# CV or résumé? What the words mean in Europe and the US > In Europe a CV is the one- or two-page document you send for most jobs. In the US that’s a résumé, and a CV is the long academic version. Blog: Tailoring · Written by Rolebranch Team · Published 2026-11-02 · Source: https://rolebranch.com/blog/cv-or-resume In Europe, a CV is the one- or two-page document you send for most jobs. In the US and Canada the same document is called a résumé, and "CV" means something else: a long, complete record of an academic or medical career. So if you're applying in Europe, a résumé and a CV are one thing with two names, and the habits of the country matter more than the word. This is for anyone moving between the two vocabularies: a European applying to an American company, an American or Canadian applying in Europe, or anyone reading a posting in English that asks for a "resume" in Berlin. What changes from country to country is covered in our pillar post on [CV conventions across Europe](https://rolebranch.com/blog/cv-conventions-across-europe); this post is about the words, and the few things that really differ. **In short** - In Europe, “CV” and “resume” mean the same short document. Send what the posting describes. - In the US, a résumé is the short one. A CV is longer and mostly for medicine, research and academia. - Moving one across the Atlantic means checking length, paper, dates and personal details, not rewriting it. ## Is a CV the same as a résumé? For a job application in Europe, yes. The UK's National Careers Service defines a CV as [a summary of your skills, achievements and experience that you use to apply for jobs](https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/cv-sections), which is exactly what an American calls a résumé. Even EURES, the EU's job-mobility network, uses both words: its site invites you to create a Europass CV, and its own article on layout is called [Five design tips for your resume](https://eures.europa.eu/five-design-tips-your-resume-2019-12-13_en). In the US, the two words name different documents. The federal Office of Personnel Management's [guidance on resume length](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/agency-guidance-on-the-two-page-limit-on-resume-length) treats a curriculum vitae as a separate document for positions that need one, "typically in the medical and research fields". A US academic CV lists everything: publications, teaching, grants, talks. A résumé picks what fits the job. ## What is it called in each language? Postings in Europe use the local word, and a posting written in English may use either, as EURES does. 1. **English (UK and Ireland): CV:** Short for curriculum vitae, Latin for “course of life”. “Résumé” is understood but rarely used. 2. **English (US and Canada): résumé:** Often written resume. A CV is the long academic or medical version. 3. **German: Lebenslauf:** Literally “course of life”. The Bundesagentur für Arbeit describes it as tabular, newest first, on two pages at most. 4. **French: CV:** And a false friend: “résumé” in French means a summary. Onisep, France’s public careers information service, advises a “résumé professionnel” of two or three lines at the top of your CV. 5. **Spanish and Italian: currículum, curriculum vitae:** Usually shortened to CV in both, in postings and in conversation. 6. **Ukrainian: резюме:** The everyday word for a CV, borrowed from the French. It’s the short document, not the academic one. ## How is a US résumé different from a European CV? Less than the names suggest. The content is the same everywhere: your roles, what you did in them, what came of it, your education and skills. The differences are in the details. **Length.** Both sides keep it short. Since 27 September 2025, US federal job applications on USAJOBS take a résumé of [two pages at most](https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/merit-hiring-plan-resources/agency-guidance-on-the-two-page-limit-on-resume-length), and OPM notes that limiting the pages is common practice in the private sector too. In Germany, the Bundesagentur's [guide to the Lebenslauf](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/bildung/bewerbung/lebenslauf) asks for one to two A4 pages. In France, [Onisep](https://www.onisep.fr/cap-vers-l-emploi/Recherche-d-emploi/les-10-questions-a-se-poser-avant-de-rediger-son-cv) says one page, and two only once you have several years of experience behind you. **Paper.** The Bundesagentur names A4, the page size used across Europe. If your résumé was set up in the US, check its page size: US Letter is a little wider and shorter than A4. **Personal details.** This is where countries differ most, and not along the Atlantic. The National Careers Service tells applicants to leave out age, date of birth, marital status and nationality. The Bundesagentur still lists date and place of birth under personal details, and calls family details and nationality optional. If you're unsure, the [German CV guide](https://rolebranch.com/blog/how-to-write-a-german-cv) and the pillar post go country by country. > The word on the file matters less than the country on the posting. ## How do you turn a résumé into a European CV? Keep the content and change the frame. Most of the work is the same as tailoring for any posting: put the experience that matches the job first, in the words the posting uses (our guide to [tailoring a CV to a job description](https://rolebranch.com/blog/how-to-tailor-a-cv-to-a-job-description) goes through it). - Name the file and the heading “CV” (or Lebenslauf, or резюме), as the posting does. - Two pages at most; one if you are early in your career and applying in France. - Set the page to A4. - Write dates as month and year, as Onisep and the Bundesagentur both show them. - Check which personal details the country expects, and leave the rest off. - When the posting is in the local language, send the CV in that language. If you need the CV in another language, translate a copy rather than the original, so the version you already trust stays as it is. Our help case on [importing a CV in another language](https://rolebranch.com/help/getting-started/cv-in-another-language) shows how that works in Rolebranch. ## Try it in Rolebranch **One master CV, a version for each posting** Import the résumé you already have: it comes in as a master CV, in the language it’s written in. For a job in another language, choose Duplicate on it and have Romy translate the copy. In Design, Paper switches between A4 and US Letter, and the photo setting says whether the CV’s market expects one. Then tailor a CV for each posting: the application keeps its own copy, and your master CV doesn’t change. - **Import:** Your résumé, imported as a master CV - **Language:** A copy translated into German - **Paper:** A4 - **Photo:** Leave it off: in the UK, Ireland and North America a photo is not expected and often removed. [Start free](https://app.rolebranch.com/login) · [How tailoring for a posting works](https://rolebranch.com/help/tailoring/tailor-for-a-posting) Free: 50 credits every month, plus 100 welcome credits that never expire. Help centre: [Tailor your CV for a posting](https://rolebranch.com/help/tailoring/tailor-for-a-posting)