more British to American translation help please.

I just interviewed for a job this morning via telephone with someone in England. I'm just curious; he refered to my resume as my "CV"
I had heard the term before, but never knew what the initials stand for. Any help?

(He also used the term "bespoke" which I am familiar with but had not heard used in conversation before. )

Thanks

 

Curriculum Vitae.

Etymology: Latin curriculum ("course"), derived from currere ("to race"), + vitae, genitive of vita ("life").

And "Smoking a ***" has, in the UK, a lot less sinister meaning than in the US.

 

LOL.

 

CV = Curriculum Vitae

bespoke just means custom made.

 

phone interviews are bent, hope it went alright

 

errr


I've said CV before to americans and they had no idea what I was talking about ... 0.o

 

I see it used a lot in academia, especially in the computer science field. But outside of that I usually don't see American companies asking for cvs, except for the occasional science related job.

 

Agreed. I think the reason it's more prevelant in CS is due to the large number of international workers that come from areas where a CV is common.

If you looked to create a CV keep in mind it's longer than an American resume and has more details about specific courses you took. I have both a CV and a Resume, one is for European companies and one is for US companies.

 

Got a mailshot from some of the local music venues with a band called We Smoke Fags playing a few places. Thought to myself thats a band who are never gonna be big in the U.S.

 

It means slightly more than that. It implies being made specifically to fit or suit it's purpose. Custom made is a slightly more general term. I could get a custom made suit which was pink with stripes, but not made to fit me exactly. A bespoke suit might also be pink with stripes, but it would be made to fit my body exactly. And yes, I'd have terrible taste in clothes either way.

 

Everything you ever wanted to know about a Curriculum Vitae (or, at least, a starting point).

Here in the US, résumé and CV often are used interchangeably. Elsewhere, a CV is like a résumé, but with more detail. A true CV is uncommon here in the US, but not unheard of; most employers use the standard résumé format. They are most often found in science and academia (for example, all of my college professors had a full-blown CV).

-monkey

 

Or, huge, in gun toting homophobic communities.

 

.

 

That's odd - because this guy was using the word CV when talking about my resume. It didn't even mention education, just work experience and skills. The position is for a software dev position and I do have 8 years experience in the very specialized field they are looking for, but it seems like 'resume' would be the proper word... Do people in England use the words interchangeably very often?

Also - I mentioned bespoke just because I had never heard it in conversation before, not because I didn't know what it meant.

Anyway - thanks everyone.

 

nope, we only use cv which would usually contain education information..... but they may not be so bothered about that if its a specialised job that you have a lot of experience in...

 

Indeed, i have never heard of the word resume used in england to replace CV.

 

CV can mean anything from a one page synopsis of your career to a multipage document detailing education, job experience, personal details, referees, shoe size etc. Which version you submit will depend on the job.

 

I found that when i typed up my CV not to long ago, that i needed to include my more important results from school and college, as well as list previous/current jobs etc.

Sam

 

No, you're probably quite right.

My comment was meant in jest mind

 

Your CV is just a broad outline of your qualifications, a few personal details and who you've worked for and what you've been doing for the past few years. Shouldn't be more than two sheets of A4, somebody may have twenty to wade through. The more important thing is the covering letter you write for the particular job you're applying for.

There are fads in CV format - a few years ago obvious template CVs were frowned on, now they're the in-thing with the Europass, "a single transparency framework for qualifications and competences."