How Is A CV Different From A Resume?

Once a person has completed their educational qualifications, the next task is to look for a job in their field of study and interest. Or to look towards opportunities for further higher education or research, whichever is applicable. People are looking for new jobs all the time because they got fired from their last jobs or they are looking for better prospects or to move to a different place just for a change of scenery! So how do you get the word out about your skillset and that you are open to new opportunities?  The most important tool in this task is a Curriculum Vitae or Resume. For quite a long time these two terms have been used interchangeably so much that nowadays it is hard to tell the difference between them. The major difference between these two is; the situations they are used in.

Differences in CV and Resume

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) (Latin meaning Course of life) is mainly used in academic or research fields. It is a systematic record of all the educational and professional qualifications in chronological order, with emphasis on milestone qualifications like education and certifications. A person should update their CV to add every academic qualification, degree, certificate, award, and accolade. This can make a CV several pages long depending on individual career achievements and tenure. Due to this credential-focused pattern, CVs are mainly used for jobs in research, medical and academic fields.

Whereas, a Resume is used specifically for job application purposes, essentially an abbreviated and concise version of a CV. It is usually only a single page long and focuses on personal achievements in the professional field and specific skills acquired. It starts with the most recent employment history and continues in reverse chronological order up to educational qualifications. It is tailor-made for each specific job application and shows emphasis on relevant expertise and skills.

 

Curriculum Vitae

As mentioned before, a CV is focused mainly on the candidate’s academic and educational achievements. All the important personal information should be included at the top of the CV. A well-written CV should contain, in specific chronological order,

1. Research/ academics you are interested in
2. Highest to lowest educational qualifications
3. Professional experience
4. Research experience
5. Academic experience
6. Publications and research thesis
7. Awards and accolades
8. Honors and certifications received
9. Professional references
10. Academic references

This academic-focused format is mostly used in educational, research, and medical fields where your research background and academic excellence are of higher importance than professional work experience.

Here is a sample CV. The candidate in this example has included all the important academic milestones; educational qualifications, research experience, professional experience, and awards/ certificates received. Though it is only a page long, a CV can be much longer and more extensive in detail. 

Akash Sharma    52, 24th street    New Business Center    Mumbai 400710    asharma@gmail.com    9876523410    ACADEMIC INTERESTS                         Immunology, Clinical Microbiology, Molecular Biotechnology       EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS               Ph. D. in Clinical Microbiology, June 2017 - Mumbai University, Maharashtra             M. Sc. in Clinical Microbiology, June 2013 - Mumbai University, Maharashtra             B. Sc. in  General Microbiology, June 2011 - Pune University, Maharashtra       PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE               Assistant Professor of Clinical Microbiology, Pune University (July 2017-June 2018)             Research Fellow, Clinical Microbiology, Mumbai University (July 2015-June 2017)             Teaching assistant, Govt. College, Mumbai University(June 2013-Apr 2015)       RESEARCH EXPERIENCE               Animal tissue culture development, Mumbai University (June 2014-Apr 2015)             Microbial Physiology Project, Pune University (Summer 2012)       PUBLICATION                         Sharma, Akash. “Effect of different vectors on bacterial host DNA” Dissertation Thesis       AWARDS               Dronacharya Dissertation Fellowship, 2019             Young Science Scholar Award, 2015

 

Resume

A resume is a concise document that showcases a candidate’s professional achievements and relevant skillset for a specific job application. It should preferably be one page long only and should be adapted for every job application. Unlike a CV, a resume is to the point, in reverse chronological order starting with the most recent professional work experience and then going through relevant educational qualifications and certifications. The Word ‘relevant’ is very important here. Because you don’t have to list all small and big achievements if they don’t have any significance to the job you are applying for.  For example, if you are applying for a teaching position, your experience as a cashier is of no significance here.

In these times where nearly all major companies and institutes use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to shortlist the most suitable candidates, if your resume does not contain the most relevant keywords for a job application, you won’t get any response from employers. The following points in the given order should be included in a resume:

1. Name and contact information
2. Summary
3. Work experience
4. Educational qualifications
5. Certifications
6. Skills

Your name and contact information should be clearly mentioned at the top. The objective or summary is optional, but a summary written specifically for a particular job leaves a good first impression. It should not contain any jargon words and should be a concise summary of your best professional work and achievements. In work experience, the company name and job title should be clearly mentioned. Listing your exact job title, which preferably matches the job vacancy, increases the chances of your resume being visible. Focus on specific statistical job-related information rather than vague long impressive-looking sentences. Hiring managers can’t read long-winded explanations, but a specific stat will catch their eye for sure!

Mention clear dates of employment, not just the year. If you just mention 2018, then it might look like you are currently unemployed.

In educational qualifications, if you have more than one degree, list them in reverse chronological order, with the most recent first. Try to mention only those qualifications that are relevant to the specific job. The same goes for certifications. A Google certificate in digital marketing is of no use to the laboratory supervisor role. In the skills section, first, mention the hard technical skills and then other complimentary soft skills. If you have been part of any commercial or academic projects related to the field, then those should also be mentioned.

Many people have gaps in their careers sometimes due to different reasons. This is no reason to be discouraged. A short mention towards the end of your resume describing the reason behind the gap and your willingness to continue works well. A major focus in the resume should be on actual personal achievements, described with statistics and backed by hard facts and relevant experience is very important to make your resume stand out from all the others. Thus make sure to tailor your information every time you apply for a new job. And finally, don’t forget to thoroughly proofread your resume before sending it in.

Here is an example of a resume.

Akash Sharma 9876523410  asharma@gmail.com  52, 24th street, Mumbai 400710     PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY Seasoned Operations executive with 5 years of experience in performing administrative operations management in Clinical and pharmaceutical microbiology in the healthcare environment. Looking to apply for a role in operations management at Global Pharmaceuticals and apply my skill set for the welfare of the company and its clients.   WORK EXPERIENCE   ORION PHARMACEUTICALS                                                      Jan 2018 to Present Operations Manager ●       Responsible for developing, implementing, and coordinating program deliverables for assigned internal improvement initiatives ●      Built business cases and project strategy documentation for proposed initiatives in partnership with program leadership, sponsors, and central operations teams ●      Responsible for project/program leadership by facilitating workshops, performing options analyses, and defining requirements. ●      Support to project/program leadership to drive the project, scope, schedule, resource, cost, risk, and management plans ●      Management of a team of 25 employees to drive the building of a delivery plan, critical path, translation into a timeline, and alignment of resource assignments. EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS M. Sc. Microbiology,  Mumbai University, June 2013 B. Sc. Microbiology, Pune University, June 2011 CERTIFICATIONS Certification in Operations Management, IIM Bangalore, May 2015 ADDITIONAL SKILLS Proficient in Operations management software Proficient in MSvisio

 

The resume is your first impression of the employer. It represents all your achievements and capabilities even if you are physically not present. Thus it has to be the best possible picture of your suitability for the role and how you are better than other candidates. In this regard, a well-crafted resume could be the key to unlocking that opportunity.