What is the Difference Between Resume and CV?

When it comes to finding the job the most common question students, job seekers ask is what to write, a resume or a CV, but ask them, do they know the difference between a CV and resume. The huge chances of the answer will be no. People often get confused with the term CV and resume simply because these terms are common when you apply for the job but hardly anyone explains their meaning, use, and the difference. In this article we are going to discuss all about CV and resume and what is the difference between resume and CV, but before that we need to know what is the CV and resume.

CV (Curriculum Vitae):

CV which is the abbreviated form of curriculum vitae is generally used when you apply for the job. CV is a latin word which means a course of life which is used when you apply for the job. CV is the word you may have heard a lot in your college years or during your work life, but most of us may not be aware of the work CV does in our job application.

CV basically is a document that contains all the information about your college, achievements, experience, education, extracurricular activities in details. The size of your CV varies from one or two pages to multiple pages depending on your achievements and experience. Generally, the fresher has only a few pages because they relatively have no experience of work, fresher can mention their college activities in their CV as well as all the activities they had learned in their college years. There are few countries that prefer CV over resumes like U.K, Ireland, and New Zealand, if you want to apply for the jobs in these countries then you should prepare a well-written CV before you apply for the job.

Resume:

A resume is a short and crisp document that displays your skills and knowledge in a best possible way. Generally, resume is prepared for particular jobs to show your skills that you are most suitable for the job. A resume is drafted document for a particular job which only shows those skills that is required for the job you are applying for, generally resume is prepared for a job application because of its small size and the information displayed in that small document.

Resume can work together with the CV when you apply for the job, but the resume is a document that can work alone, even some of the countries like the United States prefer resume over CV. Resume’s play very important role in job application where many people applying as a recruiter may not have much of time to read your CV, as well as a well-written resume is effective enough for you to land the job you want.
What is the difference between resumes and CV?

When it comes to CV and resume, there is always a debate which one is better for the job application, but hardly anyone talks about the difference CV and resume haves. The difference of CV and resume is what makes them unique and important in their respective places. You can use CV and resume alone in the job application and they can go together if the time calls.

CV Vs resume:

1. Length:

One of the basic differences between a CV and resume is the length. Where resume limits only to one or two pages, your CV can go a dozen pages. Actually, your CV contains all your qualification, achievements, academic performance, and professional life in detail which increase the length of your CV, even a CV of a fresher can go up to 4-5 pages because of the extracurricular activities and achievements.

On the other hand, the resume is a document that limits to one or two pages, two pages when you have years of experience to add to your resume. Resumes are prepared for the job you are applying. Resume only displays your skills, qualities that are useful for the job you are applying for. A good resume is the combination of all the necessary information in correct order to impress your recruiter.

2. Purpose:

Another difference between a CV and a resume is the purpose. The purpose of a CV is to display the accomplishment of your life, longer the experience more pages in the CV. A CV is a document that displays all your accomplishments, achievements in detail to showcase what you have done in your life so far. There is no alteration in the CV according to the job, it prepares one and then accomplishments only add in it. The CV of a student may have lesser pages as compared to someone who has years of experience.

On the other hand, the purpose of a resume is to impress your recruiter so that they can call you for the interview and you can get the chance to have your dream job. A resume is a short and crisp document that changes according to the need and requirement of the person creating the resume. A resume is a document that specifically designs to showcase your skills and ability for the job you are applying for to the best of your ability. The purpose of your resume is to impress your recruiter by displaying your abilities in the best light.

3. Layout:

The layout is the difference between a CV and a resume. A CV is a perfectly manicured document that lay out all the information in detail to show your achievement and experience over the years. There is no information that is left out of your CV, like your contact info, education, and after that follows your work experience and achievements over the years.

