# What is a "C.V."? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017 "2005-12-10T05:46:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/1 "2005-12-10T05:46:42Z")
This was in an e-mail of mine: Procedure of application. 1. Send me a scan of your passport. 2. Send me a copy of your C.V. 3. Chat to me via a chat program. (ask me questions, answer my questions) What is a C.V.? ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/2 "2005-12-10T05:48:14Z")
curriculum vitae sometimes known as a résumé ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/3 "2005-12-10T05:53:38Z")
I’ve seen it mostly in terms of a medical resume. I don’t know if certain industries or professions are more likely to use “CV” instead of “resume.” ---
**Author:** ![capybara](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/capybara/32/202_2.png) [@capybara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capybara)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/4 "2005-12-10T05:58:59Z")
In academia it’s also a c.v. You include your jobs but also education, conference papers presented, publications, professional affiliations, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Muad\_Dib](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/35a633/32.png) [@Muad\_Dib](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muad_Dib)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/5 "2005-12-10T06:05:47Z")
> [@capybara](#): > > In academia it’s also a c.v. You include your jobs but also education, conference papers presented, publications, professional affiliations, etc. Ahh, so I _will_ have to edit my resume some? ---
**Author:** ![xash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c6cbf5/32.png) [@xash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xash)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/6 "2005-12-10T06:14:11Z")
While there is a difference in the definitions of the terms, I think it’s more to do with the locale of the person requesting the document. In the US, I’ve seen it referred to more commonly as résumé, and in India as Curriculum Vitae. From [answers.com](http://answers.com): > [@](#): > > curriculum vi·tae (vī’tē, vē’tī, wē’tī’) > n., pl. curricula vitae. (Abbr. CV) > > A summary of one’s education, professional history, and job qualifications, as for a prospective employer. and: > [@](#): > > A résumé (in North American English; also sometimes spelled resumé or resume) or curriculum vitae (in Commonwealth English; sometimes abbreviated to CV) is a document containing a summary or listing of relevant job experience and education, usually for the purpose of securing a new job. Often the résumé is the first item a potential employer encounters regarding the job seeker, and therefore a large amount of importance is often ascribed to it. > > In British English, CV is the standard term for what is called a résumé in American English. See [http://www.answers.com/topic/r-sum?method=6](http://www.answers.com/topic/r-sum?method=6) for more ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/7 "2005-12-10T10:33:15Z")
Just a WAG, but since your being asked for a passport C.V. could also be I.C.V. [International Certificate of Vaccination](http://www.hsc.unt.edu/patientcare/itmc/icv.htm). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/8 "2005-12-10T10:46:45Z")
In Britain, a resume is universally known as a C.V. ---
**Author:** ![cckerberos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@cckerberos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cckerberos)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/9 "2005-12-10T13:22:24Z")
> [@capybara](#): > > In academia it’s also a c.v. I have not found this to be the case in American academia. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/10 "2005-12-10T14:19:57Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > I have not found this to be the case in American academia. I have. But it is clearly not a universal thing. It depends on the traditions of the particular school. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/11 "2005-12-10T14:27:42Z")
[Notes from Purdue](http://purdue.placementmanual.com/resume/resume-14.html) [One from Michigan State](http://www.pa.msu.edu/~tomanek/vita.html) [One from UCSC](http://64.233.179.104/search?q=cache:9wHyR9x-vdIJ:www.cs.ucsc.edu/~wctan/cv.pdf+curriculum+vitae+university&hl=en) [University of Maryland guidelines.](http://www.faculty.umd.edu/policies/currvit.html) (No Ivy League outfits. Too American, I guess. 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/12 "2005-12-10T15:05:37Z")
