While most of us use the terms 'Curriculum Vitae' (CV) and 'Resume' interchangeably, there is a difference between these two documents.
All over the world (including India) except the US, employers ask potential employees for a CV while applying for a position. While both documents are used in the job application process -- there is a difference in what the contents of each should be.
To understand this, let us look at the literal meaning of these two terms:
Curriculum Vitae: The course of life; Resume: summary
A close look at the meaning of these terms makes things clearer. While a CV discusses the course of life of a person, his Resume is a brief summary of his skills and achievements. The meaning of the words offer the basic differences between the two:
* While a CV is detailed, a Resume is to the point
* A CV is longer than a Resume. Usually, a CV is two or more pages long while a Resume is essentially one page long.
