CVs, Résumés and Cover Letters: What to Include

Resumes and Curriculum Vitaes (CVs) have become synonymous with job applications, and students from very young ages are groomed to understand that they need to complete an extended list of activities and requirements that heighten the impressiveness of these two types of documents. However, few understand the nuances that differentiate these two types of documents, and many applicants often submit the wrong documents without knowing better. Usage varies by country. In the UK, “CV” is the usual term for a job-application document; in North America, “resume” commonly describes that document, while an academic CV is more comprehensive.

As such, this article outlines for you the major differences between CVs and resumes.

A Brief History of the Curriculum Vitae

Although resumes are often more popular than CVs nowadays, the CV actually has a longer history. Latin for “course of life,” Curriculum Vitaes are summations of an applicant’s qualifications from their educational to career history. The first CV is said to have been written by Leonardo da Vinci who was applying for a job offered by the Duke of Milan. On a piece of parchment, da Vinci wrote out a list of his skills relevant to being a military engineer.

It was not until the 1950s that CVs began a popular element of a job application or interview. In 1984, the first writing guide for CVs was published, and since then, CVs have continued to be a common part of applications.

The Introduction of the Resume and Continued Development of the CV

Several years after da Vinci’s invention, in the 1500s, a resume is developed by traveling workers, such as guilds people, craftsmen, and knights, looking to present a history of their experiences to other hiring guildsmen or lords. These are probably the first “resumes” written by less well-spoken workers who require the help of more literate peers to present themselves. During this time, personal portfolios or profiles also became popular, as throughout the Middle Ages, artists, inventors, and other artisans gathered compact lists of documents that proved their abilities.

In the 1950s, following the World War when the job market became narrower, and the pool of workers became wider, CVs became formalized and became expected during job applications. In 1937, Napoleon Hill published Think and Grow Rich: Number 6 in the “steps to “success,” which included advice on how to write a killer resume. These 20th century resumes and CVs included personal information, such as religion, marital status, height, and weight. In the 1960s, resumes and CVs further evolved to include other skills and interests that contributed to the building of a more well-rounded picture of a candidate’s abilities and personalities.

The Equal Pay Act of 1970 and the Sex Discrimination Act of 1975 later combatted against the practice of including personal identifying information, and elements that could be grounds for unfair discrimination were eventually eliminated.

With the advent of computers in the 1970s, word processing equipment started manufacturing widespread and conventional resume and CV templates that created a more generic idea of what resumes and CVs entitle. This revolutionized the standard for resume and CV content, and in 1984, the first publication geared specifically toward writing CVs was published.

With the invention of computers and subsequently the Internet, Google and LinkedIn further streamlined job application processes and presented new ways to present CVs and resumes. Now, job applicants must focus not only on their job-acquisition abilities on paper but also their online presence. Thus, CVs and resumes may be more important than ever.

Major Differences between a CV and a Resume

One of the most blatant signifiers of the difference between a CV and a resume is the length of the document. A resume is usually concise, while an academic CV can be longer; follow the employer’s or institution’s instructions on length. CVs are extremely detailed; they include all aspects of an applicant’s academic and professional life, and these days, they are more often requested by jobs and institutions that require a significant educational background. For example, CVs are requested by principal investigators of a lab, professors looking for lab assistants, universities looking for professors, government institutions looking for qualified candidates for specific research positions, or publishers looking for qualified editors and proofreaders for specific topics covered by different scientific journals.

Resumes are favored by companies looking only for certain skillsets to fulfill specific roles. For example, these roles could include marketers, social media coordinators, software engineers, mechanics, or business analysts.

Furthermore, CVs are more freely formatted. In most CVs are sections and information of the writer’s choice. They provide a very comprehensive overview of the applicant. Resumes generally have several required sections, including work experience and a list of skills. Resumes are generally meant to demonstrate why the applicant is a good candidate for a specific position rather than to provide a good understanding of the applicant as a person.

What to Include in a CV

Remember: one of the key signifiers between a CV and a resume is its function. Specifically, a CV is meant to provide an understanding of the applicant as a person, and a resume is meant to provide an understanding of the applicant as a job candidate. Hence, their contents are going to differ greatly.

Therefore, in your CV, consider including any of the following:

Research interests.

Provide a brief overview of all your research interests and demonstrate how you have pursued these interests. You could do this by way of a section that reads “Research Interests” in which you outline all your specific areas of expertise or intrigue. Many applicants go on to demonstrate how they have also pursued these research interests. For example, many applicants include a subsequent section or specific subsection that highlights all the articles and publications they have produced or help produce.

Education.

This is an extremely important part of your CV, and you should spare no detail when it comes to this, as most CVs are geared toward professional positions that require ample education. In this section, list all the degrees and certifications you have acquired, and you can also include information on courses you have taken outside of your institution or with specific summer internship programs.

Work experience.

For many applicants, teaching and work experiences are the same, but for others, this could mean two different sections. Teaching experiences aren’t particularly looked for by companies looking to fill positions, but it is highly valued by research positions, so including relevant teaching assistant, assistant professor, or guest lecturing experiences is highly valuable.

Regarding work experiences, this could include any type of professional paid experience whether it is relevant to the job in question or not. What is more important is providing a full picture of the scope of your experience.

