Curriculum Vitae (CV) Guide

How to Develop a Curriculum Vitae (CV)

While a resume is a 1-page document showcasing work experience and professional skills, a Curriculum Vitae (CV) can be two or more pages and is a catalogue of your academic and research achievements. Typically, you might use a CV rather than a resume if you are applying for research-based positions, advanced academic roles, or graduate school.

Below are some common questions regarding CVs.

A Curriculum Vitae (CV) is different from a resume in format, content, and purpose. Resumes and CVs both are used to capture your experience and education as it relates to the position you are applying for, but the difference between the two is what the documents focus on.

Resumes focus on work, internship, leadership, athletics and volunteer work, while CVs focus on academic accomplishments such as courses taught, publications, research, grant awards, professional development, and curriculum development.

Most often undergraduate students will not reach the point of needing a CV and may have more of a targeted resume to their field. Students involved in secondary education and working professionals are those most associated with utilizing CVs.

There is no set length or format with CV; however, typically it consists of 2-4 pages for someone earlier on in their career, and closer to 4-7 pages for a more seasoned professional. Some field experts (such as university professors) may have CVs upward of 20+ pages.

  • Heading stands out and contains important contact information
  • Font is Times New Roman, which is simple, professional, and readable
  • Layout reads easily from left to right across the entire page
  • Dates are all right-aligned and consistently formatted

This template is a fillable Microsoft Word document, not a live document. You can download the template, and replace the content with your own information.

Here is a good process to follow:

  1. Download and open the Word document
  2. Click “Enable Editing” at the top
  3. Update the Header information: Name, Address, Phone, Email
  4. Tailor your Research and Publication Citations to your field’s style guide (e.g., MLA or Chicago style for Humanities fields, APA for Sciences and Education, etc.)
  5. Update the Footer Page Numbers to your name and the page count
  6. Update each section according to your own experience and accomplishments; remove any sections that do not apply to you

*Note: We strongly recommend creating and editing your resume in Microsoft Word instead of Google Docs because:

  • Google Docs can change your formatting unexpectedly.
  • Employers require uploaded files or PDFs; Google Doc share links are not accepted.
  • Microsoft Office is widely used in professional workplaces.

As an Emmanuel student, you have free access to Microsoft Office. Contact IT if you need help accessing the software or browser versions.

download fillable cv template