Is there a difference?
I imagine that many people, on reading the title of this article,
laughed smugly to themselves, then wandered off thinking vague thoughts
about the English and Americans having different names for the same
thing. If you were one of these people, then don’t worry – you’re right!
Or at least you’re partially right. In general, CVs are used throughout
most of the world, while resumes are the common format in America.
However, there are significant differences between the two documents,
and if you plan to succeed in the employment market it is important that
you are familiar with the features and uses of both. Let’s go through
them one at a time.
The differences in brief
At first glance, the differences between the two seem slight. Both
consist of a structured list of facts that allows you to impart relevant
information about your skills and achievements to an employer as
quickly and simply as possible.
Although in essence they both serve the same purpose, the main
difference between a CV and a resume is that a CV acts as a complete
record of your professional history, while a resume is a short, targeted
list of transferable skills and accomplishments, intended to show how
you can be of specific benefit to the particular company to which you
are applying.
As I mentioned earlier, throughout most of the world, the CV is the
standard format for job applications. However, in the US, resumes are
more common, and CVs are reserved almost completely for jobs in academia
or when applying for grants. As a result, many international workers
possess both a CV and a resume and choose between them as necessary.
In the following sections, I shall discuss the features of each type
of document in more detail, and close with a brief look at how to decide
which one is best for you.
Features of a CV
A CV, or Curriculum Vitae, to give it its Latin name, is an account
of your entire education and employment history. The term translates as
‘course of life’, and it really is that – a record of your working life
so far. It is far more detailed than a resume, from which elements are
often excluded if they are considered irrelevant. A CV should include
everything you’ve ever done, listed in reverse chronological order, to
make it easier to prioritise more recent information. As a result, a CV
is longer than a resume, although two pages is the recommended length.
Information in a CV is arranged according to subheadings, to make it
easier for the reader to quickly skim through and find the information
he or she needs. Remember, your CV is intended to let prospective
employers find out about you in the hope that they will offer you a job,
so it’s in your interest to make it easy to understand!
The sections of a CV may include the following, although many
sections can be moved up or down depending on what information is
relevant for the specific job.
- Profile/Objectives – a short statement, tailored to fit the requirements of the prospective employer;
- Education/Qualifications – a list of institutions and courses, with grades awarded and dates attended;
- Skills/Competencies – any skills or achievements that are relevant
to the job. You can include most things, but be sensible – there is no
need to mention the 10m swimming badge you got when you were six!
- Career Summary – this should be the most detailed part, it can be
moved higher up the document if necessary. Each job should have a short
description of the skills you used and your achievements within the
role. A few bullet points are sufficient, with more detailed accounts of
more recent/relevant positions.
Features of a resume
A resume should be a shorter, more focused account of your relevant
skills and achievements. Although the exact length of a resume is open
to debate, in general it should not exceed one page in length, and it’s
safer to be conventional; after all, you want to get the job. It’s fine
to miss things out of a resume to keep the length down; you should only
include the things that are most relevant to the position you are
targeting. Resumes also often miss out some of the more personal details
that CVs include, such as hobbies and interests.
As with CVs, resumes are usually organised into a few essential
sections. However, one key difference between a CV and a resume is that
resumes are focused on your skills and accomplishments, rather than
providing an objective account of your history. As a result, resumes
often feature aggrandising language, and tend to be more obviously
self-promoting than CVs.
You can afford to be a bit less formal with the structure of a resume
than with a CV, and there is a wider scope for creative presentation.
That said, there are three main formats that are generally used:
- Chronological – this is the most common format, and is very similar in organisation to a CV;
- Functional – your skills/qualifications act as a backbone, around which the rest of the resume is structured;
- Focused – as above, but with the content organised in relation to the targeted position.
It is often better to stick to one of these tried and tested formats
than to attempt to wow an employer with your own unique design. These
have a chance of backfiring if your reader doesn’t like them, so why
take the risk? The only time I could see the point of designing your own
format is if you are entering a creative field, such as design.
What to use, and when to use it
The general rule to go by here is that if you are in America, use a
resume, and if you are anywhere else in the world, use a CV. However, if
you are applying for an academic position, or for a grant, it is better
to send a CV, regardless of where you are. Things are further
complicated by the rising popularity in the UK of short CVs, which, at
less than two pages, are confusingly similar to a resume.
One of the main reasons to have a short CV was to stand out from the
crowd, but almost everybody follows this model and it no longer has the
same impact as it used to. As a result, the old style of CV is making a
comeback, for the same reasons that it disappeared in the first place.
Whether you choose to follow the trend, or stick with convention is up
to you. Personally, I have both kinds, and I decide which version to
send out on a per-company basis.
In fact, it is safer to make two versions anyway. Set aside some time
and write yourself both a CV and a resume; it doesn’t take much effort,
and it means that you’ll always have the correct document to hand,
whatever you are asked for. You can even hire a copywriting agency to do
it for you. Copywriters write both CVs and resumes on a regular basis,
and will be familiar with the conventions of each. If you don’t want to
pay for a copywriter, have a look at some CV and resume samples and use
them to help you write your own.
You’d be surprised how many people don’t know the difference between a
CV and a resume. Whichever one you decide to go for, follow the
conventions and write to the strengths of your chosen format, and the
interviews should come flooding in. You’ll soon be on your way to that
dream job.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/283507
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