What are Resumes, CVs, and Cover Letters?

resume is a summary of your education, work history, and other accomplishments and skills. Resumes are the most common document requested of applicants in job applications.

A CV or curriculum vitae is a summary of your education, work history, and other accomplishment and skills and typically used when applying for international, academic, education, scientific, medical, or research positions or when applying for fellowships or grants.  CVs include more information than resumes with an emphasis on one’s academic background (e.g., teaching experience, degrees, research, awards, publications, presentations).

A cover letter is a letter of introduction attached to, or accompanying another document such as a resume or CV (Source:  Wikipedia).

Learn more about developing these materials in the sections below.

A resume is a document highlighting an individual’s strengths related to a field/job and is an essential component of virtually any job search.  Employers generally spend less than a minute scanning a resume to decide whether to give it a more thorough read so it is important to create an organized and easy to read document.

Many employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), computer systems that manage the many resumes/cover letters they receive. An ATS will read a resume and then rank and score an individual’s qualifications versus a job description. Only applicants with high scores will be invited to participate in an interview.

A Curriculum Vitae, also known as a CV, is a detailed summary of an individual’s education and academic background. CVs are most commonly used for individuals seeking academic, scientific, and/or research positions.  A CV is lengthier than a resume and showcases thorough documentation of an individual’s professional history including publications and teaching and research experience.

Annual guide outlining/summarizing tips on career development activities, sample materials, upcoming career events, and general advice for students seeking employment and/or internships.

How to Create a Resume Heading link

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