Résumé is French for ‘summary’ (and is pronounced reh·zyuh·may) and CV stands for Curriculum Vitae which is Latin for ‘course of life’. Basically, they are two terms that mean a summary of a person’s education, qualifications, and previous job experience. These are typically sent with a job application. The two terms are often used interchangeably in Australia. 

The main difference between a resume and a CV is that a CV may be more detailed and say everything you have achieved, whereas a resume is shorter and specific to the job you are applying for.

So… which do I use?

Until you have many years of work experience, your résumé or CV will be more like a summary anyway, and in Australia, you can call it either one you like regardless of how long you make it.

Even if you call it a CV, no point in putting information on there doesn’t show the important skills and attributes you could provide to the job. It probably shouldn’t be longer than two pages and only one page if you haven’t had any work experience.

What kinds of things should I put on there?

The best thing to do, especially if you don’t have much work experience is to focus on the skills you have. You need to demonstrate your personal attributes and skills, and how that fits in with the job you are applying for. Demonstrating how well you can do the job is the most important thing you can show in your CV or résumé.

Do I need to change my résumé or CV for each job I apply for?

Yes. You don’t need to change everything, your experience will be the same, but you need to make sure that the skills and qualities you mention in your CV relate to the position you are applying for and the company.

A good way of tailoring your résumé or CV is to change your summary paragraph and maybe a few of your key skills to sound more relevant.

For example, if you applied for a job in retail and now you want to apply for one in an office change things like “demonstrating communication skills and providing great customer service” to “using effective communication skills to work with a range of diverse clients“.

It’s small things like changing the emphasis depending on how the organisation refers to its ‘clients’ or ‘customers’ and tying it into what they have written in the job description.

It sounds like a lot of work but employers know when you have a ‘blanket’ résumé or CV and are less likely to pay attention if they feel like you have not applied yourself to the specific job and its criteria.

Canva has heaps of free résumé templates and Youth Central has examples that you can use to model your CV off. 

Do I need a LinkedIn Profile?

Yes and no. You don’t need one when you’re applying for retail or hospitality jobs that you might not necessarily go through the internet to get. However, if you want more corporate-style jobs or an application that you might need a degree or qualification for, this is when LinkedIn becomes valuable. 

It is basically a résumé in a social media-like platform style. You would put all the regular things that you’d put in a resume into your profile, the only difference is that you can apply for jobs through the site and post new and interesting things onto your page – like a Facebook status update. This could be something like writing an article for your school or local paper or receiving an award.

Your photo, bio, and page set-up are all important ways to show your level of professionalism. Your profile photo should just be of your face from the shoulders up with a plain background. You want to be wearing professional-style clothing (so maybe not your Taylor Swift t-shirt) and look approachable – a kind smile will go a long way. Your bio/headline should be similar to your profile section on a resume – a short snapshot of your experience and personality. Here are some more tips on making your profile. 

So now you know what it is, are you ready to write your CV?