If you’re in the process of writing your resume, you may have heard of a CV, but what is that? Let’s talk resumes vs. CVs!
First, a little background. The terms “resume” and “CV” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they are actually quite different documents!
CV stands for curriculum vitae, and it’s not as common of a document as resumes. Resumes tend to be more popular because they are shorter and provide a quick summary of one’s professional experiences.
This will be a quick and easily digestible blog post explaining the similarities and differences between resumes and CVs!
Similarities Between Resumes & CVs
So, let’s start with the similarities between resumes and CVs!
Both resumes and CVs are used when applying to jobs, internships, grad programs, etc. These documents are used to show your professional experiences and qualifications for a specific role.
These documents should be tailored to each role you are applying to, meaning their content can vary.
Resume
Your resume is meant to be a concise summary of your accomplishments. Your resume shows what you have accomplished in your education and career and your professional experiences.
Typically resumes are used to apply to jobs and internships. They are primarily used in professional settings.
Your resume is typically only one page, and it will have 3-5 sections on it. Under each section you will list the roles you had and then explain some accomplishments you had in each position. These accomplishments will be in the form of bullet points, and will only be a line long.
You can read about how to build your resume in this blog post! This blog details the 6 steps to follow when you are building your resume!
Want more information about how to build a quick and easy resume? Download “The Easy Resume Guide” for free! This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to build an amazing resume, and provide you with a few templates too!
CV
Your CV is a more comprehensive explanation of your professional accomplishments. Typically CVs are used for academic positions, for example when applying to graduate school.
CVs are more comprehensive than resumes, meaning that you will include more information on them. Your CV will be more than one page, typically there is no page limit for CVs.
For example, if you are writing a CV to use to apply to graduate school, it would look something like this. You could include sections for education, work experience, research experience, volunteer experience, certifications, honor societies, campus activities, and anything else you want to include. Basically, you would include everything you did in college that is relevant to the program you are applying to.
In each section, you will list the different roles you help, much like a resume. However, you would go more in-depth about your experiences and accomplishments. On a resume you would use around 3 bullet points under each role, and each bullet point would only be one line. On a CV you can use more than 3 bullet points, and they can be more than one line long.
How to Build a CV
So now that you know the difference between resumes and CVs, how should you get started building your CV?
It starts a lot like building your resume. You will list out all of your professional experiences and accomplishments, and then decide what sections you want to include. It’s then time to actually write your explanations of accomplishments. This part can take a lot more time than when you are building a resume because they will be longer and more detailed explanations.
Make sure to use strong action verbs and the correct verb tense like you would on your resume. For more information about what language to use on your resume, check out this blog post!
If you’re having trouble writing your resume or CV, I offer 1:1 resume and CV review sessions! In these sessions I will help you write a killer resume or CV, and review it for you to make sure it is perfect! You can read more about my 1:1 sessions HERE!