CV vs. Resume—Here Are the Differences

CV vs. Resume—Here Are the Differences

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What Is a CV?

As touched upon briefly above, CVs are primarily popular among academics, as graduate students often spend a lot of effort getting their work published during these post-grad years. While higher-education institutions undoubtedly evaluate a potential candidate’s grades and test scores, they’re also eager to see where an applicant’s been published.

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What Is a CV?

“Publish or perish” was a popular sentiment during my two years in graduate school, and it appears not much has changed.  I spoke with a couple of my former classmates who went on to obtain doctorate degrees long after I’d left with a master’s degree in hand and an I’ve-had-enough-of-that mindset, and they were quick 

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What Is a CV?

to reiterate how important getting published is to one’s career, and, of course, the standard academic’s CV.

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OK, Anyone Besides Academics?

You’re right, they’re not the only ones who choose the long (sometimes, very long) document over a resume.  The website Undercover Recruiter explains that U.S. and Canadian residents need a CV if they’re applying to work abroad, specifically in the U.K., Ireland, and New Zealand. In these countries, “a CV is used in all contexts and resumes aren’t 

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OK, Anyone Besides Academics?

used at all.” Moreover, “The CV prevails in mainland Europe and there is even a European Union CV format available for download,” a super helpful template if you’re confused about how to build one.

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What’s the Difference Between a CV and a Resume?

Short answer: Length. Long answer: The CV’s static in that it’s not a document needing to be tailored for different positions in the way that a resume is.  Rather, according to UNC Writing Center, the CV’s a “fairly detailed overview of your life’s accomplishments, especially those most relevant to the realm of academia,” hence 

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What’s the Difference Between a CV and a Resume?

the variance in length; an early-stage grad student’s CV is going to be a lot shorter than a sixth-year student preparing to write a dissertation. The document only changes as your accomplishments grow—you publish the findings of a scientific study, or a short story, or you receive an award as a Teaching Assistant—whereas a resume can and should be 

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What’s the Difference Between a CV and a Resume?

modified often as you job search and apply to different companies and positions. At The Muse, we highly encourage you to tailor your resume for each and every job you apply to, even if the job descriptions are similar. (It’ll not only help you stand out, but also ensure you get through the ATS.)

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How Do I Know When to Use Which?

Fortunately, if you’re still confused about where to begin, remember that almost any job you apply to will let you know what you need. It’s not typically a guessing game.  When you apply for a job in New York City, or Minneapolis, or Austin, there’ll likely be clear language on what’s required with the application. Begin looking into overseas 

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How Do I Know When to Use Which?

opportunities, and it’s probable that the application will explicitly state that you need to submit a CV or resume for consideration. Seriously though, if you’re truly dumbfounded about what’s needed, it’s OK to ask the point of contact directly, “Would you prefer a resume or CV?” (And in America, the answer will almost always be “resume” since we 

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How Do I Know When to Use Which?

know that recruiters don’t spend more than six seconds looking, anyways.)

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Should I Have a CV Handy?

If you don’t currently have one, I’d recommend creating the doc just in case. You don’t have to stop everything you’re doing right this second, but the next time you go to modify your resume (a familiar and somewhat ongoing practice, I hope), start building it out.  If nothing else, it’ll serve a dual-purpose: Not only can you have it handy if you do ever need it, 

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Should I Have a CV Handy?

but you’ll also have a running list of everything you’ve ever accomplished, a.k.a., a master resume to pull from as you tailor your own for specific positions.

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