CV vs resume: what is the difference, and which do you need?

Job seekers in the Arab world meet both words — "CV" in one posting, "resume" in the next — and many wonder whether they need two documents. Usually they do not. The two words mean different things in different countries, and knowing which is which tells you how long your document should be and what goes in it.

Where the words come from

CV stands for curriculum vitae, a Latin phrase meaning "course of life", as Prospects explains. In British English, the Longman dictionary defines a CV as the short document listing your education and previous jobs that you send to employers when you are looking for a job. In the USA and Canada, Prospects adds, the same document is called a résumé, and it tends to be more concise.

In the US and Canada: a short resume, a long academic CV

In North America the job-search document is a resume, and it is short: Purdue University describes it as usually no longer than one page, and MIT calls it a focused summary of your most relevant experiences, typically one or two pages. The word CV is kept for something else. In the United States, MIT's career office explains, CVs are used to apply for teaching or research positions, fellowships and grants, and Purdue's writing lab notes that the CV is used almost exclusively for academic jobs there. An academic CV records the whole academic career — degrees, research, publications, teaching — and, as Berkeley's career centre puts it, it grows longer as you become more accomplished.

In the UK and Europe: the CV is the job-search document

In the UK the CV is what you send for most jobs, and it is kept short: in Prospects' advice, a university careers service recommends CVs of no longer than two A4 pages. Across Europe, the Europass CV is one of the best-known CV formats, and the EU platform lets you create, store and share CVs in 31 languages.

In the Arab world

Official job channels in the Gulf use the word CV. The UAE government's job-search guide tells job seekers they can send their CV to licensed recruitment agencies, and Saudi Arabia's national Jadarat platform has you add a CV by attaching a PDF file. Some universities in the region say "resume" instead — the American University of Sharjah's career services, for example, offer to review your resume — so expect both words for the same kind of document. As for length, targetjobs describes a two-page CV as fairly standard in the UAE.

Which one should you send?

• For most jobs in the Arab world, the UK and Europe: a CV of about two pages, focused on the job.
• For a job in the US or Canada: a resume of one page, or two if your experience needs it.
• For a teaching, research or grant application: a full academic CV.
• If the posting names the document or its length, send what it asks for.

Whatever it is called, write it for the job in front of you: the National Careers Service advises tailoring your CV to the job you are applying for, and Purdue's writing lab gives the same advice for résumés.

Doing it in Tabhar

• Tabhar builds the job-search document employers in the region ask for, in English or Arabic — whichever word the posting uses.
• Keep one full version, then duplicate it and tailor each copy to a job.
• Check the CV in the ATS panel before you apply online.
• Download a PDF for email, or a Word file when a portal asks for one.

Before you send it

• The length suits the country and the kind of job.
• The document is tailored to this job, not copied from the last application.
• The file name includes your name, for example Name-CV.pdf.

Hiring practices differ between employers and change over time. When a job posting gives instructions, follow them.