Ask Amanda: How Do I Convert a Resume to a CV Format?
Get a Free Expert Review2 min read. Updated on December 15, 2017
Each week, TopResume's career advice expert, Amanda Augustine, answers user questions on Quora like the one below. We'll be republishing those answers here. A certified professional career coach (CPCC) and resume writer (CPRW), Amanda has been helping professionals improve their careers for over 10 years. Have a question for Amanda? Submit it here.
Q: What are the differences between a resume vs. a CV? How can I convert my resume to a CV?
I'm interested in applying for positions overseas that require a curriculum vitae (CV) for the job application. How should you go about converting a resume to a CV?
While resumes and CVs serve the same purpose — to showcase your skills, experience, and key selling points for a particular role to employers during the job-search process — the amount of information you provide and the format of that information vary quite a bit.
Think of a CV as a condensed book that details your achievements, work history, skills, awards, education, etc., whereas a resume is the Cliff Notes version of the same book — it gives a similar timeline, but only covers the highlights.
CVs provide a more comprehensive account of your education, professional experience, and skills. When converting your professional resume to a CV format, be prepared to elaborate further on your work history and educational background.
In many ways, an international CV is more similar to a federal resume format or an academic CV in the U.S. than a traditional U.S. resume.
The following is a list of the most common components found in a CV format that are not necessarily included in a resume format.
Presentations
Published works
Detailed explanation of training
Internships listed in a separate section
Information regarding the company
License details
As you can see from the list above, CVs have an added focus on coursework and research, whereas resumes focus on summarizing your history.
The other major difference between a resume versus a CV is the length of the document. While the standard resume length for an experienced professional is two pages (and only one page for an entry-level professional), CVs are often several pages long.
If you'd like help converting your resume into a professional CV, take a look at our sister site, TopCV. They offer a number of CV-writing packages to help professionals like you turn your current resume into a stellar CV that will stand out from the competition.
Read Amanda Augustine's answer to "How to convert a resume to a CV format?" on Quora.
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