Lab experience.

I highlight this section specifically because lab experiences are extraneous to your teaching or work experiences. Highlighting experience working in professional scientific research settings is extremely valuable, especially in academic settings, because this offers extensive proof that you are comfortable in within the realms of heavy academic.

Conferences, proceedings, and posters.

Demonstrating interactions with the wider scientific community and experience interacting with academic on an international stage/in wider settings provides more credibility to your abilities as an academic. Furthermore, this demonstrates communication skills and writing skills, both of which are becoming increasingly important within the academic circles.

Skills.

In this section, applicants include an extensive list of all their skills. These skills could encompass both soft skills, such as time management, organizational, or productivity skills, or hard skills, such as programming or statistical knowledge. Many applicants include information on their knowledge of SPSS, Python, Microsoft Suite applications, Adobe applications, or even machine learning knowledge if that is relevant. Statistical analysis is another field that is becoming increasingly relevant and worthy of mention in a CV.

Certifications and Awards.

Outside of professional certifications acquired through schooling, any sort of other certifications, such as IT skill certifications or Internet security certifications acquired through third-party certifiers rather than institutions is also worth mentioning. Additionally, awards could be another section unto its own. Awards are another great way to add credibility to your academic and professional career. This information is often omitted from job application resumes, but it should definitely be included in a CV.

Languages.

This is another section that can be mixed into the skills section, and this information is also often found in resumes. However, in a CV, you can go into much greater detail about the extent to which you understand a language. For example, Japanese speakers might provide TOEFL or TOEIC scores proving their English abilities. Mostly, applicants simply state whether they are native speakers or fluent.

Grants, Fellowships, and Scholarships.

Similar to awards, proof of funding is another way to demonstrate your scholarly abilities. The ability to acquire funding is extremely important in academic circles, as this means other institutions have vetted your research abilities/the merits of your ideas and research interests. Furthermore, this means that more money would be going into the institution to which you are applying, making your case even stronger.

References.

Lastly, this is perhaps one of the most important sections in a CV. Apart from all the information you can provide, the information that can be provided by other vetted professionals is of great significance. Choose your references carefully, as what they say about you can go a long way into getting you that dream position.

What to Include in a Resume

Resumes are more concise and direct versions of CVs. Although usage varies between countries, understanding the nuances of a resume will still go a long way into helping you write a good one.

Resumes do not offer applicants much room to present a full snapshot detailing their personalities and experiences. Instead, resumes should be short (generally kept to a page, maximum) and succinct. Better yet, the shorter, the better. Your most impressive details should be included, and anything extraneous to the role in question should be excised. An excellent resume highlights only those skills and experiences that recruiters and hiring managers would find valuable. Keep in mind that most jobs seeking resumes with applications also seek a cover letter (see our cover letter guide).

Therefore, whatever information you might include in a cover letter, you should consider providing an extremely watered down version of in your resume.

Below is a list of things generally required in a resume:

Work experience.

This is perhaps the most important part of a resume. Proving you have the skills relevant to a job starts with your past experiences. The most costly part of a new hire is the training process; thus, with your work experience section, you should essentially prove that you would be an effective and cost-beneficial hire that would greatly contribute to the company’s objectives at a lower cost than other applicants. For example, you can include numbers as to how you helped your previous company earn way beyond their projected profits or how you took initiatives that reduced costs greatly.

Concrete statistical information on your past work experiences is an extremely digestible quantifier that takes the objectivity out of your perceived job performance.

Education.

The next most important section of a resume is usually your job experience. However, what you include here is much less detailed than what you should include in a CV. You should provide information on your degrees acquired, some relevant courses, and GPA. Ensure to include the date of degree acquisition.

These are some recommended by typical sections in a resume:

Skills.

This is an extremely helpful section to include in your resume. Once again, this section includes both hard and soft skills, with hard skills being more valuable than soft skills at demonstrating your ability to do the job. Included in this section is also usually language skills.

Relevant certifications.

With this section, you could also include relevant awards that are, once again, a concrete and quantitative rather than qualitative signifier of your abilities. Furthermore, including specific certifications that could be relevant to the job is also of great importance.

What NOT to Include in a Resume or CV

Many CV and resume guides on the Internet also tell you that personal interests, hobbies, and passions are also important in a resume. However, this is generally only true for a student resume or CV. In the world of work and academic, professionals generally only look for the quantitative rather than the qualitative, and many reviewers often overlook the interests portion completely. Therefore, when writing your CV or resume, try your best to incorporate more concrete signifiers of your abilities and experiences rather than skills that are difficult to measure or require vetting from an outside party.

How to Write a Polished Resume/CV

If you are unsure about any particular element of your resume or CV, it is my recommendation that you seek the help of a professional, whether it be a career consultant or an editor or proofreader. Editors and proofreaders are trained in the language arts, so they can help you greatly enhance the quality of your writing and wording to ensure that your resume and CV not only sound professional but also courteous. The tone you establish with your first impression is extremely important, and often, a resume and CV either decide whether you get in the door or get it shut in your face.

Therefore, find the write editor or proofreader to help you with ensuring your chances of getting your dream job are as high as possible.