A CV, short for curriculum vitae (Latin for “course of life”), is a detailed document that lists your full academic and professional history. It is not the same thing as a resume, though the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably depending on where you live. In the United States and Canada, a CV and a resume are distinct documents with different purposes, lengths, and audiences. Outside those countries, “CV” is often just the local word for what Americans would call a resume.
CV and Resume: The Core Difference
A resume is a concise, one-to-two-page document highlighting your most relevant work experience and skills for a specific job. You tailor it each time you apply, trimming or rearranging sections to match what the employer is looking for. It is not meant to be a comprehensive record of everything you have ever done.
A CV is longer, more detailed, and more exhaustive. It covers your entire academic and professional career, including research, publications, teaching experience, grants, presentations, and awards. An experienced professional’s CV can run five to ten pages. Rather than trimming it for each application, you add to it over time as you publish papers, earn grants, or take on new research. Think of it as a living document that grows with your career.
When You Need a CV in the U.S.
In the United States, employers ask for a CV instead of a resume primarily in academia and research. If you are applying for a faculty position, a postdoctoral fellowship, or a role in a research department (whether at a university or in industry), expect to submit a CV. Medical professionals, scientists, and others whose careers center on published work or grant-funded projects also typically use CVs.
For virtually every other job in the U.S., a resume is what hiring managers expect. Submitting a multi-page CV for a marketing role or a project management position would look out of place and could actually work against you, since many employers screen applications through applicant tracking systems (ATS) optimized for shorter, keyword-focused resumes.
How the Term Differs Around the World
If you are job hunting internationally, terminology shifts considerably. In the U.K., New Zealand, much of Asia, and across the European Union, “CV” is the standard term for the document you submit when applying for any job, including non-academic ones. In those regions, a CV functions more like what Americans call a resume: it is a focused summary of your qualifications, typically two to three pages, not an exhaustive academic record.
The U.S., Canada, and Australia generally favor the traditional resume format. Part of the reason is anti-discrimination law. A full academic-style CV can include personal details (date of birth, nationality, marital status) that U.S. employers are not allowed to consider in hiring decisions. Submitting that kind of information on a job application in the U.S. could actually get your document tossed out.
So if a job posting outside the U.S. asks for a “CV,” it usually just means a resume. If a U.S. posting asks for a CV, it almost certainly means the longer, academic-style document.
What Goes in an Academic CV
An academic CV includes sections you would never see on a standard resume. According to MIT’s career advising office, common CV headings include:
- Research experience: Detailed descriptions of projects, methodologies, and outcomes
- Publications: Journal articles, book chapters, conference proceedings
- Presentations: Talks, posters, and invited lectures at conferences or institutions
- Teaching experience: Courses taught, curriculum developed, student mentoring
- Fellowships, grants, and awards: Funding you have received or been nominated for
- Professional associations: Memberships in academic or scientific organizations
- Patents: Listed with patent number, title, and date issued (pending patents should be labeled as such)
You may also include sections for works in progress, research interests, teaching interests, outreach activities, and leadership or service roles. Unlike a resume, where brevity is king, a CV gives you room to describe both teaching and research experience in real detail. If you are applying for a research-heavy position, put research sections first. If the role is primarily teaching, lead with teaching experience.
What Goes in a Resume
A resume is built around relevance, not completeness. The standard sections are a professional summary or objective, work experience, education, and skills. You might add certifications, volunteer work, or notable projects, but only if they strengthen your candidacy for that particular role. Everything should fit on one page for entry-level candidates or two pages for mid-career and senior professionals.
The key difference in approach: you create different versions of your resume for different job applications, emphasizing the experience and skills each employer cares about most. A CV, by contrast, stays largely the same from one application to the next, with new accomplishments added as they happen.
Formatting and ATS Considerations
Most large employers use applicant tracking systems to filter applications before a human ever reads them. These systems work best with clean, single-column formatting and standard section headings. Avoid tables, multi-column layouts, or graphics, as these can confuse ATS software and make your document unreadable to the system.
This matters more for resumes than CVs, since the jobs requiring CVs (academic and research positions) often involve human-reviewed applications rather than ATS screening. Still, if you are submitting a CV through an online portal, keeping the formatting simple is a safe bet.
Which One Should You Use
If a U.S. job posting asks for a “resume,” send a one-to-two-page resume. If it asks for a “CV,” send a full curriculum vitae. If you are applying internationally and the posting requests a CV, treat it as a request for a resume-style document unless the role is academic. When a posting does not specify, default to whatever is standard for your field. Academic and research roles expect CVs. Everything else expects resumes.
If you currently have a resume and need to build a CV, start by expanding your education section, then add every publication, presentation, grant, and teaching role you can document. If you have a CV and need a resume, do the opposite: strip it down to the most relevant highlights for the specific job, cut anything older or less relevant, and aim for two pages at most.