American and European Curriculum Vitae Writing Tips

A resume isn’t the only application document out there. Some employers might specifically ask you to apply with a CV, which means ‘curriculum vitae’. However, the biggest confusion with CVs is that you have to consider geography of your target employer, as the American curriculum vitae differs a lot from the British or French one. Therefore, a submission of the wrong type of document might disqualify your candidacy. Today, our experts will explain the similarities and differences between curriculum vitae in the US and Europe and educate you on creating each one.

How to write a CV: tips from the best curriculum vitae writer

Briefly speaking, a CV is an extended version of your typical resume. It contains more sections than a resume does, gives more information about education, work experience and other activities you were involved in.

Creating an American custom CV

As you probably know, the America’s commonplace application document is resume. Resumes are used to apply to most for-profit, non-profit and federal jobs.There are the exceptions from this rule, though. In the US, you will be requested to apply for academic, research and scientific positions with curriculum vitae. CV is quite different from your one-page and brief resume – here’s how to create it correctly:

1. The length – American CVs are not limited in length at all. So, if you happen to need eight full pages to list all the needed experience, give it a go. In fact, the more detailed your CV is, the higher are your chances to obtain a position. Each research project, publication, presentation or book authored add you more points.
2. The content – in addition to standard education, experience and volunteering section a traditional resume has, you can add as many sections as necessary to adequately reflect your academic credentials. For example, the best CVs typically contain such sections as Licenses/Certifications, Teaching, Conferences, Publications, Fellowships, Books, Professional affiliations, Honors, and more.
3. The order of sections – unlike your resume, everything connected with education goes first in the CV. For instance, you can put the education, postdoctoral training or most recent research project at the first page of the CV, and the work experience will go to the second page.
4. Personal information – in the US, you should absolutely NOT include your private information of any kind, such as you age, gender, marital status, and more. Discrimination of applicants based on the above criteria is prohibited by law.
5. The approach to writing – since the resume is meant to promote you for the job and the CV is done to give an in-depth perspective at your career and establish your scientific identity, you will use different approach as you write. First, don’t be afraid to include many details as you write – it’s considered a plus for the CV. Give the detailed descriptions of the projects, most notable articles or books, and professional responsibilities.
6. The writing style – American CV can and should be more formal, rich in abbreviations, jargon and scientific language. The matter is, contrarily with the situation when you apply with a resume, your application will be reviewed not by a recruiter, but by someone with similar background and credentials, so you need to speak their languages to establish professional credibility. Due to the same reason, you can neglect some of the resume writing rules aimed at readability, such as using bullet points, adding white space and more.

Sounds like no rocket science, isn’t it? Well…not exactly. The trickiest part about CV writing rules is that they can – and sometimes should – be broken. Content in your CV, the order of sections and the formatting should be developed in the way that highlights your skills and accomplishments most effectively. And this is why professional resume consultants work so well for your career. The best resume service sticks to customized approach, creating the design and content that makes you look perfect on paper. 

The European CV: tips for success

The situation with European CVs is a lot different. Here CV is used with the same purpose as Americans use resumes: to apply for all kinds of jobs. Don’t hesitate: German or Italian employer will expect you to apply with a CV which looks like an advanced version of the US resume. So, let’s explore into the major rules of composing a European application:

1. The length – as a rule, curriculum vitae of an experienced professional takes 2-3 full pages. More is not welcomed – don’t mistake it for an American CV. Less is okay, but do avoid to cut out the important information just to make the CV shorter – it’s uncommon in Europe.
2. The content – CV uses the same sections that your standard resume contains. Speaking of the differences, it’s more common here to speak of hobbies at the end of the document and include an objective instead of career summary (but this is optional).
3. The sections order – the biggest difference in the order of sections is that Europeans put the education above experience – even if they graduated 10 years ago! The situation is quite opposite with skills sections – while the Americans conventionally put it under the career summary, here this section is sent to the end of the document.
4. The approach to writing – comparing to the resume in the US, CVs are more detailed. For example, here it is expected that you mention the high school information (sounds like a nonsense for the US job-seekers) and include all jobs you had since graduation. The second major difference is that CV is less accomplishment-driven. Achievements are welcomed, but not crucial for the success of your CV.
5. The private information – not only it is acceptable to include personal information such as gender, marital status and nationality in a CV – this document actually starts with these details. This is a common practice here. You may also include a professional picture – the one you’re using in a LinkedIn profile or similar.
6. The style of writing is quite similar to your typical resume. it will be accessed by a recruiter or hiring manager, so take care of using plain language and neat formatting to make the document attractive and pleasant to browse through. However, the latter is not mandatory – from my own experience, European CVs mostly have simpler formatting than resumes in the US.

If you want to compose a CV, rely on the above rules to avoid the rudest mistakes and show your understanding of the local job-hunting culture. Speaking about culture, if you have an ambition of finding a job in the Albion, you might be interested learning the local business culture to fit in better and succeed faster.

Confused by the rules? Professional curriculum vitae writers can help

Want to make sure that your CV looks its best and complies with all rules and practices of writing? Don’t want to slow down your career because of a poorly written document? The copywriters of James' blog are here to relieve your writing stress. 

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