CV or Resume?

“What’s the difference between a CV and a resume?” 

One of the biggest differences between a résumé and a CV is in the audience.

• A CV speaks largely to an academic audience and documents your academic and intellectual accomplishments.
• A résumé is read by hiring managers in a nonacademic organization, and should be tailored to this group. Managers often review hundreds of applicants, and each résumé is reviewed for an average of fifteen seconds. Your résumé must therefore be concise and clear enough to make an immediate impression.
• Both must provide a persuasive account of your specific skills and experiences as they relate to the specific job.

“Which one do I need?”

Most jobs in non-profits, government and the private sector in the United States will ask for a résumé. Faculty application packets require a CV.

If you are applying for a nonacademic research-oriented position, an administrative job at a university, or a community-college position, it is possible that you will want to use a hybrid document that is a cross between a résumé and a CV. In these instances, you may create a two-page document that provides more information than the typical résumé (such as research experience, recent publications, etc.) but is still much shorter than a CV.

	CV	Resume
Audience	Fellow academics in your field of study	A general audience of employers who hire for a wide variety of positions
Goal	To present your full academic history — including teaching, research, awards, and service	To demonstrate that you have the skills and experience necessary to succeed within the position you are seeking
Length	As long as necessary	One or two pages only
Focus	Demonstrating your academic achievements and scholarly potential	Representing your experiences — job-related, extracurricular and volunteer, as well as the skills you've gained from these
Essential Information	Lists of publications, presentations, teaching experiences, education, honors, and grants	Skills and experiences you have gained as related to the job you are seeking
References	Include	Do not include