The document discusses the differences between CVs and resumes. It notes that CVs are longer documents that provide more details about one's entire career and accomplishments, while resumes are shorter summaries tailored for specific jobs. The document also outlines common usage of CVs and resumes in different countries and regions, such as the UK preferring CVs, the US preferring resumes, and Australia using both terms interchangeably.

1. CV vs Resume
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3. CV vs. Resume
The Difference and When to Use Which
— Ever wondered why a Brit applies with a CV and an American with a
resume?
— And why does an Aussie apply with both?
— There are a few differences between the two types of application
documents.
— This presentation will straighten out your queries as well as tell you
where in the world you are likely to use which document.
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4. Curriculum Vitæ (CV)
— A CV (Curriculum Vitæ, which means course of life in Latin) is an in-depth
document that can be laid out over two or more pages and it contains a high
level of detail about your achievements, a great deal more than just a career
biography.
— The CV covers your education as well as any other accomplishments like
publications, awards, honors etc.
— The document tends to be organized chronologically (the science of
arranging events in their order of occurrence in time) and should make it
easy to get an overview of an individual’s full working career.
— A CV is static and doesn’t change for different positions; the difference
would be in the cover letter.
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5. Resume
— A resume, or résumé, is a concise document typically not longer than one
page as the intended the reader will not dwell on your document for very
long.
— The goal of a resume is to make an individual stand out from the
competition.
— The job seeker should adapt the resume to every position they apply for.
— It is in the applicant’s interest to change the resume from one job
application to another and to tailor it to the needs of the specific post.
— A resume doesn’t have to be ordered chronologically, doesn’t have to cover
your whole career like and is a highly customizable document.
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6. Differences.
— As stated, three major differences between CVs and resumes are the length, the purpose and the layout.
— A resume is a brief summary of your skills and experience over one or two pages,
— A CV is more detailed and can stretch well beyond two pages.
— The resume will be tailored to each position
— The CV will stay put and any changes will be in the cover letter.
— A CV has a clear chronological order listing the whole career of the individual.
— A resume’s information can be shuffled around to best suit the applicant.
— The main difference between a resume and a CV is that a CV is intended to be a full record of your career history
and a resume is a brief, targeted list of skills and achievements.
— Let’s revise:
— CV – long, covers your entire career, static
— Resume – short, no particular format rule, highly customizable
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7. Usage around the world.
— A resume is the preferred application document in the US and Canada.
Americans and Canadians would only use a CV when applying for a job
abroad or if searching for an academic or research oriented position.
— In the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, a CV is used in all contexts and
resumes aren’t used at all. The CV prevails in mainland Europe and there is
even a European Union CV format available for download.
— In Germany, the CV is more commonly known as a Lebenslauf (true to the
Latin origins) and is only one of many application documents the poor
German job seekers must produce to get an interview.
— In Australia, India and South Africa, the terms resume and CV are used
interchangeably. The term resume is used more for jobs in the private sector
and CV is more commonplace when applying for public service positions.
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8. Ways to Improve Your CV
— It’s a good idea to have your CV prepared well in advance of spotting
any job opportunities, and certainly well ahead of any closing date, so
that it is not undertaken in a rush. This ensures that the basics will be
there to build on, and you can tailor the CV for each specific
opportunity without too much additional work.
— You’ve probably heard this before, but it’s worth repeating because
there are far too many examples of people who ignore the advice – do
make sure you check it through (better still, get someone else to
check it through) for clarity, spelling and grammar. Mistakes will
send your CV into the waste paper basket.
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9. Ways to Improve Your CV
— Given that your CV needs to be tailored for each job opportunity,
double check it through to make sure that you are have the right
version for that particular company or organization – there’s nothing
worse than focusing on your people management skills, for instance,
when the company in question is actually looking for someone to work
on their own as a self-starter.
— Make your CV easy to read and interesting – employers will have many
CVs to look at, so don’t make it difficult for them – instead, make it a
pleasure; think about the font (and please don’t be tempted to go for
a weird choice!), size of type and density of text; avoid colors other
than black.
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10. Ways to Improve Your CV
— Short blocks of text work well, and bullet points are fine provided the list
isn’t too long – again, use the ‘pleasure principle’ as your overarching guide.
— Tables are also OK for small amounts of text, but don’t overdo it.
— Use the selection criteria where possible to align the skills and experience
on your CV with the job description – wherever you can, give examples of
how you match the criteria (approach it like marking criteria – how high can
you score?).
— A profile (or personal statement) can work well, but only if you have some
relevant points to make. This could be used to demonstrate your enthusiasm
and creativity (to compensate for lack of experience perhaps) or to show
your passion and commitment – but it is important to avoid clichés and
buzzwords.
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11. Ways to Improve Your CV
— Don’t include a photo – unless it’s a modelling job you’re after!
— Aim for 2 pages of A4 max, and remember you don’t have to detail
every qualification and piece of work experience – if you have a
degree or higher, the grades you got for GCSE are probably not too
important, so just list the number of passes and subjects.
— References at this stage aren’t essential and they will take up too
much space – just say ‘references are available on request’ –
recruiters won’t be needing references at the CV filtering stage.
