CV vs resume

Whether the document is called a CV or a resume depends mostly on where the job is. In some places the two words mean different documents; in others they are interchangeable; in academia "CV" means something a great deal longer than either. Knowing which one is expected saves you from sending a four-page academic record for a marketing role, or a one-page summary to a university committee that wanted your publication list.

Two words, three documents

In the United States and Canada, a resume is the standard document for almost every job: one or two pages, tailored to the role, focused on recent and relevant experience. There, "CV" — curriculum vitae — means the long academic or medical document: every publication, grant, conference talk and teaching appointment, running to as many pages as it takes. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, most of Europe, Turkey, South Africa and much of Asia, "CV" is simply the word for the ordinary job-application document, and it is expected to be short — the same thing an American calls a resume. So the confusion is about naming, and once you know which region the employer is in, the expected document is usually clear.

The short document, by whatever name

The short CV or resume has a settled shape: contact details, an optional summary of two or three lines, work experience in reverse-chronological order with bullet points, education, skills, and whatever else is relevant — languages, certifications, links. It is tailored: the same person applying for two different roles should send two slightly different documents, emphasising different parts of the same history. It is selective: it does not list every duty of every job, only the ones that support this application. And it is short because its job is to earn a conversation, not to replace one. Everything in this guide about page length, keywords and format applies to this document.

The academic CV

The academic CV is a full record, and completeness is the point: a hiring committee wants to see every peer-reviewed publication, every grant with its value, every conference presentation, every course taught, every supervised student, every professional membership. It is organised by category rather than by time, though within each category entries usually run newest first. Length is not a concern — five, ten or twenty pages are normal — and nobody tailors it beyond reordering sections. The app is built for the short document; you can construct an academic CV in it using custom sections for publications and grants, but if your list runs to dozens of items you may find a word processor more comfortable for that particular document.

What recruiters in each region expect

A recruiter in North America expects a resume that fits on one page for early-career candidates and two for experienced ones, with no photo, no date of birth and no marital status. A recruiter in the UK expects a two-page CV, also without a photo or personal details beyond contact information. Across continental Europe expectations vary by country: a photo and date of birth are still common in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, less so in the Netherlands and Scandinavia; some applicants use the Europass format, which is accepted across the EU though many recruiters find it rigid. Australia expects a CV that may run to three pages for senior roles. Where a region's conventions matter to a specific choice — photo, personal details, length — this guide has a separate article, and the honest summary is: follow the convention of the country where the job is, not the country you are from.

If you are applying across borders

Keep one master document with everything in it, and generate a version per region rather than per application. The differences are mostly removals: take the photo off for the US and UK, take the date of birth off for anywhere that does not expect it, trim to one page for a North American entry-level role. Use the word the employer uses — if the posting says "send your resume", call the file a resume. Write dates in a format that cannot be misread in either region (see the article on format and layout). And where a country has a widespread standard format, such as Europass or the Japanese rirekisho, check whether the employer actually asks for it before assuming; many international employers in those countries accept a conventional CV.