Resume vs CV: The Difference and Which One to Use

A recruiter in Chicago asks for your resume, a hiring manager in London asks for your CV, and a university in Boston asks for your CV too, but means something completely different. The two words overlap in some countries and mean separate documents in others. Here is how to tell which one you actually need, and how to build it.

The short answer

Resume (US, Canada, the Philippines): a short, targeted summary of your skills, experience and achievements, usually one or two pages, rewritten for each job.
CV in the UK, Ireland, India, Australia and most of Europe: the same thing as a US resume. Same purpose, roughly the same length.
CV in the US (academic CV): a long, complete record of your academic career, including research, publications, teaching, presentations and grants. It is used for academic, scientific, medical and research positions, fellowships and grant applications.

So the real difference is not the word. It is whether you need a short targeted document or a full academic record. Once you know that, the rest follows.

Where each term is used

United States

American career services draw a clear line. A resume is brief and focused on the job you are applying for. A curriculum vitae is a longer academic document that keeps growing over your career, and nobody expects it to fit on two pages. If you apply for a role at a bank, a retailer or a software company, they want a resume, even if a recruiter casually writes “CV”.

United Kingdom and Ireland

In the UK, “CV” is simply the normal word. Nobody says resume, and a British CV is close to an American resume in length and purpose. The National Careers Service recommends a clear font such as Arial or Calibri at size 11 or larger, consistent formatting, headings and bullet points. It also suggests leaving out your age or date of birth, marital status and nationality, because they are not relevant to whether you can do the job.

India

Indian job seekers will meet all three words: CV, resume and sometimes “biodata”. In practice, for private-sector and multinational employers, CV and resume are generally used interchangeably for a one- to two-page professional document. Biodata is an older format that puts more weight on personal details and is now mostly seen in specific contexts, such as some government or traditional applications. If a posting asks for a specific format or form, use it exactly.

The Philippines

Because many Filipino professionals apply to US-owned BPO companies, multinationals and overseas employers, “resume” is the common term. Local postings sometimes still ask for personal details or a photo. When applying to international employers, the safer default is the US-style resume without a photo, unless the posting explicitly asks for one.

What goes in a resume (or non-academic CV)

A resume answers one question for a busy recruiter: can this person do this job? Every line should support that answer.

Contact details: name, phone, professional email, city, LinkedIn profile.
Summary: two to four lines about who you are and what you offer.
Work experience: most recent first. Job title, employer, dates and three to five achievement-focused bullets per role.
Education: degree, institution, year. Put it above experience if you are a recent graduate.
Skills: technical skills, tools, languages and certifications that match the job ad.
Optional: volunteering, projects or awards, if they strengthen your case.

What usually stays out: a photo (for US and UK applications), date of birth, marital status, a full home address and the line “references available upon request”, which recruiters assume anyway. In the US, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advises employers not to ask for a photograph of an applicant before an offer is made, which is one reason American resumes do not include one.

For a deeper walkthrough of each section, see our guide on how to write a resume that gets results.

What goes in an academic CV

An academic CV is organised by category rather than tailored down to essentials. Typical sections:

Education (with dissertation title and advisor)
Research experience and interests
Publications, listed in a recognised citation style
Conference presentations and invited talks
Teaching experience
Grants, fellowships and awards
Professional memberships and service (committees, peer review)
References, often with full contact details, because academic hiring committees regularly contact them

Length depends on your career stage. A PhD student might have three pages; a senior professor might have twenty. Clarity matters more than brevity here: use consistent headings and reverse-chronological order inside each section.

Side-by-side comparison

	Resume / non-academic CV	US academic CV
Purpose	Win an interview for a specific job	Document your full academic record
Length	1–2 pages	No fixed limit
Tailoring	Rewritten for each role	Mostly the same, updated over time
Focus	Achievements, skills, results	Research, publications, teaching
Used for	Most private- and public-sector jobs	Faculty, research, medical, grants

Worked example: the same experience, two formats

Imagine Priya, a data scientist who spent three years as a postdoctoral researcher before moving into industry. Here is how one experience looks in each document.

