What is a CV ?

What is a CV and a Resume…?

Is there really a difference between a CV and resume…well there is no global organisation that has the right of definition over these terms and in reality many respected scholastic organisations have different opinions.

Generally speaking there is no significant difference and effectively both documents are trying to achieve the same goal.

The term CV is more widely seen within the UK and the commonwealth and the resume is more commonly used in N. America, however that is by no means a de-facto standard.

It is generally accepted that a resume is seen as an abbreviated career profile, typically 1 page long - which is often referred to as a  profile. A Curriculum Vitae is seen as more detailed and usually 2 or 3 pages though it can be considerably longer.

Which then opens the question as to how many pages should there be in a C.V. ?

In reality most CVs have to pass through many gates before they reach the hiring manager. Some of the gates may be recruitment agencies or even front office staff, with little knowledge of the skills required for a particular job. Therefore technical terminology not only needs to be accurate to be found in database searches, but also concise so the non-technical reader is not put off.

It is therefore generally a good objective to try and keep a CV to 2A4 pages or possible 3for a more mature career.

There is a school of thought that a very long technical career or project orientated career should be many pages long with specific details or even an annex. Our belief is that this is not effective unless specifically asked for by the recruiting agency or employer.