HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In English, a curriculum vitae (,Definition of "curriculum vitae" by Oxford Dictionary
on Lexico.com
Latin for "course of life", often shortened to CV) is a short written summary of a person's career, qualifications, and education. This is the most common usage in both
North American North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the ...
and
British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Oxford Dictionaries, "English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadl ...
. In North America (but not elsewhere), the term résumé (also spelled resume) is a common synonym for ''CV'' in the sense of a short career summary.Definition of "résumé" by Merriam-Webster
/ref>Definition of "résumé" by Oxford Dictionary
on Lexico.com
The term ''curriculum vitae'' and its abbreviation, CV, are also used especially in academia to refer to extensive or even complete summaries of a person's career, qualifications, and education, including publications and other information. This has caused the widespread misconception that it is incorrect to refer to short CVs as CVs in American English and that short CVs should be called résumés, but this is not supported by the usage recorded in American dictionaries. For example, the
University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The inst ...
notes that " the United States and Canada, CV and resume are sometimes used interchangeably" while describing the common distinction made in North-American academia between the use of these terms to refer to documents with different contents and lengths. In many countries, a short CV is typically the first information that a potential employer receives from a job-seeker, and CVs are typically used to screen applicants, often followed by an
interview An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" ...
. CVs may also be requested for applicants to postsecondary programs, scholarships, grants, and bursaries. In the 2010s it became popular for applicants to provide an electronic version of their CV to employers by
email Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail") between people using electronic devices. Email was thus conceived as the electronic ( digital) version of, or counterpart to, mail, at a time when "mail" mean ...
, through an
employment website An employment website is a website that deals specifically with employment or careers. Many employment websites are designed to allow employers to post job requirements for a position to be filled and are commonly known as job boards. Other em ...
, or published on a job-oriented social-networking service such as
LinkedIn LinkedIn () is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is primarily used for professional networking and career development, and allows job se ...
.


Contents


General usage

In general usage in all English-speaking countries, a CV is short (usually a maximum of two sides of A4 paper), and therefore contains only a summary of the job seeker's employment history, qualifications, education, and some personal information. Such a short CV is often ''also'' called a résumé only in North America, where it is however also often called a CV outside academia. Some parts of Asia require applicants' photos, date of birth, and most recent salary information. CVs are often tailored to change the emphasis of the information according to the particular position for which the job seeker is applying. A CV can also be extended to include an extra page for the jobseeker's publications if these are important for the job.


In academia

In academic and medical careers, a CV is usually a comprehensive document that provides extensive information on education, publications, and other achievements. Such a CV is generally used when applying for a position in academia, while shorter CVs (also called résumés in North America) are generally used when applying for a position in industry, non-profit organizations, and the public sector.


Etymology, spelling, and plural

''Curriculum vitae'' can be loosely translated as '' hecourse of ne'slife''. It is a
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because ...
from New Latin, which is why it was traditionally spelled ''curriculum vitæ'' using the ligature æ also in English, list of English words that may be spelled with a ligature but this is now rare. In English, the plural of ''curriculum'' alone is often ''curriculums'' instead of the traditional Latin plural ''curricula'', which is why both forms are recorded in English dictionaries. The English plural of ''curriculum vitae'' is however almost always ''curricula vitae'' as in Latin, and this is the only form recorded in the Merriam-Webster, American Heritage, and Oxford English dictionaries, for example. (The very rare claim that the Latin plural should be ''curricula vitarum'' is in fact an incorrect hypercorrection based on superficial knowledge of Latin.)


See also

* Applicant tracking system * Background check * Cover letter *
Europass Europass is a European Union ( Directorate General for Education and Culture) initiative to increase transparency of qualification and mobility of citizens in Europe. It aims to make a person's skills and qualifications clearly understood throughou ...
– European Standardised model *
Human resources Human resources (HR) is the set of people who make up the workforce of an organization, business sector, industry, or economy. A narrower concept is human capital, the knowledge and skills which the individuals command. Similar terms includ ...
* Résumé fraud *
Video résumé Video résumé or video resume is a recording promoting a job seeker. History Video resumes, sometimes called Visumé or Video CV, were first introduced in the 1980s for use and distribution via VHS tape, but the idea never took off beyond the v ...


References


External links


CV guide
– Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Global Education & Career Development, United States
Cover Letter guide
– Massachusetts Institute of Technology – Global Education & Career Development, United States {{DEFAULTSORT:Curriculum Vitae Recruitment Business documents Latin words and phrases