CV vs Resume: What's the Difference?

"Send us your CV." "Attach your resume." Same thing… or not? It's genuinely confusing, because the answer depends on where in the world you are. Let's clear it up.

The core difference

• A resume is short (1–2 pages), targeted, and tailored to a specific job. It's a highlight reel.
• A CV (curriculum vitae) is long and comprehensive — a full record of your career, education, publications, and achievements. It grows over time.

But it depends on the country

Here's the catch:

• Australia, UK, NZ, much of Europe: "CV" and "resume" are used interchangeably for most jobs. When an Australian employer asks for your "CV", they mean a normal 1–2 page resume.
• US and Canada: they're different documents. "Resume" = the short job application doc. "CV" = the long academic/research document, used mainly for academia, science, and medicine.

So if you're applying in Australia, don't panic when you see "CV" — a good resume is exactly what they want. (See the [Australian resume format guide](/blog/australian-resume-format).)

When you genuinely need a long CV

• Academic or research positions
• Medical and scientific roles
• Grant applications and fellowships
• Some international roles

These expect full publication lists, teaching history, and detailed credentials — length is expected.

For (almost) every other job

You want the short, sharp, tailored document — whatever the ad calls it. One to two pages, achievement-focused, ATS-friendly.

Not sure which you need?

For standard job applications, [build a clean, targeted resume](/build) or [improve the one you have](/improve). It's the document 95% of employers actually want — and you can [score it free](/score) before you send it.