CV vs resume: what is the difference, country by country

In most of the world, a CV and a resume are the same thing: a short document summarising your experience, education and skills for a job application. The difference is mostly vocabulary. Americans and Canadians say resume; the UK, Ireland, the UAE and most of Europe say CV; India uses both.

There is one real exception. In the US and Canada, CV usually means something specific: a long academic document used for research, teaching and some medical roles. Here is what each word means where, and what to send.

The short answer

• US and Canada: a resume is the standard job application document. A CV is an academic or research document.
• UK, Ireland, South Africa and the Gulf: a CV is the standard job application document. The word resume is understood but used less.
• India: CV, resume and sometimes biodata are all used, often interchangeably, for the same application document.
• Australia and Singapore: both words are used for the same document, with resume the more common in Australia.
• Continental Europe: CV is the usual term, alongside local names such as Lebenslauf in Germany.

The resume in the US and Canada

A US resume is a focused, selective document. It is usually one page for students and early-career candidates and up to two pages for experienced professionals. It typically opens with a summary, then experience with achievement bullets, then education and skills.

Personal details are kept to a minimum: name, phone, email, city and state, and a LinkedIn link. Photos, date of birth, marital status and nationality are left off, because employers do not want information that could expose them to discrimination claims. Canadian practice is very similar.

Canada has one twist. In French, CV is the everyday word for a job application document, so in Quebec and with French-speaking employers you will see CV used where English-speaking Canadians say resume. The content and length are the same.

The CV in the UK, Ireland, the UAE and Europe

In the UK and Ireland, a CV does the same job as a US resume. Two A4 pages is the usual length for experienced candidates, one for graduates. Photos and date of birth are not expected: UK employers avoid anything that could suggest discrimination under the Equality Act 2010, and Irish practice is the same.

In the UAE and the wider Gulf, the CV is also the standard, but it carries more personal information. Nationality, visa status, notice period and often a photo are common, and two pages is normal for experienced professionals.

In continental Europe, conventions vary by country. A photo is optional but still common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and much of southern Europe. Some applicants use the Europass CV format, which some public bodies and EU programmes ask for, though most private employers are happy with a regular, well-laid-out CV.

India: CV, resume and biodata

In India the three words overlap. Resume is common in private-sector and technology hiring, CV is often used for senior, academic and government roles, and biodata traditionally means a document heavy on personal details such as date of birth, family background and address. For most private-sector jobs today, send a concise CV of one to two pages focused on experience and skills.

Freshers usually keep to one page, with education, projects and internships first. Personal details such as date of birth are optional: many candidates still include them, and many employers do not need them.

Australia, South Africa, Singapore and the Gulf

• Australia: resume is the more common word, and many employers say CV for the same document. Two to three pages is common for experienced candidates, with no photo or date of birth.
• South Africa: CV is the standard word. Experienced candidates often use two to three pages, and many list two or three references at the end.
• Singapore: both words are used for the same document, usually one or two pages on A4. Leave off your NRIC number.
• The Philippines: resume is the usual word for job applications. Some employers still ask for a biodata, a form-style document with more personal details.
• The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait: CV is the usual word, though recruiters say resume too and nobody minds which you use. What matters more is the personal details block with nationality and visa or residence status.

The academic CV

The academic CV is the one document that genuinely differs from a resume. It is used for faculty positions, research posts, fellowships, grants and some medical and scientific roles, in the US and elsewhere. It has no page limit and grows through your career. Typical sections are:

• Education, including dissertation title and supervisor
• Academic appointments
• Publications, in full citation format
• Grants, awards and fellowships
• Conference presentations and invited talks
• Teaching experience
• Service, such as committees and peer review
• Referees, usually named with contact details

If you are moving from academia into industry, turn it into a standard CV or resume: two pages, a few selected results instead of a full publication list, and skills written for a reader outside your field.

CV vs resume side by side

• Length: a US resume runs one to two pages; a UK or UAE CV up to two pages; Australian and South African CVs often two to three; an academic CV as long as needed.
• Photo: left off in the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland and Australia; common in the Gulf; optional in parts of Europe and in India.
• Personal details: minimal in the US, Canada and the UK; nationality and visa status expected in the UAE.
• Paper size: US Letter in the US and Canada; A4 almost everywhere else.
• Focus: achievements and fit for the role, except the academic CV, which records everything.

Which one should you send?

Follow the conventions of the country where the job is, not where you live. Use the ad's word in your file name and email, but judge the content by location and type of role. If a US company asks for a “CV” for a sales or engineering job, it almost always means a resume.

Moving between countries usually means changing a handful of things: switch the paper size, add or remove the photo and personal details, and adjust spelling, such as “optimise” for the UK and “optimize” for the US.

Turning a US resume into a UK or UAE CV

• Change the paper size from US Letter to A4 and check that nothing spills onto an extra page.
• Use British spelling for the UK. UAE employers accept either, as long as you are consistent.
• For the UAE, add nationality, visa status and notice period, and a photo if you want one.
• For the UK, keep personal details to contact information only.
• Rename the file to match local usage, for example “Priya-Nair-CV.pdf”.
• Allow a little more room: experienced candidates can comfortably use two pages.

Going the other way, to the US, is the reverse: US Letter, no photo or personal details, American spelling and a tighter edit, often down to one page if your experience is short.