CV or Resume?

 

You may have noticed, as have I, these two terms used interchangeably.  Many clients ask me the difference between the two.  Actually, there appears to be little difference, other than perhaps the fact that the UK market prefers the term ‘CV’ whilst here in Australia, and from what I can determine, the USA, the term ‘resume’ is used.

So why two different words?  Well, firstly I recommend some definitions.  Let’s look at where the words come from.

CV is an abbreviation of the latin words, ‘Curriculum Vitae’ which can be  loosely translated as “life history” Vitae meaning life, and Curriculum meaning history. 

The word resume comes from a French word meaning “summary”
So there you have it, this should give a little more background to these words and put them into context.

In essence, it doesn’t matter which word you use, provided the document is effective in gaining you a job interview, and ultimately employment.  However, please ensure you don’t include the words “CV” or “resume” within the document, as it should be obvious as to the nature of the document.

Recently I have received numerous newsletters from recruitment companies, stating that they allow only 10 seconds to scan your CV.  That’s right, ten seconds!

So what can you do to ensure your CV encourages the reader to want to interview you once they have conducted this quick scan?

Here are some tips:

1.    Go straight into employment or “Career Highlights” section on the first page of your CV.  Long lists of “attributes” and “personal interests” will do nothing for you at all, particularly listed on the first page of your CV
2.    Choose a layout that is both professional, but makes optimal use of space.  For more information you could always check the samples page of my website.  I also recommend checking award winning CVs as found on the Career Directors International website (of which I am a member)
3.    Focus on results based achievements rather than dry and boring responsibilities.  If you are going to list an achievement, focus on results rather than a general meaningless statement.  For example, “decreased fuel consumption by 39% through the introduction of company fuel cards” as opposed to “saved money and increased efficiency through implementing various initiatives” which is meaningless as it lacks a quantifiable result
4.    Don’t include date of birth or marital status, this shouldn’t be a part of the employment assessment process
5.    If you do include a career objective, the more targeted and specific the better.  Meaningless statements about “using my skills to their fullest” will not do you any favours.
6.    Have someone else check over your CV and give you an objective opinion of its effectiveness, ideally someone with a recruitment or CV writing background.  Or, you could submit it to us using our “free resume critique” service.