Abhishek Desai

People use the words RESUME, C.V., and BIO-DATA interchangeably for the
document highlighting skills, education, and experience that a candidate
submits when applying for a job. On the surface level, all the three
mean the same. However, there are intricate differences.

RESUME

Resume Is a French word meaning “summary”, and true to the word
meaning, signifies a summary of one’s employment, education, and other
skills, used in applying for a new position. A resume seldom exceeds one
side of an A4 sheet, and at the most two sides. They do not list out all
the education and qualifications, but only highlight specific skills
customized to target the job profile in question.

A resume is usually broken into bullets and written in the third person
to appear objective and formal. A good resume starts with a brief
Summary of Qualifications, followed by Areas of Strength or Industry
Expertise in keywords, followed by Professional Experience in reverse
chronological order. Focus is on the most recent experiences, and prior
experiences summarized. The content aims at providing the reader a
balance of responsibilities and accomplishments for each position. After
Work experience come Professional Affiliations, Computer Skills, and
Education

C.V CURRICULUM VITAE

C.V Is a Latin word meaning “course of life”. Curriculum
Vitae (C.V.) is therefore a regular or particular course of study
pertaining to education and life. A C.V. is more detailed than a resume,
usually 2 to 3 pages, but can run even longer as per the requirement.

A C.V. generally lists out every skills, jobs, degrees, and professional
affiliations the applicant has acquired, usually in chronological order.
A C.V. displays general talent rather than specific skills for any
specific positions.

BIO-DATA

Bio Data the short form for Biographical Data, is the old-fashioned
terminology for Resume or C.V. The emphasis in a bio data is on personal
particulars like date of birth, religion, sex, race, nationality,
residence, martial status, and the like. Next comes a chronological
listing of education and experience. The things normally found in a
resume, that is specific skills for the job in question comes last, and
are seldom included. Bio-data also includes applications made in
specified formats as required by the company.

A resume is ideally suited when applying for middle and senior level
positions, where experience and specific skills rather than education is
important. A C.V., on the other hand is the preferred option for fresh
graduates, people looking for a career change, and those applying for
academic positions. The term bio-data is mostly used in India while
applying to government jobs, or when applying for research grants and
other situations where one has to submit descriptive essays.

Resumes present a summary of highlights and allow the prospective
employer to scan through the document visually or electronically, to see
if your skills match their available positions. A good resume can do
that very effectively, while a C.V. cannot. A bio-data could still
perform this role, especially if the format happens to be the one
recommended by the employer.

Personal information such as age, sex, religion and others, and hobbies
are never mentioned in a resume. Many people include such particulars in
the C.V. However, this is neither required nor considered in the US
market. A Bio-data, on the other hand always include such personal
particulars.