How (if) does the US résumé differ from the European CV?
November 29, 2009 2:37 PM Subscribe
I am applying for a job at a nonprofit in Europe with a rather international-seeming staff. They ask for a CV. Is the European non-academic CV pretty much equivalent to the US résumé, or is it a beast of a different nature?
For example, being a fairly recent college grad, I have been very judicious with my usual resume in order not to have it exceed one page. However, when I think 'CV', I think of the insanely thorough documents that academics possess which list not only everywhere they've worked and everywhere they've gone to school, but also entries detailing every paper they've ever written, every class they've ever taught, every grant they've ever received, every car they've ever driven... what kind of detail is expected from a CV in the European job world? As an example, my current one-page resume allows me to put bulleted descriptions under three key jobs but leave the rest as single-line titles. The whole document is also in 10-point font. Should I upgrade to two pages and put more detail in all around, or would that be considered as ostentatious as it would be in the US? Enlighten me so I can be a CV Wonder!
For example, being a fairly recent college grad, I have been very judicious with my usual resume in order not to have it exceed one page. However, when I think 'CV', I think of the insanely thorough documents that academics possess which list not only everywhere they've worked and everywhere they've gone to school, but also entries detailing every paper they've ever written, every class they've ever taught, every grant they've ever received, every car they've ever driven... what kind of detail is expected from a CV in the European job world? As an example, my current one-page resume allows me to put bulleted descriptions under three key jobs but leave the rest as single-line titles. The whole document is also in 10-point font. Should I upgrade to two pages and put more detail in all around, or would that be considered as ostentatious as it would be in the US? Enlighten me so I can be a CV Wonder!
Response by poster: Fair enough, yoyo_nyc. Though on the other hand, despite the US not being a uniform job market either, one can generalize a statement such as "concision is often a highly-valued trait in an American résumé". I neglect to mention the specific country in this case because the staff of the organization seem to be a diverse mix of Europeans from different nations, so if there is such thing as a general European sensibility towards job applications, that would appear to be relevant here. I know that ultimately the only person whose preferences really matter is the specific individual who reads my CV, but I would like to be at least aiming at a target.
posted by threeants at 2:55 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
posted by threeants at 2:55 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
I'm an American who lives in the UK. As a data point, my CV is about two pages long, and I have about a paragraph summary of each job. For my current job, I go a bit longer with bullet points to detail my responsibilities. I have a section at the beginning to list my education and relevant skills, a section at the end for any awards and certifications. I don't list my references, I just note that they are available upon request.
I've never had any complaints about the length or format from recruitment agents, potential employers, etc. From what I've experienced, the 1-page rule isn't essential over here, but I do think going over 2 would look pretentious.
posted by ukdanae at 2:58 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
I've never had any complaints about the length or format from recruitment agents, potential employers, etc. From what I've experienced, the 1-page rule isn't essential over here, but I do think going over 2 would look pretentious.
posted by ukdanae at 2:58 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
Like UKDanae, I'm an American who worked for three years in the UK. I used my American resume without causing any raised eyebrows.
posted by Clambone at 3:23 PM on November 29, 2009
posted by Clambone at 3:23 PM on November 29, 2009
Europe may not be a country, but it has the standardization of one at times! To wit, I present you Europass CV, the "common" CV for Europe based on the Europass job portfolio concept. Now, I'm not saying you should use the Europass CV as I don't know its acceptance--if any--as a CV format in Europe, but using the Europass format might be a good place to start.
Also, as a note, if you are a LaTeX user, the "europecv" class can be used to generate Europass-style CVs. I used a mildly modified version of that class for my (American) CV/resume.
posted by Fortran at 3:23 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
Also, as a note, if you are a LaTeX user, the "europecv" class can be used to generate Europass-style CVs. I used a mildly modified version of that class for my (American) CV/resume.
posted by Fortran at 3:23 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
The point is, it actually depends on what country you are going to work in!
In the UK you would never attach a photo, whereas in Germany you always would. In the UK you have more scope for a degree of informatlty, for example its acceptable to go with a competancy based list of achievements, in France you would have a much more formal list of your educational and work positions.
As general rule 2 pages is what people are looking for. Note that there are regional differences about covering letters also. In France the covering letter is everything, in the UK much less so (for example).
The US may not be a uniform job market, but it is a whole country with a common language and political/economic settlement. That is absolutely not the case in the EU. Working cultures and organisational hierarchy's can also vary dramatically from country to country. The UK tends to be fairly informal, but also individualistic, Germany is formal and collectivist. France is all about the 38 hour week and going on holiday for all of august. And the Dutch argue incessantly about everything....
posted by munchbunch at 3:31 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
In the UK you would never attach a photo, whereas in Germany you always would. In the UK you have more scope for a degree of informatlty, for example its acceptable to go with a competancy based list of achievements, in France you would have a much more formal list of your educational and work positions.
