Guide to Writing Resumes, Cvs and Cover Letters

Guide to Writing Resumes, CVs and Cover Letters

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RESUME vs. CV: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE? A resume is an advertisement of who you are in terms of your competencies, accomplishments, and future capabilities. The purpose of a resume is to motivate an employer to interview you. It should work in unison with a cover letter to emphasize your strengths and document your skills. Resumes are appropriate to submit for most positions in fields like business and public service. A resume must have a clean, concise, organized, and professional appearance. It should be easy to scan and key information should stand out. A resume should be one page in most cases. A general rule to follow is no more than one page for every ten years of experience. In the U.S., a curriculum vitae (or CV, vita, vitae) is a summary of the relevant information from your educational and work experience and is usually required for positions within an academic setting (i.e., research, teaching assistant, lab manager). The CV has a similar format to a resume but includes additional categories which reflect academic experiences related to the position. CVs tend to be longer than resumes since they can include categories such as publications, lectures, and more. You should organize the format of your CV by placing the most relevant categories first. In other countries, a CV is very similar to a traditional resume and companies from various fields request them. International CVs tend to list information that U.S. employers are legally not allowed to ask candidates, such as marital status, date of birth, ethnic background, and more. International CVs also tend to be a few pages rather than the standard one page U.S. resume.

CREATING A RESUME: WHERE TO BEGIN Start by brainstorming. List all of your work-related experiences. Consider summer work and volunteer work....