Hi Reader, in the next three weeks, we’ll look at how to write outstanding CVs and résumés.

This is one of the most important parts of your career journey because it doesn’t fit, you won’t even land a single interview.

However, writing a good résumé/CV can be simpler than you think if you understand what purpose they serve.

And this can basically be summarized in a single goal:

The Essence Of A Résumé/CV

A résumé (or industry CV) is very focused:

It exists to show that your experience covers the skills required for the specific job you’re applying for.

That’s it. In contrast to an academic CV, it’s not about showing everything you’ve done.

It’s about showing the right things - those that prove you can perform this job effectively and with minimal risk for the employer.

CV & Résumé Differences

The wording CV vs. résumé is mostly historically grown.

The résumé originated in the US, but in Europe and Asia, ‘CV’ and ‘résumé’ are often used interchangeably in industry. I wrote about the history and important technical differences here.

Still, their purposes differ in ways that reflect the broader differences between academia and industry:

A CV (Academic Curriculum Vitae) is a record of what you know, what you’ve done, and what you’ve discovered.

The reader (usually a professor) is looking for potential and curiosity. They want to see how you think and what kind of academic path you can build.

The system translates those into recognition and funding. Publications, citations, and reputation become the academic equivalents of money.

The Résumé (or Industry CV)

A company’s goal is to deliver predictable outcomes that sustain business success. Knowledge matters only insofar as it helps get things done. It’s about results that generate profit.

And that means you can summarize it like this:

• Academia seeks people (who create opportunities).
• Industry seeks people who fulfills a defined need.

This difference defines what people expect in a good résumé.

The Psychology Behind It

To write a convincing résumé, you must think like the person reading it.

While academic hiring decisions are driven by a single principal investigator, in industry, it’s almost the opposite.

Decision-making is A) structured and B) risk-sensitive.

A) means each hiring step follows clear procedures and especially in larger companies often with HR involvement.

This is partly because companies receive hundreds, if not thousands, of applications for nearly every open role, many of which are not a good fit.

As a result, it’s often HR (or even automated systems) that reads your résumé first - only if it passes this stage will the hiring manager or team leader receive it, and only then might the interview process begin.

= Your résumé is used as a first filter. It’s less about discovering brilliance and more about excluding those who don’t fit the role.

Why Risk Matters

In most hiring decisions, safety matters more than genius.

Companies prefer someone who will do the job reliably over someone who might do it exceptionally well.

That’s partly because the company has a clear goal, and a bad hire can directly result in delays or even problems achieving that goal.

In some cases, you’ll even need training in specific procedures, as they are legally required - and these regulations are often much more strictly enforced than in academia.

That means the job itself is defined from the top down.

As a result, your role is not to reinvent the job but to execute it effectively.

How Résumés Are Read

In essence, a good résumé must answer the question “Can you do the job?” quickly - within seconds.

Recruiters scan résumés for 5–15 seconds on average.

They look for confirmation, not for outstanding features.

Companies hire people to get things done, not to discover what might be possible.

This is important to understand because it will shape several key decisions - for example, what to include and how to phrase your skills.

Accordingly, we’ll explore how résumés are properly designed next week.

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