CV or résumé? What each country expects

The US and Canada usually call it a résumé. In the US, a CV is a longer academic record for research and university teaching jobs. The UK, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa say CV, and Australia uses both words for the same thing. Outside academia, most of these countries expect one or two pages without a photo.

By Paul and the c-v.ai team, drawing on years of hiring across industries and of writing CVs professionally. Published 10 November 2026.

The short answer

CV is short for curriculum vitae. Résumé, often written resume, is the word used in the US and Canada. In everyday use, both mean the same thing almost everywhere: a short document that sums up your experience, education and skills for an employer.

The one real difference is in US academia. UC Berkeley’s careers service describes a CV as an academic résumé used for research and university teaching positions. It is longer and lists publications, teaching and research in full. If a US employer outside academia asks for a CV, check whether they mean a résumé.

What changes more from country to country is what goes in it: how long it should be, and whether to add a photo, your date of birth or an ID number.

What each country expects

Each cell below comes from a government, public employment service or university careers page, listed under Sources. “Varies” means the official guidance we checked doesn’t set a rule, so follow the job ad or local advice.

Country	Word used	Length	Photo	Date of birth	ID number
United States	Résumé (CV in academia)	1–2 pages	No	Leave off	Varies
Canada	Résumé	Up to 2 pages	No	Leave off	Never your SIN
United Kingdom	CV	Up to 2 sides of A4	Not usual	Leave off	Varies
Ireland	CV	Up to 2 A4 pages	Varies	Varies	Varies
Australia	Either, same meaning	2 pages, up to 4 if experienced	Not required	Not required	Varies
New Zealand	CV	2 pages if you can	Varies	Varies	Varies
South Africa	CV	1–2 pages	Only if asked	Guides differ	Usually included
Singapore	Résumé	1–2 pages	Employers shouldn’t ask	Employers shouldn’t ask	NRIC not needed to apply

On paper size, UK and Irish guidance says A4. The US and Canadian guidance we checked doesn’t name a size, so use the one the employer works with. We left India and Malaysia out of the table because we couldn’t find national guidance to cite. Some institutions set their own rules. The placement cell at IIT Madras, for example, asks students for an A4 résumé with no pictures.

Notes by country

United States

CareerOneStop, run by the US Department of Labor, says a résumé should be one to two pages, using two only if your experience needs it. For students, UC Berkeley recommends a simple one-page format. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says employers should not ask for a photograph of an applicant, and that questions which may reveal age should generally be avoided.

Canada

Canada’s Job Bank says to limit a résumé to two pages, not to include a picture, and to leave out personal details such as age, weight, height and marital status. It also says never to include your Social Insurance Number. Our Canadian résumé guide covers the rest, including tips for newcomers.

United Kingdom and Ireland

JobHelp, the UK Government’s job-search service, puts the ideal length at no more than two sides of A4. The National Careers Service says not to include your age, date of birth, marital status or nationality, and the University of Kent notes that UK CVs don’t tend to include a photo. Trinity College Dublin’s careers service says a standard CV in Ireland and the UK should not go over two A4 pages.

Australia and New Zealand

The University of Queensland says résumé and CV usually mean the same thing in Australia. It suggests two pages for internships, graduate programmes and entry-level roles, two to four for roles that need more experience, and says date of birth, age and a photo are not required. New Zealand’s government careers service, Tahatū, calls the document a CV, sometimes called a résumé, and says to keep it to two pages if you can.

South Africa

The Western Cape Government’s guide says one to two pages and no photo unless one is requested, and lists your ID number under personal details. It advises leaving out your date of birth, while the national government’s guide lists date and country of birth with your identity number. Follow the job ad if it asks for either. Your ID number is sensitive, so add it only to the copy you send to an employer.

Singapore

NTU’s careers office suggests one page for students and entry-level roles and two for experienced candidates, and no more than two. TAFEP, which promotes fair employment practices, tells employers to remove fields for photographs, age, gender, race, religion and marital status from application forms. The PDPC, Singapore’s data protection regulator, says the law doesn’t require NRIC numbers for job applications.

