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What is a CV (Curriculum Vitae)? Meaning & Purpose
What is a CV (Curriculum Vitae)? Meaning & Purpose
To land that dream job, you must submit the right recruitment documents. So, if the employer requires a CV rather than a resume, you’d better make sure you know what a CV is.
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There are three recruitment documents every job seeker should be familiar with:
A CV, a cover letter, and a resume.
While the first two are rather well known to most, the last one tends to be confusing. All the more so as it refers to something different in various countries.
I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your CV.” Patrick
I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work! Dylan
My previous CV was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful! George
The “CV” abbreviation stands for curriculum vitae which means “course of life” in Latin. In the US and Canada, a CV refers to a recruitment document detailing your academic and employment history, along with your skills and achievements.
In contrast to CVs, CVs can be very extensive and include detailed lists of your academic awards, grants, scholarships, publications, research projects, or coursework.
This is why a CV is a standard document when you’re pursuing a career in academia. Not so much so when seeking employment in a non-academic role.
A typical CV form can consist of such sections as:
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The definition of a CV differs depending on geography.
As we’ve already established, in the US and Canada a CV means a recruitment document you’d normally use when applying for academic positions as well as grants, fellowships or scholarships.
The situation looks different in Europe and New Zealand, though.
In these regions, a curriculum vitae, or CV, refers to a document that’s very much like an American resume.
In other words:
In Europe and New Zealand, a CV is a document that briefly outlines your work experience, skills, education, and professional achievements, and you use it to apply for regular positions.
So even though in these countries the word “CV” isn’t used at all—
A United Kingdom curriculum vitae will be very much like an American resume, both in terms of its function and form.
In other anglophone countries such as South Africa and Australia, both terms CV and resume are used interchangeably to refer to a document similar to a UK CV.
In the US and Canada, the term CV refers to a recruitment document that details your career with a strong focus on education. It’s used for applying for academic positions.
In Europe and New Zealand, a CV is synonymous with a US resume It refers to a brief document summarising your relevant professional experience and skills.
In Australia and South Africa, both terms CV and resume are part of the vocabulary and each refers to a document resembling an American CV.
Do you have any other questions about what a CV is? Would you like to share your opinion on the subject? We’re always happy to hear from you. Give us a shout out in the comments below!
Maciej Duszynski is a career advice writer and a resume expert at ResumeLab. With over 8 years of experience in recruitment, hiring, and training, Maciej shares insider HR knowledge to equip every job seeker with professional advice to nail the job hunt. His insights have been featured by the Chicago Tribune, SparkPeople, Toggl, Referral Rock, and Databox, among others. Maciej has helped job candidates at all stages of their career paths, from interns to directors to C-suite members, to thrive in their job. His mission is to help you find the right opportunity and create a job application that gets you the career you deserve. Maciej holds a Master’s degree in English with a specialization in communication and education management.
A CV job description is a CV section where you list your professional experience, usually in reverse-chronological order. It means you start with your most recent position and proceed backwards. Each entry should contain 3-6 bullet points. It is recommended to include 10-15 years of work history on your CV.