Today I read an interesting post on Linkedin on the difference between CV and Resume. Here is the post:
Let’s get basics cleared first
Curriculum Vitae = CV
CV is a detailed document. Could run into 4 pages to even 10 depending on how complex is the nature of your work.
Resume’ is a short version of CV. Strictly 2 pages. People in India write reams and call it Resume’. Please use the header CV for this type of self profiling
BIO = Biography
Bio is not for everyone. You have to grow to be a leader or SME of significance to bother with this one. Must have for Speakers, Advisors and CXO’s
So….what each of us needs is first 2. CV & Resume. Do you have it ready ?
If you had to write your resume’ on a post It…making it the briefest description of your profile, you got 1 long sentence or 2 short ones.
Here is my response to this post.
t is very good to understand the difference between CV and Resume. This is an excellent informative piece!
However, I’ll spend (or waste?) my time on this only after the recruiters in India “demonstrate” that:
1. They understand and value the different formats/contents
2. They actually make use of it in their recruitment process
3. Most importantly, they also give importance to writing a proper JD (not a 5 page copy-paste of skills/experiences which only a superhuman can fit into).
Let’s accept that the job market in India is still a fish market – even at mid and senior level positions (maybe, except for CXO level hiring).
So my rule of thumb is simple. Only those who appeal to “Executive Search” or “headhunters” should worry so much about CV vs Resume. Because till that stage the recruiters themselves don’t understand the value of the two.
I have seen many posts which talk about CV vs Resume and then sell services like Resume writing, because there is a huge market. But nobody talks about “Job Description writing services”; when the reality is that JD writing service is very much needed, probably more than Resume writing.
Writing a well-structured JD also shows that the role is well-defined and the organisation understands what they expect out of the person. Saying “Candidate should have 5+ years of relevant experience” in an emerging technology area which is barely 5+ years old doesn’t make sense. Same about “the candidate should have demonstrated leadership skills” for a job role which requires 3-4 years of work experience.
Most people in India (except for PGP grads at IIMs who start early in a job role and grow over the years) manoeuvre to the desired job/role through a series of job and organisation changes. So their entire experience will NEVER be in the area which they are applying for. If the organisations and JDs don’t understand this basic fact about Indian job market then CV/Resume etc finer aspects are meaningless.
ekoshapu 
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