CV vs Resume: What's the Difference and Which Should You Use?

"Please send your CV." "Attach your resume." Job ads use both words, sometimes for the same thing. Here's what each really means and which one to send.

The short answer

• A resume is a short, targeted summary of your experience and skills, usually one or two pages, tailored to a specific job.
• A CV (curriculum vitae) is a complete record of your career. In academia it lists everything: education, research, publications, teaching, grants and conferences, and can run many pages.

How the words are used around the world

• United States and Canada: "resume" for jobs; "CV" only for academic, research and medical roles.
• United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand: "CV" is the everyday word for what Americans call a resume.
• Europe: "CV" is standard, sometimes in the Europass format.
• Bangladesh, India and much of Asia and the Middle East: both words are used interchangeably. A "CV" requested for a corporate job almost always means a 1–2 page resume.

Side-by-side comparison

• Length: resume 1–2 pages; academic CV 2+ pages with no strict limit.
• Purpose: resume to win a specific job; CV to show your full academic record.
• Tailoring: a resume changes for each application; a CV grows over time.
• Content: a resume shows your most relevant achievements; a CV includes publications, research, teaching and presentations.

Which should you send?

• Corporate, startup or government job: send a resume (even if they call it a CV).
• Graduate school, scholarships, research or university teaching: send an academic CV.
• Not sure? A tailored 1–2 page resume is the safe choice unless the ad asks for publications or a full academic history.

Personal details: what to include

In many South Asian and Middle Eastern countries, CVs traditionally include a photo, date of birth, nationality and even father's name. Today most international employers only need your name, phone, email, city and LinkedIn. Add a photo or date of birth only if the employer or country clearly expects it. ResumeX lets you add these as optional fields.

Make both with the same tool

Start with a one-page resume using our professional resume templates, and use our academic CV templates when you need the long form. Read how to write a good resume for section-by-section advice.