Often times, someone may have asked for your “Curriculum Vitae” or “CV” when you
were expecting them to ask for your “Resume”.
Or maybe someone asked you for your “Biodata”.
You may have an idea of what a resume is, but what exactly is a Curriculum Vitae or
a Biodata?
Why are they being used instead of the word “Resume”?
In what scenarios, should you use the words “Resume”, “Curriculum Vitae” or “CV”
and “Biodata”?
Let’s find out.
Let’s start with a “Resume”
“Resume” is a French word, which means “Summary”.
It is a document that summarizes the following details about you:
• Objective Statement • Education
• Skills • Work Experience
• Achievements • Relevant professional associations or
volunteer work
Some of these details may or may not be applicable to you, depending upon whether you are an
experienced professional or a fresher.
You bundle these details in a two-page document called the “Resume”.
Only if you have a lot of experience and see it tough to squeeze in all this information
in just a couple of pages, then you may add one more page to your resume and supply additional
information on it.
You may then present these details to a prospective employer for consideration.
This summary is then reviewed and based on the information provided, a decision is made
whether you are a good fit for the job role.
If you are, then your summary is “Shortlisted” and you may be invited for a formal interview.
It is a general practice to list professional experience on a resume in reverse-chronological
order, starting with the current or the most recent job.
If you are a recent graduate with little or no professional history, you would start with
your education and then list any relevant internships.
Let’s look at a “Curriculum Vitae”
“Curriculum Vitae” is a Latin word, which means “course of life”.
It is also popularly known as “CV”.
In other words, “CV” is just an abbreviation for “Curriculum Vitae”.
It is a detailed document that contains the following details about you:
• Education • Skills
• Work Experience • Achievements
• Awards • Special Honors
• Certifications • Scholarships
• Research projects • Publications
• Professional references • Hobbies & Interests
A CV is generally written in a chronological order and starts with your educational experience.
As more details are required in it, a typical CV is at least three pages in length and can
go up to ten pages.
Once you have arranged all these details in an order, you may then present them to a prospective
employer for consideration.
The CV is then reviewed and based on the information provided, a decision is made whether you are
a good fit for the job role.
If you are, then your CV is “Shortlisted” and you may be invited for a formal interview.
Let’s look at a “Biodata”
Biodata is an abbreviation for “Biographical Data”.
It is a detailed document that includes relevant factual information about you.
This can include lot of personal information along with professional information and so,
will include details such as:
• Date of birth • Gender
• Race • Religion
• Nationality • Photograph
• Marital status • Residence
• Height • Complexion
• Father’s name • Family Information
• Educational background • Work Experience
• Skills • Hobbies and Interests
A biodata typically begins with personal information and is typically one to three pages long.
In some countries, it is used to apply for employment and in some other countries such
as India, it is used as a marriage biodata to present to a prospective marriage partner.
As seen earlier, if your biodata matches the requirements of the prospective employer,
then you may be called for a formal interview.
Now that we have an introduction to what a Summary, CV and a Biodata really are, let
us look at the actual differences.
Here we have the differences between resume, CV and biodata in a table or format.
Let's take a look at the features one by one.
So, when it comes to professional details, a resume needs to provide a concise summary.
A CV needs a brief about the details but typically more details than a resume will be included.
In a bio-data the professional details are needed as a concise summary or as requested.
When the personal details are concerned in a resume, you need to include only very minimal
personal details and a resume focuses very less on them.
A CV needs very minimal personal details and it focuses very less on them.
A bio-data needs a lot of personal details and focuses heavily on them.
When talking about how long the document should be, a resume is ideally one to two pages long.
In contrast, a CV is usually three to ten pages long, whereas a bio-data is typically
one to three pages long.
When talking about customization, a resume can be customized so that you can highlight
your skills that intersect with the job requirement.
When talking about a CV it does not change with the job and only needs to be updated
to include the latest job info.
For a bio-data it remains the same for the most part and only needs to be updated to
include the latest job info.
A resume is suitable for applying for many types of corporate roles and used in many
countries across the globe.
A CV is widely used in applying for academic roles in some countries it can be specifically
asked for interchangeably with a resume.
A bio-data is suitable for applying for jobs in some cases and even for seeking matrimonial
alliance in some countries such as India.
When discussing about geography, a resume is widely used across many countries such
as USA, Canada, etc.
When talking about a CV, it is used in some countries or upon demand depending upon the
requirement to refine the candidate selection.
Examples of countries that use CV are United Kingdom, Europe, New Zealand, India etc.
And lastly, a bio-data is used in some South Asian countries such as India Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
etc.
Hope these sets of similarities and differences have enlightened you on the topics discussed
and gave you a much better idea and eliminated any confusion you may have had.
If a prospective employer asks you for a CV or a biodata and if you want to ensure that
you send them the documentation they are asking for, try calling them or send them an email
asking to confirm if they are referring to a standard two page resume or a full-blown
CV or a biodata and then proceed according to the response you receive and that would
help eliminate any confusion you may have.
That’s all for now, see you in the next video.