As general rule 2 pages is what people are looking for. Note that there are regional differences about covering letters also. In France the covering letter is everything, in the UK much less so (for example).
The US may not be a uniform job market, but it is a whole country with a common language and political/economic settlement. That is absolutely not the case in the EU. Working cultures and organisational hierarchy's can also vary dramatically from country to country. The UK tends to be fairly informal, but also individualistic, Germany is formal and collectivist. France is all about the 38 hour week and going on holiday for all of august. And the Dutch argue incessantly about everything....
posted by munchbunch at 3:31 PM on November 29, 2009 [1 favorite]
I recruit (in several European countries) as part of my job, so read CVs most weeks. I generally find single-page CVs to be too short, 2 pages is much better as long as you keep it clear and uncluttered. For a technical role, it is also OK to attach a third page of specific skills or training.
The format suggested by ukdanae is ideal (although I would be tempted to put job information first, *if* it is more relevant than academic).
I would recommend that you not use a picture, nor add any information such as gender, date of birth, marital status or hobbies/interests out of work. Discrimination legislation nowadays means that I have to try to ignore this information if it is sent, so I instruct all the agencies I use to remove it before I see the CV. It is perfectly acceptable to say something like "Additional personal information available on request".
Oh, and good luck :)
posted by Kippax at 3:41 PM on November 29, 2009 [2 favorites]
The format suggested by ukdanae is ideal (although I would be tempted to put job information first, *if* it is more relevant than academic).
I would recommend that you not use a picture, nor add any information such as gender, date of birth, marital status or hobbies/interests out of work. Discrimination legislation nowadays means that I have to try to ignore this information if it is sent, so I instruct all the agencies I use to remove it before I see the CV. It is perfectly acceptable to say something like "Additional personal information available on request".
Oh, and good luck :)
posted by Kippax at 3:41 PM on November 29, 2009 [2 favorites]
@Kippax
It wouldn't make sense to send a resume in Germany without a picture. It would be a little bit like sending a picture without a resume ;-)
posted by yoyo_nyc at 4:47 PM on November 29, 2009
It wouldn't make sense to send a resume in Germany without a picture. It would be a little bit like sending a picture without a resume ;-)
posted by yoyo_nyc at 4:47 PM on November 29, 2009
I'm American and have applied (and interviewed) for many jobs in Europe; specifically, I only applied to jobs located in the Netherlands, and I was applying while still living in the U.S. I have a two-page CV, and haven't had any complaints. But I've also applied to jobs in the U.S. with a two-page resume (and have hired people in the U.S. with two-page resumes).
Whether you need one or two pages really depends on the jobs that you've had. I had a job in which I had a wide range of responsibilities, so really describing that role takes up a lot of space. Just be sure to put your name in the footer and number the pages like "1 of 2".
The only differences between my American resume and my CV are that my CV has my nationality, date of birth, language abilities, and a section about interests. Looking back, I think I would have left most of that off (except the language part; if you don't speak the local language at all, it's good to get that out there up-front). But it was there when I was hired, so I guess it didn't hurt me too much. I omitted my photo because I don't like having my picture taken. But from what I understand, that practice varies a lot from country to country. I don't know if omitted a photo would hurt you if you have a strong CV otherwise.
I considered using the Europass CV but I didn't like the way my information looked when I filled out the template.
posted by transporter accident amy at 1:03 AM on November 30, 2009
Whether you need one or two pages really depends on the jobs that you've had. I had a job in which I had a wide range of responsibilities, so really describing that role takes up a lot of space. Just be sure to put your name in the footer and number the pages like "1 of 2".
The only differences between my American resume and my CV are that my CV has my nationality, date of birth, language abilities, and a section about interests. Looking back, I think I would have left most of that off (except the language part; if you don't speak the local language at all, it's good to get that out there up-front). But it was there when I was hired, so I guess it didn't hurt me too much. I omitted my photo because I don't like having my picture taken. But from what I understand, that practice varies a lot from country to country. I don't know if omitted a photo would hurt you if you have a strong CV otherwise.
I considered using the Europass CV but I didn't like the way my information looked when I filled out the template.
posted by transporter accident amy at 1:03 AM on November 30, 2009
« Older Would like to open these documents | What is (or is there any) relationship between... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.
By the way, Europe is not a country. Asia isn't either. Hence nobody really can answer your question since it is country specific.
posted by yoyo_nyc at 2:42 PM on November 29, 2009