The academic CV in the US

If you apply for a research, lecturing or other academic job in the US, you need a CV in the academic sense. MIT’s careers office says CVs are usually longer than résumés and that completeness matters more than brevity. It gives a typical length of two to four pages early in a career and four to seven pages with more experience.

An academic CV usually includes:

education, with your thesis or dissertation;
research experience;
fellowships, grants, awards and honours;
teaching and mentoring experience;
presentations, with the title, event, place and date;
publications, newest first.

The University of Kent makes the same point for the UK: academic CVs can run longer than the usual two pages.

How to turn one into the other

From a US or Canadian résumé to a CV elsewhere

Call it a CV in your file name and email, if that is the local word.
Switch to the paper size the country uses. UK and Irish guidance says A4.
Check the length. Most countries in the table accept up to two pages, and Australia accepts more for experienced roles.
Change the spelling to match the country you are applying in.
Check the personal details column. In South Africa, add your ID number to the copy you send if the employer expects it.

From a CV to a US or Canadian résumé

Cut it to one or two pages. Shorten older jobs to a line each.
Remove your photo, date of birth, age, marital status and any ID number.
Use US spelling for US employers.
Check the paper size the employer uses before you print or export.

From an academic CV to an industry résumé

MIT’s careers office says industry employers value brevity and relevance, while academic employers want a full scholarly record. Keep the research and results that matter for the job, turn long publication lists into a line or two, and describe projects by what they achieved. For the job-by-job version of this, see our guide to tailoring a CV to a job description.

A worked example

Thandi Mokoena, a fictional data analyst in Johannesburg, is applying for jobs in Toronto. The top of her South African CV reads:

Thandi Mokoena · Johannesburg · 082 555 0142 · thandi.mokoena@example.com · ID number: [13-digit number] · Date of birth: 12 August 1996

Job Bank says to leave out personal details such as age and never to include a Social Insurance Number, so she removes her date of birth and her South African ID number. She calls the document a résumé and checks that it fits on two pages. Her new header reads:

Thandi Mokoena · Johannesburg, South Africa (moving to Toronto in March) · +27 82 555 0142 · thandi.mokoena@example.com

She adds the country code to her phone number and says when she is moving, so a Canadian recruiter knows how to reach her and when she could start. Her experience section doesn’t need to change, apart from tailoring it to each ad.

Setting the country in c-v.ai

In c-v.ai, each CV has its own language and job-market setting, and the AI wording and advice follow it. You can keep a version for each country you apply in. Every CV can be exported on A4 or US Letter, and a photo is optional, so you only add one where the country expects it. Read our guide to writing a CV step by step for what goes in each section.

Questions

What is the difference between a CV and a résumé?

In the US, a résumé is a short summary of your experience for most jobs, usually one or two pages, and a CV is a longer academic record used for research and university teaching jobs. In the UK, Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa, CV is the everyday word for the short document. In Australia, the University of Queensland says the two words have the same meaning.

Can I use a CV as a résumé?

Usually, yes, once you adapt it to the country. Change the name if needed, cut it to the length that country expects, switch spelling and paper size, and remove anything local guidance says to leave off, such as a photo or date of birth. A long academic CV needs cutting down before you use it for an industry job.

How long should a CV or résumé be?

One or two pages in most countries. US government guidance says one to two pages, using two only if your experience needs it. Canada’s Job Bank says up to two pages, and UK and Irish guidance says no more than two sides of A4. The University of Queensland suggests two pages for entry-level roles in Australia and two to four for experienced roles.

Should I put a photo on my CV?

In most English-speaking countries, no. Canada’s Job Bank says not to include one, the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says employers should not ask for one, and UK CVs don’t tend to include one. South African government guidance says to leave it off unless it is requested. Follow the job ad if it says otherwise.

Should I include my date of birth or ID number?

Usually not. Guidance in the UK, Canada and Australia says to leave your date of birth or age off, and Canada’s Job Bank says never to include your Social Insurance Number. South Africa is the main exception: government CV guides list your ID number under personal details.