European vs. American (C.V. vs. Resume)

Question

I was in Germany recently and a friend gave me a C.V. to take home (he was looking for a job in America.) He recently emailedc me another C.V. but I can not present this to any of my co-workers etc. in the computer field because it is so different from a resume. It includes a lot of personal information etc. I tried to explain this before I left Germany but I don't think the message came accross. We are both in the computer field. How would/should I tell him that Americans are really prissy when it comes to a resume?
Lava

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I was in Germany recently and a friend gave me a C.V. to take home (he was looking for a ... in the computer field. How would/should I tell him that Americans are really prissy when it comes to=a resume? Lava[/nq]
Tell him, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" and find (or have him find for himself) advice from Americans on how to write a r=E9sum=E9.

Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA=20
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I was in Germany recently and a friend gave me a C.V. to take home (he was looking for a ... both in the computer field. How would/should I tell him that Americans are really prissy when it comes toa resume?[/nq]
Remind your friend of the exact function of this
document which is neither to justify his life nor to secure employment but to get him onto the "short list" of job applicants to be interviewed in person. If he can find out any information about the potential employer his resume/c.v. ought to be rewritten so as to trigger interest in the employer (and for no other purpose.)

Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I was in Germany recently and a friend gave me a C.V. to take home (he was looking for a ... the computer field. How would/should I tell him that Americans are really prissy when it comes to a resume? Lava[/nq]
Tell him, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" and find (or have him find for himself) advice from Americans on how to write a résumé.

I suppose he is trying to submit what in the UK we call a "curriculum vitae" or cv, which does traditionally include personal information. Could you perhaps email him, as a model, an actual US-style résumé, with identifying details replaced by asterisks?
Alan Jones

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I was in Germany recently and a friend gave me ... are really prissy when it comes to a resume? Lava[/nq]
[nq:1]Tell him, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" and find (or have him find for himself) advice from Americans on how to write a résumé.[/nq]What's interesting in the discussion that's happened about CV vs Résumé (is there really an accent on the first 'e' - comes out 50/50 on Google?) here and in Another Place, is that I'd thought they were pondian synonyms, and now I'm not so sure. A few weeks back I applied for an online job with an Australian institution, and Googled to ask Aus posters which to use (the consensus from Down Under was that the term used depended on the sort of job being applied for).

To me a CV is supposed to outline how you've spent your life. As you get older (and if you have had a bit of a picaresque lifestyle), the problem becomes what and what not to include. My CV has managed to stay at 3 pages of A4 for the last ten years or so, but with every new job or qualification something has to be taken out. Maybe I should reduce the font size again...
It sounds as if maybe a résumé is more of a summary?

DC

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Tell him, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" ... himself) advice from Americans on how to write a résumé.[/nq]
[nq:1]What's interesting in the discussion that's happened about CV vs Résumé (is there really an accent on the first 'e' ... I'm not so sure. A few weeks back I applied for an online job with an Australian institution, and Googled[/nq]
Googled my ***. Posted to AUE was what I did. I blame the aluminium saucepans.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Tell him, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do" ... himself) advice from Americans on how to write a r=E9sum=E9.[/nq]
[nq:1]What's interesting in the discussion that's happened about CV vs R=E9sum==E9 (is there really an accent on the first 'e' - comes out 50/50 on Google?)[/nq]
As I understand the rules which Merriam-Webster uses in editing its dictionaries, the spelling "resum=E9" has become rarer in recent years.

I say this because the *Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary* at www.m-w.com , which is based upon MWCD10, gives the entry for the word under "r=E9sum=E9" and then shows
"Variant(s): or re=B7su=B7me* or re=B7su=B7m=E9"

In the online MWC11, on the other hand, the variants are given as follows:
"Variant(s): or re=B7su=B7me* also *re=B7su=B7m=E9"

The "or" is used when the variants (including the version used in the title of the entry) are used in roughly equal amounts. The "also" indicates that the variant in question, although standard, is used less often than the other variants.

Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA=20
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What's interesting in the discussion that's happened about CV vs Résumé (is there really an accent on the first 'e' ... here and in Another Place, is that I'd thought they were pondian synonyms, and now I'm not so sure. ([/nq]
NSOED shows both e's accented. But if AmE has abandoned the accents, perhaps BrE should follow suit: as the (very rough) equivalent of CV, "resume" is a purely US word, I think.
Alan Jones

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What's interesting in the discussion that's happened about CV vs ... on the first 'e' - comes out 50/50 on Google?)[/nq]
[nq:1]As I understand the rules which Merriam-Webster uses in editing its dictionaries, the spelling "resumé" has become rarer in recent ... equal amounts. The "also" indicates that the variant in question, although standard, is used less often than the other variants.[/nq]
So you'd counsel two accents Ray? But pronounced 'rezumay' in all cases?
DC

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]What's interesting in the discussion that's happened about CV vs ... were pondian synonyms, and now I'm not so sure. ([/nq]
[nq:1] NSOED shows both e's accented. But if AmE has abandoned the accents, perhaps BrE should follow suit: as the (very rough) equivalent of CV, "resume" is a purely US word, I think. Alan Jones[/nq]
Well according to posters in this thread http://tinyurl.com/9c7r6 it's also used on occasion in Australia.
DC

Usenet · Answer

(=2E..)
[nq:2]As I understand the rules which Merriam-Webster uses in editing ... although standard, is used less often than the other variants.[/nq]
[nq:1]So you'd counsel two accents Ray? But pronounced 'rezumay' in all cases?[/nq]
If I were asked my opinion, I'd say that all three spellings are standard. I myself use "r=E9sum=E9" and find "resum=E9" to be a bit odd. It's the only English common noun I know with an accent used in a non-etymological spelling for purposes of indicating pronunciation. The only proper noun which has an English form which uses an accent in a non-etymological spelling for purposes of pronunciation is "Pok=E9mon."

However, there's no question about "resum=E9" being a standard spelling. The AHD4 even uses it as the form for the headword, with the other two spellings listed as variants.
If I knew which spelling was preferred by the sort of people who make decisions based upon r=E9sum=E9s, I'd counsel using that, but I don't, so I can't.
(I just thought of another English proper noun I know which uses an accent in a non-etymological spelling for purposes of pronunciation: "Bront=EB.")
I was surprised to see not only that the *Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary* has a pronunciation variant in which the first syllable rhymes with "ray," but that several dictionaries have variants in which the primary accent falls on the last syllable rather than the first. I don't remember ever having heard those variants, but I don't dispute the dictionary pronunciations.

Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA=20
E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

European vs. American (C.V. vs. Resume)

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