Difference between CV and Resume

Before you apply for a job, you should have a document with a summary of your yourself: who you are, your skills, your work experiences, your educational background, portfolio, achievements and affiliations. You need a CV or Resume, but do you know the difference between these two?

Depending on the kind of role you are applying for, the difference between these two goes beyond CV’s being favoured by the British and Resume’s favoured by Americans!

Highlights of CV

• Curriculum Vitæ, which means “Course of Life” in Latin.
• Summarizes detailed experiences with skills and focuses on career highlights of the candidate.
• Usually lengthy and contains full record of skills, experiences, educational history, achievements and affiliations.
• Usually not adapted to suit different job roles, but new experiences and achievements can be added.
• Layout should be formal and follow a chronological order.

Highlights of Resume

• Comes from French word resume meaning “to sum up”.
• Usually brief in length and is more skills oriented.
• Information summary about skills and experience that show candidate’s competency.
• Lists achievements, affiliations, and educational background of candidate.
• Can be customized to suit job roles and does not necessarily need special layout.