CV vs Resume: What's the Difference Between the Two

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One of the most common questions job seekers have is, “What is a CV vs. a resume?” While both documents are used to apply for jobs and contain information about your academic and professional background, there are some differences.

Here we will cover the following:

CV vs. resume: Whats the difference?
What to include in a CV and who should use one
What to include in a resume and who should use one
CV vs. resume differences in the U.S. and Europe
FAQ about the differences between CVs and resumes

What to include in a CV and who should use one

CVs offer a lot of variety and many choices in terms of which sections the job seeker should include. Some are required and others are optional. What you include will depend on your experience level and the role to which you are applying.

Here are 12 sections to consider when learning how to write a CV:

Curriculum vitae sample

Required CV sections:

1
Contact information:
Include your name and contact information here. Including your complete mailing address is no longer necessary, but your location is, so be sure to add your city and state.
2
Summary statement:
A professional summary should consist of three to five sentences that offer a high-level glimpse into your most relevant skills and your top professional achievements.
3
Core qualifications:
Use bullet points to highlight your unique skills, specifically as they relate to the role you seek. Dont forget to include in this section a mix of hard and soft skills.
4
Education:
Education often takes a high-profile role on a CV. Since CVs are usually used in industries like the sciences, law, medicine and academia — which require higher education — you'll want to list your degrees after high school only.
5
Work experience:
Here, make a reverse-chronological list of your past employers, starting with your most recent or current role. For each, add job titles, dates of employment, and location. Also for each, add bullet points that explain your job responsibilities and include at least one quantifiable metric that shows the impact of your work.

Optional CV sections:

6
Affiliations:
Add this section to highlight the industry-relevant associations to which you belong.
7
Awards:
If you have won any professional or academic awards that are relevant to the job to which youre applying, list them here.
8
Grants and fellowships:
This section is most common in fields like academia, medicine or law, where you might receive a grant or a fellowship. Add this to show that your work is valued and backed by your field.
9
Certifications and licenses:
List any relevant professional certifications or licenses you have earned here.
10
Conferences:
In some fields, its common to list the conferences youve attended. This is especially important if you have given a lecture, a keynote, or presented your work or research.
11
Publications:
If you have written articles or research papers that have been published, list them here. The same goes for published works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and other books.

Who should use a CV?

In the U.S., CVs are used primarily when applying for positions in academia, sciences, medicine or law.

What to include in a resume and who should use one

Resumes have five standard sections. However, as you learn how to write a resume youll learn that, like CVs, there are other sections you can opt to use. Which you choose will depend largely on whether you choose a chronological, combination or functional resume format. You can learn more about which is right for you by reading our page on resume formats. For more information about how to incorporate optional resume sections, review one of our resume examples for the job title you seek

Structure of CV

Who should use a resume?

In the U.S., resumes should be used by almost every job seeker, regardless of industry or experience level.

CV vs. resume differences in the U.S. and Europe

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Now that we have gone through all of the differences in the structure and uses for CVs and resumes, we will look at the CV vs. resume differences by geographical location.

In Europe, the word CV is a synonym for the document that we in the U.S. call a resume. So, as an American, if you are applying for a job anywhere in Europe and are asked to forward your CV, what the hiring manager is really asking for is your resume.

However, here in the U.S., there is a big difference between an employer asking for a CV vs. a resume. Again, most job seekers will want to use a resume but applicants in some fields, including the sciences, academia, law or medicine will want to prepare a CV.

FAQ

Whether you choose a resume or a CV will depend on the industry and the role you seek. The vast majority of job seekers in the U.S. will want to choose a resume. However, those job seekers who are applying for work in academia, the sciences, law or medicine should choose to write a CV.

No. In the U.S., CVs and resumes are different documents and have different uses. However, if you are an American who is applying for work in Europe and you are asked to send the hiring manager a CV, what they actually mean is to send in your resume.

In the U.S., CVs are used primarily by job seekers who are applying for positions in academia, sciences, medicine or law. All other job seekers should choose a resume.

Heather is the content strategist for Resume Now. A certified professional resume writer, she works as part of a cross-functional team of designers, product managers, engineers, SEO experts and writers to create compelling content for Resume Now. An award-winning journalist for more than 20 years, Heather has written extensively about resume and cover letter creation and other workforce topics since 2016. She earned an MFA in Writing from California College of the Arts.

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