CV vs. resume: what’s the difference and which one to send

CV vs. resume at a glance

Both documents present your education and experience to an employer, but in the US they do different jobs. A resume (from the French word for “summary”) is a selective, one- or two-page document aimed at one specific job. A CV (the abbreviation of a Latin phrase meaning “course of life”) is a complete record that keeps growing throughout your career.

Outside the US, the vocabulary changes. In the UK, Ireland, most of Europe and many other countries, “CV” is the everyday word for the document Americans call a resume, and an academic CV is simply a longer version of it. Canada follows US usage: a resume for most jobs, a CV for academia and medicine.

When US employers ask for a CV

In the US, a request for a CV usually comes from one of these places:

• Colleges and universities: faculty and lecturer positions, postdoctoral fellowships and many research staff roles.
• Research: labs, research institutes, think tanks and research roles in government or industry, where publications and grants matter.
• Medicine: physicians and other clinicians in academic medicine, residency and fellowship applicants, and many hospital physician positions.
• Graduate school, fellowships and grants: admissions committees and funders often ask for a CV, though some programs accept a resume.
• Some international roles: international organizations, and US companies whose hiring team is based in another country.

Outside those fields, a US employer who says “CV” almost always means a resume. Recruiters use the words loosely, and a five-page CV sent for a marketing or sales job will work against you. Look at the context: if the posting doesn’t mention publications, research or teaching, send a one- or two-page resume. If you can’t tell, it’s perfectly fine to ask the recruiter which one they prefer.

What a US resume includes, and what it leaves out

A US resume is built for a quick read: recruiters often skim it before deciding whether to read on. It usually follows this order:

1. Contact line: name, city and state (no street address), phone, professional email and LinkedIn URL.
2. Summary: two or three lines about who you are professionally and what you offer for this job.
3. Work experience in reverse-chronological order, with bullets that start with an action verb and show results.
4. Education, with your degree, school and graduation year (the year is optional if it was long ago).
5. Skills, plus certifications and licenses when your field requires them.

Just as important is what a US resume leaves out: a photo, date of birth or age, marital status, number of children, nationality, religion, and ID or Social Security numbers. US employers generally avoid collecting personal details that have nothing to do with the job and could lead to discrimination claims. References stay off too: you provide them separately when asked, so a line like “References available upon request” is unnecessary. Our guide on how to write a resume covers each section step by step.

What goes on an academic CV

An academic CV aims to be complete rather than short. The exact order depends on your field and on whether the job emphasizes research or teaching, but these are the usual sections:

Length isn’t a problem on a CV, but readability is: clear headings, reverse-chronological order within each section and no padding. A poster you presented once doesn’t need three lines of description.

How a US resume differs from a UK, European or international CV

If your experience so far is outside the US, your CV probably follows conventions a US employer doesn’t expect. These are the most common differences:

The bottom line: a US resume is a selection aimed at one job, with nothing personal that isn’t relevant to the work. If your CV runs two or three pages, full of personal details and every course you’ve taken, you’ll need to cut, not just translate.

How to turn a CV into a resume

Whether you’re leaving academia for industry or adapting a CV from another country, the process is the same. Work in this order:

1. Start from the job posting. Underline what it asks for and decide which parts of your history prove it. Everything else is a candidate for cutting.
2. Cut to one or two pages. Focus on roughly the last 10 to 15 years, and summarize or drop older or less relevant roles.
3. Condense publications and presentations. For a job outside academia, one bullet such as “Published 6 peer-reviewed articles on battery materials” or a short “Selected Publications” list is enough.
4. Turn duties into accomplishments. Start each bullet with an action verb and translate academic language into terms an employer recognizes: budgets managed, people trained or supervised, deadlines met, results delivered.
5. Add a summary and a skills section that use the posting’s keywords for skills you really have. Our guide to an ATS-friendly resume explains how.
6. Remove personal details and references: no photo, date of birth, marital status or nationality.

How to turn a resume into a CV

Going the other way usually happens when you apply to graduate school, a research position or a fellowship, or for a job abroad that asks for a CV.

• For an academic CV, expand rather than cut: add your full education with thesis titles, research projects, publications, presentations, teaching, grants and awards, service and references. Keep your work experience, but describe it in terms of what’s relevant to the program or position.
• For a job in another country, your US resume is often a good base. Two pages is usually acceptable, so you can add detail to your most relevant roles. Follow local conventions and the posting’s instructions on photos and personal details; when in doubt, leave them out. For the UK and Ireland, switch to British spelling.
• For a US job that asks for a “CV” outside academia, medicine or research, send your resume, as explained above.

Whatever the version, keep dates, job titles and employers identical across your CV, your resume and your LinkedIn profile: inconsistencies are the first thing a careful reader notices.

Applying to US jobs from abroad

If you live outside the US, or recently moved here, a few adjustments make your resume look like the one a US employer expects:

• Call it a resume and keep it to one or two pages.
• Leave out your photo, date of birth or age, marital status, nationality and ID numbers.
• Location: city and country (“Madrid, Spain”), or your US city and state if you’ve already moved. If you’re relocating, say so: “Relocating to Austin, TX, in June 2027.”
• Work authorization: add a short line only if it’s true, such as “Authorized to work in the US; no sponsorship required” or “US permanent resident.” If you’ll need visa sponsorship, don’t hide it: application forms usually ask directly, and an honest answer saves everyone time.
• Phone: a US number in the usual format, like (512) 555-0142, if you have one; otherwise your number with its country code, like +34 612 345 678.
• Dates: write the month as a word (“Mar 2022 – Present”). In the US, 03/04/2022 means March 4, while most of the world reads it as April 3.
• Numbers and money: commas for thousands and periods for decimals (“1,500 units,” “2.5 years”), and the currency whenever it isn’t US dollars (“€2M budget”).
• Education: keep your university’s original name with its city and country, and describe the degree accurately (“Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, 4-year program”). Don’t claim a US equivalent unless a credential evaluation states it, and remember that licensed professions such as nursing, medicine, law and accounting require a US state license.
• Languages: plain levels (“Spanish: native; English: fluent”), plus a TOEFL or IELTS score if you have a recent one.
• Spelling: American throughout (organize, analyze, center, license).

If your current CV is in another language, the AI assistant in Mi Resumen can translate it into English while keeping names, employers and dates. Treat the result as a first draft and check it against this list: dates, degrees, language levels and personal details are exactly what most often needs fixing.

US vs. UK spelling and vocabulary

If you learned British English, or are adapting a UK CV, these are the differences that show up most often on a resume. Pick one variety and use it consistently; for US jobs, that means American spelling.

Dates follow the same split: “March 4, 2022” in the US, “4 March 2022” in the UK. On a resume you rarely need the day, so “Mar 2022” works for both.

Frequently asked questions