word in the posting. A US company that asks for a "CV" almost always wants a resume, and a UK employer that asks for a "resume" wants a UK-style CV. William & Mary's advice for unclear cases is to find out exactly what the application expects: check the instructions or ask the recruiter.

If you are applying on both sides, such as a PhD weighing faculty and industry roles, keep both documents current and send the one that fits each opening.

1. 1

   Check the country and the job

   Decide whether you need a UK or European-style CV of about two pages or a full academic CV, and read the application instructions.

2. 2

   Write your contact details

   Name, phone, email, city and a LinkedIn or academic profile link. For the UK, leave out your date of birth, marital status, nationality and a photo.

3. 3

   Open with a profile or with education

   A UK CV usually starts with a few short lines that sum up who you are and what you hope to do, as the National Careers Service puts it. An academic CV goes straight to your degrees.

4. 4

   List experience in reverse chronological order

   Most recent first, with job title, employer and dates. For a UK CV, describe what you did in usually 2 to 3 lines per job.

5. 5

   Add the sections your field expects

   Education, skills and certifications for most CVs; research, publications, presentations, teaching and grants for academic ones.

6. 6

   Proofread and save as a PDF

   Check dates, names and spelling, keep the formatting consistent and send a PDF unless the employer asks for Word.

A fictional chemistry PhD candidate applying for an industry job and a faculty job. The names, school, journal and numbers are made up.

The same fictional marketing graduate, written for each market.

• What is a resume?
• UK CV and resume guide
• Canadian resume format for Indian applicants
• German CV format (Lebenslauf) for Indian applicants
• UAE CV format (Dubai and Abu Dhabi)
• Malaysia resume and CV format
• Pakistan CV format
• Singapore resume and CV format
• Philippines resume format
• Biodata format for a job: biodata vs resume vs CV in India
• How to Write a Resume for Graduate School Applications

We opened every page below on that date. Pay, rules and requirements change, so check the source before you rely on a detail.

1. Merriam-Webster: Curriculum vitae (noun) (definition, Latin "course of (one's) life", plural curricula vitae)
2. Prospects.ac.uk: How to write a CV (CV means "course of life"; CVs are known as résumés in the USA and Canada; two A4 pages; no photo)
3. William & Mary Graduate Center: What makes the resume and academic CV different? (PDF) (resume vs CV definitions; where CVs are used; no length limit; research country norms)
4. Case Western Reserve University Career Center: Resume tips for graduate students (CV for academic positions, resume for industry; CV categories)
5. Augsburg University URGO: CV and resume (resume tailored for each use; CV changes little from use to use)
6. Job Bank, Government of Canada: How to write a good resume (two pages; photo not the norm in Canada; leave out personal details)
7. National Careers Service (UK government): How to write a CV (personal statement of a few short lines; 2 to 3 lines per job; leave out age, date of birth, marital status, nationality)
8. Europass (European Union): Create your Europass CV (CV builder in 31 languages; well-known format in Europe)
9. U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Agency Guidance on the Two-Page Limit on Resume Length (PDF) (CVs for medical and research positions submitted as an "other document")
10. IIT Kanpur Students' Placement Office: For students (one- or two-page placement resumes, verified point by point)