Curriculum Vitae vs Résumé

Finding a job can be challenging, but an advantage to get noticed in the Work Industry is to have a competency-based Curriculum Vitae and/or Résumé.

This personal documentation will showcase your skills, work experience and achievements to your greatest advantage.

Curriculum Vitae (CV)

The Latin word Curriculum Vitae, or as most people will refer to the abbreviation CV, literally means “the course of your life”.

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is a summary of your previous and current work experience, skills and  full history of your academic credentials. Typically, CVs are longer than résumés and are at least two or three pages long. A CV includes extensive information of your Education background, Employment history, Awards, Degrees, Social Media and personal strengths. Mid-level and Professional CVs tend to run much longer than the average 2 pager. 

A Curriculum Vitae summary is a one-to-two-page condensed version of a full curriculum vitae. A CV summary is a way to quickly and concisely convey one’s skills and qualifications. Sometimes large organizations will initially ask for a one-page CV summary when they expect a large pool of applicants.

Résumé

The French word résumé means “abstract” or “summary.”

A résumé is a short, straight-to-the-point document that summarizes your employment history, skills and education for the purpose of applying to a specific career field. 

Unlike the CV, your résumé must be kept as short as possible. In most cases you would want to keep your résumé to a maximum of 1 page. In the instance where you have more than 15-years work experience or require to mention extra information, you can extend it to a 2-page résumé.

In a résumé, you only mention the aspects of your work experience and skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for. A good résumé highlights specific contributions you have made in your previous work and showcases how your different skills can be useful for the position you are applying to. Your industry, experience, and desired role will inform your choice of résumé format—e.g., chronological, functional or combination.

The résumé is usually accompanied by the submission of a cover letter which states your intent for applying to the job. The cover letter builds upon the skills and experience you have touched upon in your résumé, explaining how they’re going to help you excel at the job you’re applying for.