CV or Resume?

[Manish Gokhale]

In India the words curriculum vitae and resume are frequently swapped.
Purely from a professional perspective, (as opposed to the grammatical context), what does what mean? Is it that CV is a summary whereas resume is a the expanded version? Which words do you use usually? Which country?

From this wikipedia link

The resume is comparable to a curriculum vitae (CV) in many countries, although in English Canada and the United States it is substantially different

What exactly is the difference?

[Jeanne Boyarsky]

In the US we use a "resume" which is higher level summary data. However, many people from Asia send in a CV anyway. Which as near as I can tell is a 5-10 page listing of everything they have ever done. Like "coded a JavaBean."

[Jimmy Clark]

In the U.S., a Curriculum Vitae is typically used in academic and research environments for related positions, e.g. Professor, Researcher, etc. It should include detailed information including values, principles, teaching experience, etc. It may include a photo, details of published work, and is generally intended for a different type of audience than a "resume." It should be well-written with proper grammar and complete sentences.

[Campbell Ritchie]

That is what I understand a CV to be. It is gradually becoming restricted to academic positions in this country (UK), eg Professor, Researcher, as you said.

[Matthew Brown]

On the other hand, in my experience CV usually gets used in the UK to mean pretty much the same as resume.

Here's an example - official advice from the Department for Work and Pensions (aimed at helping people find work) advising that a CV should usually be no more than two pages. They don't mention resumes anywhere except for in the keywords.

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Employment/Jobseekers/Helpapplyingforajob/DG_173655

[Campbell Ritchie]

As I said on a thread elsewhere about a similar subject: in the last twenty years, people in UK have said "CV" when they meant "resume".

[Matthew Brown]

I know, I was just pointing out that that's pretty much the standard usage now. The timing sounds about right. I applied for my first jobs about 20 years ago: I produced a (2 page) CV. I always used to assume "resume" was American as I never heard it in this country.

[Steve Fahlbusch]

from our friend wiki.....

A curriculum vitae (CV) provides an overview of a person's experience and other qualifications. In some countries, a CV is typically the first item that a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker and is typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an interview, when seeking employment. The curriculum vitae is comparable to a résumé in many countries, although in English Canada and the United States it is substantially different.

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In the United Kingdom, a CV is short (usually a maximum of 2 sides of A4 paper), and therefore contains only a summary of the job seeker's employment history, qualifications and some personal information. It is often updated to change the emphasis of the information according to the particular position for which the job seeker is applying.[3] Many CVs contain keywords that potential employers might pick up on and displays the content in the most flattering manner brushing over information like poor grades.[3] A CV can also be extended to include an extra page for the job seeker publications if these are important for the job.

In the United States and Canada, a CV is used in academic circles and medical careers as a "replacement" for a résumé and is far more comprehensive; the term résumé is used for most recruitment campaigns. A CV elaborates on education to a greater degree than a résumé and is expected to include a comprehensive listing of professional history including every term of employment, academic credential, publication, contribution or significant achievement. In certain professions, it may even include samples of the person's work and may run to many pages. Many executives and professionals choose to use a short CV that highlights the focus of their life and not necessarily their employment or education.

In the European Union, there has been an attempt to develop a standardized CV format known as Europass (in 2004 by the European Parliament and European Commission) and promoted by the EU to ease skilled migration between member countries, although this is not widely used in most contexts. The Europass CV system is meant to be just as helpful to employers and education providers as it is to students and job seekers. It was designed to help them understand what people changing between the countries have to offer, whilst overcoming linguistic barriers. The Europass documents also provide recognition for non-accredited learning and work experience.

There are a few companies that prefer not to receive a CV at all in application, but rather produce their own application form which must be completed in applying for any position. Of those, some also allow applicants to attach a CV in support of the application. The reason some companies prefer to process applications this way is to standardize the information they receive, as there can be many variables within a CV. Therefore, the company often does not get all the information they require at the application stage.