Career Services Office
Résumés
CVs Versus Résumés
Many graduate students have a curriculum vitae (CV) for use when applying for academic jobs or conferences. If you already have a CV, it can be helpful when creating a résumé. There are many differences between the two documents, however, so transforming a CV into a résumé can also be quite a challenge.
One of the biggest differences between a résumé and a CV is in the audience. The CV speaks largely to an academic audience and serves as a record of your academic and intellectual accomplishments. In contrast, a résumé is read by hiring managers in a nonacademic organization, and should be tailored to this group. Managers often review hundreds of applicants, and each résumé is reviewed for an average of fifteen seconds. Your résumé must therefore be concise and clear enough to make an immediate impression. It must provide a persuasive account of your specific skills and experiences as they relate to the job for which you have applied.
If you are applying for a nonacademic research-oriented position, an administrative job at a university, or a community-college position, it is possible that you will want to use a hybrid document that is a cross between a résumé and a CV. In these instances, you may create a two-page document that provides more information than the typical résumé (such as research experience, recent publications, etc.) but is still much shorter than a CV.
A tabular comparison of the CV and résumé follows:
| CV | Résumé | |
| Audience | Fellow academics in your field of study. | A general audience of employers who hire for a wide variety of positions. |
| Goal | To present your full academic history — including teaching, research, awards, and service. | To demonstrate that you have the skills and experience necessary to succeed within the position you are seeking. |
| Length | As long as necessary. | One or two pages only. In general, you may add a second page if you have more than ten years of experience. |
| Focus | Demonstrating your academic achievements and scholarly potential. | Representing your experiences — job-related, extracurricular and volunteer, as well as the skills you've gained from these. |
| Essential Information | Lists of publications, presentations, teaching experiences, education, honors, and grants. | Skills and experiences you have gained as related to the job you are seeking. |
| References | Include. | Do not include. |
