THE RÉSUMÉ AND CV IN YOUR JOB SEARCH

By Joe Tringali, Tringali & Associates

The Résumé and the Curriculum Vitae (CV) are two distinct documents, each with their own unique characteristics and each meant to capture the attention of a specific audience. The terms are often used interchangeably, but upon closer examination, one can see nuances that make each a better choice for different employment application types and different readers. What follows are a few thoughts on the résumé, the CV and which might be the better document to use for each type of position applied to.

Both the CV and résumé include the candidate'ss name, contact information, education, work experience and relevant work-related skills. In general, the résumé is shorter in length than the CV, usually running about 1- 2 pages and geared to the first reviewer who typically is not trained as a scientist. There are always exceptions to this rule, of course. résumé is used primarily when applying to industrial positions and its purpose is to capture the non-scientist's attention so that he/she moves your application forward in the hiring process. Typically, whenever you apply to a posting through any sort of job board or employer website, the application is forwarded to the Human Resources staff or corporate recruiter who is screening each application for keys words as they pertain to the job for which you have applied. The key words may be training-related (i.e. Ph.D.) or skills-related (i.e., Java, C/C++). They may also give an indication of how much related research experience you may be bringing to the table, including your graduate research work or post graduate experience. This said, as a candidate your goal is to make sure the first reader is able to find those key words/phrases easily and quickly on the first page your résumé so that he/she will move your application to the next level of review by the hiring scientific department within the organization.

One way to accomplish this is to include a skills section, listing any and all appropriate technical tools at your disposal that have either been asked for in the job posting, or that you feel may be relevant to the role, given the nature of the role. This list can be modified with each application so that it reflects your skills that the reader is hoping to see (but never at the expense of falsifying your qualifications, of course).

Alternatively, the CV is typically a lengthier document (usually 2-4 pages) and includes a summary of academic background as well as teaching and research experience, publications, presentations, awards, honors, affiliations and any other related details. This document is used primarily when applying for academic, teaching, and scientific/research positions in an institute, or when applying for fellowships and/or grants. In these settings, the first reviewer of your application is most often a trained scientist, serving as a faculty member, Department Chair, Principal Investigator, or search committee member. This screener will be reviewing your CV well beyond the key word search method, eliminating the need to include such a section on page one, although you may want to include it later in the document. The screening scientist is more interested in the graduate program you are completing, the nature/quality of your publications, and your research interests and how they may dovetail with the activities in his/her lab.

Simply put, if you as a candidate suspect that the first reviewer will be a Scientist, your application may be best served by submitting a full CV rather than a résumé. If, however, you are applying to industrial positions and are asked to send your résumé to a generic email address such as careers@abcbiosciences, you may assume that the first reader is not a scientist and that a résumé is probably the better document to use.

The motivated candidate will have a version of both the CV and the résumé at their disposal and will feel good about the content and format of each document. Remember that neither the CV nor the résumé alone will get you the job offer...their only purpose is to draw interest to you as a candidate for subsequent discussions.

Good luck in your current or upcoming job search!