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What is the difference between CV and Resume?

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By:CANAM Group
Updated On:Jan 31,2025 05:27 PM IST

An employer spends only 5 to 7 seconds assessing a resume and deciding whether to call for an interview.
Using professional font and keywords and mentioning relevant information can make a resume/CV ATS-friendly and go through the interviewer.
Major differences between a CV and a resume are length, purpose served, content, and structure.

what is the difference between CV and Resume .webp

What is the difference between a CV and a resume? The question might sound simple, but it is important to answer. Both documents consist of information about a person, but one should know the difference between a CV and a resume. A resume remains under one page, while a CV can extend to more than two pages. A CV can be customised, but a resume can't be changed from job to job. Moreover, the type of document varies depending on the location. For example, employers in countries like New Zealand and the UK mostly prefer CVs, while in countries like South Africa and Australia, employers ask for resumes.

What is a resume?

Before knowing the differences between a CV and a resume, let's first gain a quick understanding of them, starting with a Resume.

This term originates from the French word resume, which means "abstract" or "summary". A brief, straight-to-the-point document that is created for applying to a specific job. It could be extended up to a maximum of two pages and doesn't require an image of the applicant unless specifically requested. Work experience should be listed in reverse chronological order, beginning with the recent position. In a resume, experience is more important than qualifications.

Other than professional experiences, the educational track is certainly mentioned, as well as professional associations, volunteer work, relevant internships, apprenticeships, and personal passion projects. A resume could be considered a tool for marketing oneself. For a good resume, everything should be organised, and experience should be listed in such a way that an employer can easily see how they can help their company. The resume is mainly accompanied by the submission of a cover letter that states intent for applying to the job. It builds upon the skills and experience touched upon in the resume, describing how they will assist in excelling at the job.

Ideal Format for a resume

A resume has three basic formats according to job requirements as follows:

Chronological	It is ideal for applicants with at least one year of consistent work experience.
Functional	This format is useful for candidates who have lengthy careers and diverse work experience with some gaps within.
Combination	These formats could be combined to enlist more than 10 years of experience, where candidates could showcase their skills and job history.

Points to be included in the resume:

Full Name
Job Title/Name of the Position
Contact Information
Objective
Work Experience
Education"
Relevant Skills
Languages and Proficiency
Accomplishments and Interests

What is a CV or Curriculum Vitae?

Now let’s understand about CV after which we will move on to the differences between a CV and a resume. CV is an abbreviation for the Latin word Curriculum Vitae, meaning "course of life". It is a comprehensive document listing one's academic and professional qualifications, experiences and accomplishments. It is used when applying for internships, educational programs or jobs in the European Union. CVs are mostly written in chronological order, starting from the completion of school.

CVs usually don't have any PDF upload limit, so the more accomplishments or experiences there are, the more pages could be added to them. Recruiters can better understand one's job history and skill development in a descriptive kind of CV. As there are no length restrictions for a CV, it could range from three to ten pages or more if required. An engaging CV is important to assist prospective employers as a CV is a bit like an autobiography to tell one's story in an interesting and relevant manner.

Ideal Format of CV (Curriculum Vitae)

A CV doesn't adhere to any particular format as its layout depends on the applicant's work history and past experiences. A legal CV could highlight a candidate's skills attained at law firms, and a scientific CV could focus more on one's research and published work. The CV needs to be comprehensively updated when any new skill or target is achieved.

Points to be included in a CV or Curriculum vitae

Full Name
Contact Information
Title and Objective
Research interests
Education
Publications
Teaching Experience
Work Experience
Conferences and Courses
Skills
Certificates
Languages
Grants/Fellowships
References

Key Differences Between CV and Resume

It's important to understand the difference between a CV and a resume so that one can use the right document at the right place. There are just some variations between a resume and a CV, but enough to create a big difference. One can find online tens of differences between a CV and a resume. However, some major distinctions between the two are as follows:

Regarding Academic and Professional Experience

A major difference between a CV and a resume is the purpose they both fulfil. The resume just mentions professional experience in an elaborative manner and according to the requirements of the job application. It could be utilised to apply for jobs in both the public and private sectors. The curriculum vitae highlights the academic and work history of both academic and research positions. CVs are usually sent to apply for higher education, research, or teaching jobs. Hence, a CV is one of the documents required to study abroad, while a resume helps to apply for jobs.

Length of the document

Length is a major difference between a resume and a CV, as a CV is typically much longer than a resume. CV could also include publications, grants, research, awards, and teaching experience. A resume is limited to one to two pages long and mainly includes skills and experiences only.

Geographical Significance

In India, South Africa, and Australia, resumes and curriculum vitae are often interchangeable and could be utilised in each other's place as far as they serve the purpose. For jobs in the US, these two are different styles of documents used for applications. In the UK, New Zealand, and parts of Europe, an employer may refer to both a resume and a CV as separate documents at the same time.

Ability to Customize

The last difference between a CV and a resume is the ability to customise them. No matter where one applies, the information in a CV remains unchanged. In contrast to this, a resume is very dynamic and can be customised according to the unique job description of each role.

What is Biodata?

