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When sending your work and education history to a prospective employer, it’s important to know the difference between curriculum vitae (CV) and a resume. Each has its own requirements and sending the wrong one could hurt your chance of landing the job.

A CV gives a complete, over-all summary of an applicant. CV’s don’t just contain a snapshot of your work history, they cover:

• Educational background
• Research positions
• Internships
• List of publications your studies have been published in
• List of intangible skills
• Awards and

CV’s are most often used when attempting to obtain academic positions. CV’s are used more often in Europe than in the United States. In the U.S. CV’s are used almost exclusively for those trying to obtain academic or scientific positions.

Resumes are very different. With a resume, you are sending a snapshot of:

• Your work history
• Recent major accomplishments
• Education

Because of the divergence of content, a CV is much longer than a resume. CV’s usually consist of more than 2 pages. Resume writers are generally encouraged to write no more than 2 pages and to simplify to a one page resume is more desirable.