Curriculum vitae (CV) vs resume: which one to send
Send a resume unless you apply for faculty or research-intensive work, a fellowship, a grant, or an award. How a CV differs, and federal and England usage.
At a glance
Send a resume unless you are applying for a faculty or research-intensive position, a fellowship, a grant, or an award. Those take a curriculum vitae (CV). In the US, a resume is a short document aimed at 1 job. A CV is your full academic and work record, of virtually unlimited length. In England, "CV" is the name for the short document you use to apply for jobs.
- Use a CV for faculty and research-intensive positions, fellowships, grants, and awards, and a resume for everything else unless the posting says otherwise.
- When a job outside faculty and research-intensive work asks for a "CV," a National Institutes of Health (NIH) guide says to send a resume. When in doubt, ask the hiring manager.
- For a federal position that requires a CV, typically in the medical and research fields, agencies may ask for the CV as an "other document."
When to send a CV and when to send a resume
NIH's career services office sorts the choice by the kind of application.[1]
Choose a CV if:
- You are applying for a faculty position at a college or university.
- You are applying for a research-intensive position.
- You are applying for a fellowship, a grant, or an award.
One exception: when a federal funder names its own form, such as NIH's biographical sketch, send that form instead of a CV.[4]
Choose a resume if:
- You are making any other application, unless the posting says otherwise.
- The posting asks for a "CV" but the job is not a faculty opening. NIH's guide answers that case directly: send a resume, because "CV" is sometimes used for any qualifications document. For a research-intensive role, ask.
- You are applying in England for a job outside academia and research. Send the short document, which England's government careers site calls a CV.
How a CV and a resume differ in the US
A resume is a snapshot of what you offer an employer, as NIH describes it, and a CV details your entire academic and work history. The table compares them on the same 4 points.[1]
| Attribute | Resume | CV |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | A targeted document for 1 job | An ongoing academic and work history |
| Length (pages) | 1 to 2 | Virtually unlimited, but focused |
| Content | Relevant work experience, kept short | A wide range of experience and accomplishments |
| Versions | Often several, 1 for each type of job | A continually evolving record, ordered for each audience |
NIH's guide lists these among common CV sections: grants funded, clinical certifications, and teaching and mentoring positions. Others are invited presentations and seminars, poster presentations, patents, and a complete list of publications. A resume keeps only selected publications, patents, and presentations.[1]
Section order follows the reader in both documents. For a faculty job at a small college, NIH suggests listing teaching experience before research; for a research-intensive university, the reverse.[1]
What "CV" means in England
The United Kingdom government runs a careers advice site for England, formerly the National Careers Service. It defines a CV as "a summary of your skills, achievements and experience that you use to apply for jobs."[2]
That is close to what a US resume does.
The site lists the sections it expects: contact details, a short introduction, education history, work history, and references. It says not to include your age, date of birth, marital status, or nationality.[2]
So when an employer in England asks for a CV for a job outside academia and research, send the short document. If you are unsure which one is meant, ask.
When a federal job or federal grant asks for a CV
Some federal positions require a CV, typically in the medical and research fields. For those, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) says agencies may ask for the CV under the "other document" option. For most federal civil service jobs, the resume itself still has to fit OPM's 2-page limit. For that limit and where it applies, see how long a resume should be.[3][6]
An NIH grant application does not take a CV of your own design. For key personnel, it takes the Biographical Sketch Common Form and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement. Both are made in Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv). The form summarizes the qualifications, experience, and contributions of key personnel on federally funded research projects.[4]
SciENcv is a researcher profile system from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). It serves people who apply for or receive research funding from federal agencies. NIH says there is no blank template outside it.[5][4]
How to turn a CV into a resume
NIH's guide suggests keeping a full master resume of everything you have done, which can double as your CV. With that and the posting open, cut it down for the job.[1]
- Mark each skill and duty the posting names.
- Keep the sections that match those, in the order the reader cares about.
- Cut the complete publication list to a short section of selected publications.
- Drop presentations and teaching that do not relate to the job.
- Add a short description under each research role saying what you did and what came of it.
- Check the length: NIH's guide says a resume should be 1 to 2 pages.
| Version | Entry |
|---|---|
| CV | Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Biology, Brackenmoor University, 2023 to present. Research on how liver cells respond to insulin. Six publications, 3 invited talks, and 2 posters, each listed in full in the CV's publications and presentations sections. |
| Resume | Postdoctoral fellow, Brackenmoor University, 2023 to present. Ran daily operations for a 9-person lab, including ordering, equipment upkeep, and safety training. Trained 4 graduate students in cell culture and imaging. Cut reagent spending by 20% by moving the lab to shared bulk orders. |
In the resume, the research topic and publication count give way to the duties the posting names.
The result is a resume that a reader outside academia can scan for the job's requirements. For a layout that screening software can read, see how to format a resume for applicant tracking systems. For line-by-line models, see the annotated resume examples. More guides are in resumes and cover letters.
Sources & approach
Drafted with AI assistance from the public sources cited below. Stan Sedberry checked every figure and citation against its source and edited this page on October 22, 2026.
- Guide for Résumés and Curricula Vitae (updated April 2026)Office of Intramural Training and Education, National Institutes of Health · Accessed October 22, 2026
- How to write a CV (Get careers information and advice)Department for Education, GOV.UK (Get careers information and advice, formerly the National Careers Service) · Accessed October 22, 2026
- Agency guidance on the two-page limit on resume lengthUS Office of Personnel Management · Accessed October 22, 2026
- Biographical Sketch Common FormNational Institutes of Health, Grants and Funding · Accessed October 22, 2026
- SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum VitaeNational Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine · Accessed October 22, 2026
- Federal employment overviewUS Office of Personnel Management · Accessed October 22, 2026
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