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12. Ways to Improve Your CV
— Remember that life experience can be just as relevant as job
experience when it comes to many key skills – project management,
budgeting, communication skills, for example, can be demonstrated
in different ways – so be creative
— Don’t forget to highlight professional qualifications and any relevant
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) – what training have you
undergone recently that shows that your skills are up to date? This is
particularly important if you have been unemployed for a while and
the employer is concerned that you could be out of touch in a fast-
moving industry.
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13. Ways to Improve Your CV
— Don’t be afraid to ask friends and colleagues what they think your strengths
are – and if they have any other comments or advice on your CV.
— Finally, don’t think of your CV as set in stone. If you progress to the next
stage, ask for feedback on your CV – what worked, what jumped out, what
was irrelevant to the potential employer – and hone your CV accordingly. And
do share your experiences with others – blogs and websites are a great
community resource; if you give to others, they will give back to you.
— Remember, your CV is about bringing you and your experience to life, so give
examples wherever possible, to help the potential employer quickly build a
picture of you.
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14. Resume Mistakes Candidates
Probably Didn’t Realize.
— If you’ve worked long and hard on your resume only to find that it’s
not getting the response you hoped for, it may be because you have
made one or more common mistakes.
— If your resume isn’t working for you, check whether you have made
any of these frequently seen errors.
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15. Focusing on Yourself Rather Than on
the Employer
— Think of a resume as an advertisement for a product, only the “product” is you.
— Just like any other advertisement, positioning is everything.
— The person who receives your resume will scan it quickly – perhaps for no more than
20 seconds – to determine whether you can help her company.
— Your job is to say quickly, clearly and loudly that you can!
— Don’t just launch into a chronology of your career history.
— Instead, determine your own positioning by spelling out your message at the start of
the resume and giving the reader your version of events upfront.
— For this reason, you should use the first 1/3 of your resume to create a compelling
personal profile which highlights your key strengths in an attractive, easy-to-read
format.
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16. Starting with an Objective.
— Don’t start with an objective. Recruiters and hiring managers don’t like them because they focus on
the needs of the job seeker rather than the needs of the potential employer. Consider this objective
statement:
— “Seeking a software engineer position with a progressive employer where I can contribute to the
development of new technologies and work with bright, committed people.”
— This may be very honest but it is irrelevant to the reader, who does not care what you want and
only cares what you have to offer. Instead of an objective, try using a positioning statement that
clearly and concisely explains what you have to offer.
— “Senior Software Engineer with 10 years experience developing leading-edge technologies.”
— Now the reader can immediately see your value to the company. (For even greater impact, tailor
this statement for each position so that the reader immediately sees a match between his/her
needs and your skills.)
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17. Focusing on Responsibilities Instead
of Results.
— Don’t provide a laundry list of responsibilities without showing what
results you achieved.
— Most employers already know what the main responsibilities of your
job were.
— They want to know what makes you different from all the other
applicants.
— An effective resume summarizes job responsibilities in a few
sentences and then provides details of quantifiable achievements.
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18. Not Being Specific.
— You must place your achievements in context by providing specifics. For
example, don’t say something vague like “contributed to product design.”
This tells the employer nothing about your actual contribution.
— Instead be specific about what you did “Conducted market analysis for
(name of product) to determine design and mechanics.
— Led changes to original design spec. despite initial internal objections.
Received critical acclaim and sold over 4 million units.”
— See how being specific makes a difference? This level of detail shows the
reader the contributions you have made in the past and therefore the
contributions you can be expected to make in the future.
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19. Poor Design and Layout.
— At least 50% of the impact of your resume derives from design.
— A strong resume design will pull the eye through the document,
making it easy to keep reading and will highlight your key strengths
clearly.
— But if your resume is badly laid out, disorganized or hard to read, it
will be discarded before the reader knows how qualified you are.
— To see examples of good designs, check out our sample resumes.
— Take time to understand how the page has been laid out and then
apply what you’ve learned to your resume.
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20. Writing about Everything (Including
the Kitchen Sink).
— Think of your resume as a brochure, not a product catalog. It doesn’t have
to tell your entire story – just the parts that will help you find your next
position. So be selective about what to include.
— Don’t mention experiences and accomplishments that have nothing to do
with your career goals. Don’t include outdated skills or computer
knowledge.
— Also avoid including personal information. Don’t detail your marital status,
age or the number of children you have. Don’t mention non-professional
affiliations such as political or religious volunteer work unless it directly
relates to the position you are applying for.
— Information like this runs the risk of turning the reader off. However proud
you are of personal achievements, you should not run the risk of alienating
someone before you even have your foot in the door.
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21. Not Having a Clear Focus.
— This is absolutely essential. You cannot appeal to a target audience
until you know who that audience is. You must determine the types of
positions you’re seeking and identify what is important to hiring
managers filling those roles.
— If you have several different career goals, create several different
resumes, each one carefully targeted to appeal to employers in that
field.
— If you try to appeal to very diverse audience with one resume, you will
simply wind up appealing to none of them.
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22. Summary
— When you send your resume out, it must speak articulately for you.
— You can’t explain inconsistencies, clear up confusion or fill in things
that are missing.
— Your resume has to make your sales pitch in a clear and compelling
manner within 20 seconds.
— Invest the time to make it exceptional and you will see an immediate
increase in the response rate.
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