What is a CV?
CVs, an abbreviation for the latin term curriculum vitae, are a type of detailed job application document used in academia and certain career fields in the U.S.
Looking for more information? Keep scrolling to find the CV definition that applies to your territory.
This guide will show you:
Do you need to make a CV? If so, head directly to our CV Builder where you can choose a template and get hundreds of text examples for each section of your CV.
What is a CV for a job?
You’re still wondering — what is a CV when applying for a job? To answer your question, we first need to know: where do you live?
In the U.S., Australia and Canada, CVs are used by job seekers in academic, medical, legal and scientific fields. CVs are longer and more detailed than resumes, listing all of a candidate’s experience, achievements and research projects. They are an important part of the job search for the millions of Americans who work in law, medicine and higher education.
Throughout the rest of the world, including Europe, CVs are almost indistinguishable from U.S. resumes. They are one to two page application documents used by job seekers in all career fields. There are small differences — it’s more common for European CVs to include personal information you wouldn’t find on a resume, like hobbies and nationality, for example — but they are largely the same.
For the purposes of this guide, we are going to focus on CVs as they are understood in the United States. Let’s see how one of them is broken down.
Structure of a CV
Now that you have a definition, you want to know what is included in a CV?
Here’s how a CV should be structured:
If you need more visuals to help you understand what a CV is, check out our CV examples for inspiration. Read on to learn how CVs differ from resumes.
What’s the difference between a CV and a resume?
CVs and resumes may have the same goal — helping you land a job — but the execution is significantly different. This may lead you to ask, what is a CV vs a resume?
Here are three fundamental differences between the two:
CVs are used in few career fields.
Unlike resumes, which are popular in most industries, CVs have a narrow application. In the U.S., they are primarily used for academic purposes, such as applying for a graduate program or faculty position, and in fields like medicine, law and the sciences.
CVs are longer.
Resumes tend to be one to two pages long and focused on recent experience. CVs are often longer than five or six pages — as many pages as needed to detail a candidate’s professional history.
CVs have more sections.
While resumes usually focus on five core sections — contact info, professional summary, work experience, skills and education — a well-written CV will include those and more (e.g., research projects, professional associations, publications).
For a more detailed comparison, see our post CV vs resume.
Curriculum vitae writing tips
Once you know what a CV is and how it differs from a resume, you’re prepared to write one. Much like writing a resume, writing a CV is an involved process. Here are a handful of tips to help you get started.
Be mindful of CV formatting. CVs and resumes have many of the same formatting rules. CVs should have a 1 inch margin on all sides, information broken into discrete, scannable sections, and a font style that is professional and easy to read. Our resume formats will help you decide the best way to lay out your doc.
Pick an appropriate template. In the U.S., CVs are typically used in professional career fields, like medicine and academia, so most job seekers should opt for a simple, polished CV style. Anything too colorful or daring could put off a potential employer. For more inspiration, you can even use a resume template, creating as many additional sections as you need to make it a proper CV.
Don’t be selective. Unlike resumes, CVs are exhaustive documents, so you shouldn’t worry about going overboard. Instead, the goal is to capture your entire professional career. This means you can list your research projects, academic publications and notable lectures without being concerned you’re “running too long.”
Consider adding extra sections. With limitless space, you are free to include as many sections as you’d like — as long as they’re relevant. If you attend high-profile conferences, add a section on conference attendance. If you are known for your ability to pull in grant money, write a section on all of the grants you’ve earned over the years.
Proofread your CV. Submitting a CV with a single grammatical error can cost you the job. We recommend proofreading the document at least twice. When you’re finished, send it to a couple friends. You can never have too many eyes reviewing your job application documents. Don’t let a misplaced comma derail you.
We hope this article shed some light on CVs, what they are and how to structure them.
Don is a freelance writer with more than five years' experience in digital media. His work has appeared in a variety of publications, including Oprah.com, Yahoo! and HuffPost. While at OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, his creative use of archival content was a driving force in the company's success on YouTube. He received an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, where he specialized in media innovation.