Academic CV entry:

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Statistics, University of Leeds, 2021–2024 Research on Bayesian methods for missing data in clinical trials. Supervised two MSc dissertations. Taught Applied Regression (3rd year, 120 students). Publications from this period listed under Publications (6 peer-reviewed articles).

Resume bullet points for a data science job at a health-tech company:

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Leeds | 2021–2024

Built statistical models in R and Python to handle missing data in clinical trial datasets of up to 40,000 patients

Published six peer-reviewed papers; translated results into plain-language briefings for clinical partners

Mentored two master’s students through end-to-end analytics projects

The resume version cuts the academic detail and translates research into outcomes a hiring manager cares about: tools, scale, communication and leadership. Same facts, different audience.

How to decide which one to send

Work through these questions in order:

Does the posting specify? If it names a format or attaches a form, follow it. That instruction beats any general rule.
Is it an academic, research, scientific or medical post in the US? Then send an academic CV.
Is the employer in the UK, India, Europe or Australia and the job non-academic? Send a one- to two-page CV, which is effectively a resume.
Is it a US or US-owned company, including many BPO employers in the Philippines and India? Send a resume.
Still unsure? Ask the recruiter. It is a normal question and shows you pay attention to details.

Common mistakes to avoid

Sending a five-page academic CV to a corporate employer. The recruiter will not dig for the relevant parts. Cut it down.
Using “resume” in a UK application or “CV” in the file name for a US one. It is minor, but local wording shows you know the market. Name the file clearly, for example “Priya-Shah-Resume.pdf” or “Priya-Shah-CV.pdf”.
Copying a template from another country. A template with a photo, date of birth and nationality may be fine in some markets but looks dated in the US and UK.
Listing duties instead of results. Whatever you call it, the document should show what changed because you were there.
Forgetting about screening systems. Many large employers use applicant tracking software. Simple layouts with standard headings tend to be read more reliably than complex graphic designs.

After the document: what comes next

A good resume or CV gets you to the next stage, and for many graduate schemes, banks, consultancies and large corporates that stage is an online assessment. Expect numerical, verbal or logical reasoning tests, often within days of applying. Our job application guide covers the full process, and you can try free practice tests at assessment-training.com/free-tests to see what these tests look like before the real invitation arrives.

You will also want a cover letter that adds context your resume cannot. Read our guide on how to write a cover letter that gets read, and if your work history has a break in it, see how to explain an employment gap on your resume.

Quick checklist

I know whether this employer expects a short resume/CV or a full academic CV
Length fits the format: one to two pages for jobs, no fixed limit for academic roles
No photo, date of birth or marital status for US and UK applications, unless explicitly requested
Bullets show results, numbers and tools, not just duties
Wording and file name match local usage
I have tailored the summary and top bullets to this specific job ad

Frequently asked questions

Is a CV the same as a resume?

In the UK, India and much of Europe, “CV” is the everyday word for the short document you send with a job application, so it is effectively the same as a US resume. In the US, a CV is a longer, complete record of academic and research work, used mainly for academic, scientific and medical roles.

How long should a resume or CV be?

For most non-academic jobs, one to two pages. Early-career candidates usually fit on one page; experienced professionals often need two. An American academic CV has no fixed limit and grows with your publications, teaching and grants.

Should I put a photo on my resume or CV?

For applications in the US and UK, generally no. The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission advises employers not to ask for applicant photos, and UK careers guidance focuses on skills and experience rather than personal details. If a job posting elsewhere explicitly asks for a photo, follow the posting.

What if the job ad just says “send your CV” and I am in the US?

Read the context. For a corporate, retail or tech role, a recruiter who writes “CV” almost always means a resume. For a university, research or medical position, they probably want a full academic CV. If it is genuinely unclear, ask the recruiter or HR contact.

Can I use the same document for every application?

You can keep one master version, but tailor it each time. Reorder bullets, mirror the key skills from the job ad and cut anything irrelevant. A tailored one-page resume beats a generic three-page one.

About the author

Ingmar van Maurik is a specialist in test and interview preparation who helps candidates perform better in recruitment processes.

Resume vs CV: The Difference and Which One to Use