There isn't a big difference between CV and resume. And the difference matters only in United States and Canada. Outside America, you have to worry only about your CV.

Read below the main facts about the difference between CV and resume:

1: Different length.
Your resume should be shorter than your CV. Compare just your CV with your resume. Don't compare your documents with other people's documents. For example, your resume may be longer than somebody else's CV. If this is the case then it's not an issue.

As a general rule, a CV is expected to have a length of 2 or more pages. A resume should be less than 2 pages. A resume can be even shorter than 1 full page.

2: Similar sections.
Both a CV and a resume should include your full name, address, contact information, education work experience and skills. Don't add irrelevant sections to your resume and don't leave out essential sections from your CV.

3: Different sections.
In addition to a resume, a CV can and should include awards, teaching experience, hobbies, referees, grants and fellowships, diplomas, computer skills, work related skills, courses completed and any other relevant information.

For most positions, recruiters receive tens or even hundreds of applications. So, if you add lots of irrelevant information in a lengthy CV, your CV may be discarded. Along with the CV, you'll lose the chance of coming to an interview. To prevent this from ever happening, write a hassle free CV that's easy to understand. Use simple everyday English. Try to be clear rather than persuasive.

4: Underlining principles.
In both cases, make sure you write events in a chronological order. It's easier for people to understand events if they are a presented in a chronological order.

Your skills, experience and education are the most important aspects. Design your CV or resume around them.

While you write either a CV or a resume, pay particular attention to your writing. Writing concisely, clearly and simply shows that you think clearly and learn quickly. Writing, learning and thinking are all interrelated. Every word should mean something and it should add to the explanation. Write short phrases. Leave out any word which doesn't absolutely have to be part of the phrase.

5: Different rules in different countries.
In America, United States and Canada, use a resume as a general rule. In the rest of the world, a CV is expected and often demanded. However, most of the companies don't want lengthy CVs with irrelevant stuff in it. They do not care that much about your childhood or about what you did in your third grade. They want only the information that is relevant to the position you are applying for.

The perfect CV outside U.S. and Canada is less than 2 pages long and it has only the relevant information the employer needs. While a resume is about being brief, the perfect CV is about including only the relevant information. Keep in mind "brief vs relevant".

The above concepts and ideas represent the difference between CV and resume. Follow the above steps while you write your CV or resume. Don't ignore any of them.