What is the difference between a resume and a CV?

The primary differences between a resume and a curriculum vitae (CV) are length, what is included, and what each is used for. While both are used in job applications, a resume and a CV are not always interchangeable. That's the universal truth not known to many job seekers and applicants.

A CV (Curriculum Vitae, which means a 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, honours etc.

The document tends to be organised chronologically 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.

A resume, or résumé, is a concise document typically not longer than one page as the intended 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 and modify 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 customisable document.

It is very important to know that most employers have no time to waste on any CV or resume with unpardonable typographical errors and distinctive grammatical blunders.

As a job seeker, you must cross-check your application and CV very well as if your life depends on it. You don't need to be in a hurry to produce either CV or resume.

If you're jobless, you need to engage in either voluntary works for your community, or charity, just to fill the gaps even if you're not collecting salaries/allowances from those activities. If you leave too many gaps in your CV, your potential employers see you as unproductive and probably a lazy person.

Your CV or resume is your selling point to your potential employers and clients. You just need to stand out from the crowd. Applicants and job seekers need to remember the contents of their CVs and resumes, employers are likely to ask many questions during the interviews.

Don't cook up too many lies (you cannot smartly defend!) in your CV or resume. Don't appear as a brainwashed fool before your future employers. Loan yourself a digital brain. The world is now a global village. As simple as ABC.

Don't present forged documents/certificates, if discovered later, not good for your image. Be a good ambassador of your family. Thanks for reading.