> [@cckerberos](#): > > I have not found this to be the case in American academia. I have never heard of it referred to as a résumé in academia, always as a c.v., at least at a professional level (i.e. when applying for a teaching or research job). This is in scientific fields, at least. May I ask what field are you in? ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/13 "2005-12-10T15:59:20Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I have never heard of it referred to as a résumé in academia, always as a c.v., at least at a professional level (i.e. when applying for a teaching or research job). This is in scientific fields, at least. May I ask what field are you in? I too have always heard it called “c.v.” in academia and never a resume–except by those who refer to a doctoral dissertation as a “thesis.” Some people use resume and c.v. interchangeably, but they are not equivalent terms, at least here in the U.S. The latter can have page after page of your scholarly papers and research studies. For instance, my resume is three pages long (senior management), but an accomplished older friend in academia has a c.v. 35 - 40 pages long. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/14 "2005-12-10T16:00:21Z")
> [@Carnac the Magnificent!](#): > > The latter can have page after page of your scholarly papers and research studies. page after page of citations re: yadda yadda ---
**Author:** ![Sine\_Nomine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sine_nomine/32/513_2.png) [@Sine\_Nomine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sine_Nomine)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/15 "2005-12-10T16:35:07Z")
I’m a master’s student in psych, so this question is particularly relevant for me. In psychology (I can’t really speak for other fields), CV and résumé are not interchangeable. Your résumé contain all of your recent work experience and usually no academic papers. Résumés are “pretty” with lots of white space and section headers perhaps in a larger font. Your CV contains only work experience relevant to academia (for instance, I worked in sales support for a couple years – this goes on my resume, but definitely not my CV) plus all of your scholarly work. A CV should be entirely in a 12 pt font and it’s best not to make it pretty, just orderly. There’s other differences, too but I expect it all depends on your field. YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/16 "2005-12-10T16:35:41Z")
> [@GorillaMan](#): > > In Britain, a resume is universally known as a C.V. That’s pretty much true in Australia, too, although some businesses and corporations seem to have shifted to using resume. In American academia, my experience is that in general conversation people tend to use to two terms interchangeably, but official job advertisements, at least in my field (history) usually ask the applicant to send a C.V. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/17 "2005-12-10T17:41:05Z")
> [@Muad'Dib](#): > > Ahh, so I _will_ have to edit my resume some? You \*always \* should edit your resume to highlight the skills the employer is looking for. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/18 "2005-12-10T18:20:51Z")
People use the terms interchangeably too much. A CV is _not_ a resume. It is a far more detailed academic and professional record. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/19 "2005-12-10T18:32:45Z")
Outside of academia, there’s a definite difference (at least in the U.S.). When I’ve applied for jobs, they usually want résumés. When I submit book proposals or consulting contracts, they usually want a CV (ditto when I’ve served as an expert witness). A résumé focuses on _where you’ve worked_ (e.g., “3 yrs at IBM as a senior widget twister, 4 yrs at HP as a widget inspection supervisor…”) and your education. It will also typically have a “skills” section (e.g., “I type 12 wpm and am fluent in Excel and Photoshop”) and a “community” section (e.g., “Grand Poobah of Wombat Lodge #444 1997-1999”). A CV focuses on _what you’ve done_ as opposed to what company you’ve done it for. My résumé says how many articles, books, and papers I’ve written; my CV lists them, grouped by subject matter and publication. My résumé lists what programming languages I know; my CV lists what types of programs I’ve written. My résumé says when I received my teaching credential and in what subject; my CV lists the courses I’ve taught. My résumé lists community organizations I’ve been involved in and what roles I performed in each; my CV doesn’t mention them at all. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017/20 "2005-12-10T18:34:53Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I have never heard of it referred to as a résumé in academia, always as a c.v., at least at a professional level (i.e. when applying for a teaching or research job). Yep, me too. I can remember the first time I encounted the term-- one of my first days in college. A prof (humanities, btw) included his c.v. as part of the handout he gave to us about the course. It made an impression on me-- not the c.v. itself, but this new thing I had encountered in college. Uh-oh, I remember thinking. We’re not in Kansas (high school) anymore! 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-a-c-v/335017.md?page=2)