Another term that often comes to mind while talking about resumes and CVs is biodata. So what's that, and is there any difference between a CV, resume, and biodata? Let's find out.

A biodata, short for biographical data, is a document that consists of the personal details of a person. It's an outdated name for a resume or CV and is rarely used today, just like the word "shall" in the English language. A bio-data focuses on details like birth, sex, marital status, religion, nationality, and ethnicity of a person rather than professional information.

Ideal Format for a biodata

Biodata starts from a person's photo. Then comes the objective, personal details, skills, education, and other optional sections like certifications, honours, hobbies, and interests. Biodata mainly emphasises an individual's personal details. As it contains personal information, it must go into the right hands. The educational background and work experience don't matter in biodata. Also, it is mainly used for governmental positions and marriage purposes.

Points to be included in a biodata:

Objective
Personal Details
Work Experience
Skills
Education

Difference Between CV, Resume, and Biodata

A CV, resume, and biodata differ a little bit from each other. Biodata is the simplest of all, while a resume is a bit longer than biodata, and a CV is the longest. Some more differences between a CV, resume, and biodata are given in the following table:

Particulars	CV	Resume	Biodata
Purpose	Academic Application	Job Application	Marriage and Job Application
Length	No limit	1 or max 2 pages	Max. 1 page
Section Listing	Reverse Chronological	Reverse Chronological	Chronological
Details	Complete detailed info	Only relevant info	Simple format
Content	Main focus on experience, education, and skills	Main focus on experience, education, and skills	Personal information

Tips for Writing a Strong Resume or CV

After understanding the difference between a resume and a CV, let's see how to write an appealing CV or resume. Here are some tips to help our readers write a resume/CV that will make them stand out among others:

Use keywords	Companies use an ATS (application tracking system) to filter irrelevant resumes. To ensure the resume passes through ATS, an applicant must use the specific keywords in his/her resume, as mentioned in the job description.
Use professional font	A professional font shows that the applicant is serious about the job. Use a font like Times New Roman or Arial and font size 10-12. This makes the resume easy to read. One can also use Canva and other resume makers to find the best fonts.
Relevant information	One page is not enough to mention everything about a person. So, writing only relevant and useful information such as academic history, professional experience, and long-term goals is best. Avoid writing about age, marital status, and religion. Also, the length of the document can change the format as it’s a key difference between a CV and a resume.
Use Active language	Read this. "I successfully delivered 15 ranking blogs in TCS in the past 2 years". Then there is this: "15 ranking blogs were delivered by me in TCS in the last 2 years". Which sentence is better? First one, right? That's because it's written in an active voice. Active language has a stronger impact on an employer than passive language. So try to use powerful words like accomplished, achieved, earned, and completed.
Proofread	Last but not the least. No one can forget this. A last read is a must to make sure the resume doesn't have any kinds of errors in terms of grammar, punctuation, format, and more.

The tips mentioned above will help individuals to make a great CV or resume and achieve their goals, whether it is to study abroad or get a job overseas.

Conclusion

To sum up it all, a CV is more in-depth and lengthy than a resume because it gives a more thorough summary of a candidate's career. A resume provides a brief overview of a candidate's professional history and skills relevant to the potential employer. CVs are commonly used in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand and are less common in the U.S. unless a candidate is applying for medical, science, law, or academic jobs. Lastly, a resume serves as one of the documents required to study abroad, while a CV is used to apply for jobs. These were some common differences between a CV and a resume. Contact our study abroad experts or information about overseas jobs.

FAQ

What is the difference in length between a resume and a CV

The resume could be extended to a maximum of two pages if there are more work experiences to mention.

How can a resume and CV be differentiated in terms of content?

A resume mainly includes professional history and relevant experiences. In contrast, a curriculum vitae or CV is comprised of academic history in detail, and other than work experience, all accomplishments pertaining to research, volunteer work, and certifications are also added to it.

Are CV and resume relevant geographically?

In the Indian and Australian continents, resumes and CVs are not differentiated much and can be used interchangeably, whereas in the U.S., these are two completely different documents meant for varied purposes. In the UK, European Union, and New Zealand, both a resume and CV could be required by the employer at the same time.

Which is better for freshers: a CV or a resume?

For a fresher, it's better to use a resume, which shows skills and experience better than a CV.

What is the full form of a CV?

CV, short for Curriculum Vitae, is a document that consists of an applicant's academic history, work experience, awards, and achievements.

Which type of CV is best?

A chronological CV is the best type of CV, and it is easy to read.

Do companies prefer a CV or resume?

Mostly, employers prefer a resume for providing private jobs.

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What is the difference between CV and Resume?

Table of Contents

What is a resume?

Ideal Format for a resume

Points to be included in the resume:

What is a CV or Curriculum Vitae?

Ideal Format of CV (Curriculum Vitae)

Points to be included in a CV or Curriculum vitae

Key Differences Between CV and Resume

Regarding Academic and Professional Experience

Length of the document

Geographical Significance

Ability to Customize

What is Biodata?

Ideal Format for a biodata

Points to be included in a biodata:

Difference Between CV, Resume, and Biodata

Tips for Writing a Strong Resume or CV

Conclusion

FAQ

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