What is the difference between a resume and a CV?

In the United States and Canada a resume is a one to two page targeted summary, while a CV means an academic record of publications. In the UK, Europe, India, Australia and New Zealand, CV is simply the standard word for the same job-application document.

Should I put a photo on my CV?

No for the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where a photo can cause an application to be discarded for discrimination-risk reasons. A professional photo is still common in Germany, France, Spain and Italy.

How long should a CV be?

One page for early-career United States resumes and two at most. Two pages is standard in the United Kingdom, two to three for Europass-style and Indian CVs, and two to four is normal in Australia and New Zealand.

Do I need to include CTC and notice period on an Indian CV?

It is conventional and many Indian recruiters screen on it directly, so including current CTC, expected CTC and notice period usually speeds up the process. It should never appear on a US, UK, Canadian or Australian document.

Guide

Regional CV formats, compared

The same career, six different documents. What changes between a US resume, a UK CV, a Europass-style CV, an Indian technical CV, and Canadian or Australian conventions.

A resume that works in Austin can get filtered in Munich, and a CV that works in Bengaluru can look overloaded in Toronto. The document conventions are genuinely different — length, photo, personal details, date format and what belongs in a header all change by market. ScissorCV treats each market as a separate renderer rather than restyling one template.

The single most expensive mistake: putting a photo, date of birth or marital status on a US or UK application. Many employers there discard such applications to avoid discrimination claims — while in parts of continental Europe a photo is still expected.

Resume and CV conventions by market

ScissorCV template gallery showing ATS-safe resume layouts — Templates are plain and parser-safe on purpose: columns, tables and graphics are what break ATS parsing.

General market conventions. Individual employers vary; the posting always wins.
Market	Typical length	Photo	Personal details	Dates	What matters most
United States	1 page early career, 2 max	No	Name, city/state, email, phone, LinkedIn. No age, marital status or photo.	MM/YYYY	Quantified achievements, reverse-chronological, single column, no graphics.
United Kingdom	2 pages standard	No	Name, city, email, phone. No DOB or nationality.	MM/YYYY	Short personal statement, UK English spelling, ‘References available on request’ is now optional and usually omitted.
EU / Europass style	2–3 pages	Sometimes	Often includes nationality and DOB; photo common in DE, FR, ES, IT.	DD/MM/YYYY	Structured sections, explicit language proficiency levels (CEFR A1–C2), formal tone.
India	2–3 pages, technical roles often longer	Sometimes	Commonly includes DOB, languages and sometimes marital status by convention.	DD/MM/YYYY	Detailed technical skills matrix, education with percentages/CGPA, notice period, current and expected CTC.
Canada	1–2 pages	No	Name, city/province, email, phone. Human-rights codes discourage personal data.	MM/YYYY	US-style achievements plus work-authorisation clarity; bilingual roles in Quebec.
Australia / New Zealand	2–4 pages, longer is normal	No	Name, city, email, phone; visa/work rights often stated.	MM/YYYY	Detailed role responsibilities, key achievements per role, referees commonly listed at the end.

Market-by-market guidance

United States resume

One page unless you have ten-plus years of relevant experience. Lead every bullet with an outcome and a number. Single column, standard headings, no tables, no text boxes, no icons — multi-column layouts are the most common cause of a resume parsing badly. The word resume is used, not CV; in the US a CV means an academic publication record.

United Kingdom CV

Two pages is the norm and is not seen as padding. Open with a three or four line personal statement aimed at the specific role. Use UK spelling — organisation, programme, analyse — because it signals fluency with the market. Salary expectations belong in the cover letter, not the CV.

EU and Europass-style CV

More structured and more formal than an Anglo resume. Language proficiency should be stated in CEFR levels rather than words like fluent. Germany, France, Spain and Italy still commonly expect a professional photo; the Netherlands and Nordics increasingly do not. Dates run day-month-year, and a chronological gap is expected to be explained.

India technical CV

Detail is expected rather than penalised. A dedicated technical skills section grouped by category, education with percentage or CGPA, and explicit notice period plus current and expected CTC are all standard, because recruiters screen on them directly. Certifications carry real weight and should be listed with issuing body and year.

Canada

Close to the US format, with two differences that matter: state your work authorisation status plainly if it is not obvious, and keep all personal identifiers off the document, since provincial human-rights codes make employers wary of receiving them. For Quebec roles, French proficiency is often the deciding line.

Australia and New Zealand

The most verbose convention of the six. Three pages is unremarkable, and recruiters expect both responsibilities and achievements for each role rather than achievements alone. Named referees at the end are still common, and visa or work-rights status is normally stated up front.

How ScissorCV handles this

Choosing the target market changes the document conventions, not just the styling.

Choosing a market in ScissorCV changes the renderer, not just the CSS: section order, which personal fields are emitted, date formatting, length targets and heading vocabulary all switch together. The underlying evidence ledger stays the same, so you are never re-entering your history to produce a second format — and Truth Guard applies identically in every market.

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