On the other hand, the resume has no particular layout to display the information. Your resume’s layout changes with the need and the job requirement because the main focus of the resume is to attract the attention of that recruiter. The focus of resume works according to the demand of the job. There is no particular order that resume writers follow, they just arrange the information in a way that important information gets the priority and catches the attention of the recruiter.

When to Use a CV and Resume?

This is the question that troubles most job seekers that where to use a CV or resume? Generally, most companies specify in their job description that what they are expecting so you don’t have much to worry about, but in case prepare a CV for emergency use. Preparing a CV is not the tedious task; you can prepare your CV with your every changing resume. An already prepared CV comes in handy when your recruiter demands one after the interview or during the interview, even there was no notification about the CV in the job description.

It is a common fact that the resume is used for the jobs like public and private sector, business world and industrial job, but the CV is used for academics, teaching and research jobs where your achievements and extracurricular activities play an important role. There are specific countries like the US that prefer resumes, but the Countries like Europe prefers CV rather than resumes.

So the best option is to prepare your CV along with your resume as it doesn’t take rocket science to prepare a resume and CV. You can take help for preparing an effective resume and CV.

How to Write an Effective CV:

You know how to use your CV but what about the quality of your CV? It is important to write an effective CV to catch the eye of your recruiter. So here we are discussing how to write an effective CV.

1. Keep it real:

The one thing you should keep in mind when creating your CV is do not go on minor and micro minor details, leave them for the real interview. When you add only real information that needs to be a part of your CV, you increase the chances that your CV being the one that selects for an interview.

2. Include personal statement:

Your CV has everything you have ever done in your life, but how it is relevant to your job? When a recruiter sees your CV he/ she doesn’t have time to link your CV to the job that you apply for, so add a personal statement so that your recruiter may understand the link between your CV and the job you applied for.

3. Fill the gaps positively:

Having a year gap or unemployment gap in your CV is a space that gives your recruiter space to point out your incompetence. When you have gaps in your CV, fill it with something positive like what you learn at that period and how it is effective in your job, you can also mention any knowledge you gain like diplomas or something. The gap in your CV can work, either way; it is up to you to use it for your benefit.

4. Tell the truth:

Never tell a lie in your CV because it makes you look like a fraud and leave a very negative impact on your career. When you select for the interview, your CV goes through cross check, but after selection for the job all the information is crosschecked again. So never tell a lie because it’s going to come out sooner or later and going to create a big mess for you to handle, always tell the truth.

5. Make it look good and keyword friendly:

Keyword friendly is easier to select from the pile of the CVs because there are hundreds of the Cvs for one job. If you are wondering what keyword friendly mean, then you should read about SEO (search engine optimization), which use keywords that are related to your job search to make your CV more reachable. You can search your job and look for the keywords that are common in your job search to effectively use it later.

How to Write an Effective Resume:

Writing an effective resume is important as well as a tedious task. There are thousand resume formats and templates available online which you use blindly, but the internet only helps you in writing your resume, if you just copy paste it from any website then chances are, you may leave some loopholes for your recruiter to see, which in return can work against you during your interview or your resume never makes it to the interview. So the better option is to take some time and write an effective resume when you want to apply for the job.

Some tips to write an effective resume:

• Never make your resume clutter of information.
• Always tell the truth because no matter what it is bound to come out.
• Make your resume keyword friendly.
• Mention all the necessary details evenly and effectively.
• Make sure your resume focus on the job you are applying for.
• Use words that describe your quality, suitability for the job accurately.
• Make it look good and interesting because the recruiter hardly gives not more than 10 seconds to any resume and your resume must catch the recruiter’s eyes in these 10 seconds.

Conclusion:

Resume and CV both are the important documents when you apply for the job. Their task may differ, but the actual target of preparing an effective resume and CV is to get a chance for the job. In this article, we had discussed what a resume and CV are and what are the differences between them as well as how to write effective resumes and CV so that you can prepare for your job application very well.

We hope this article helps you in clearing your confusion about resume and CV and also you can write a better job application document.