Applying for jobs in the US from the UK: your CV becomes a resume

A UK CV and a US resume agree on several basics. Neither includes a photo or a date of birth, both run in reverse chronological order, and both are tailored to each role. The National Careers Service tells UK applicants to leave out age, date of birth, marital status and nationality; the US government gives similar reasons.

• Photo: leave it out in both countries. The EEOC advises employers not to request photographs; one may be taken after an offer is made and accepted, for identification.
• Age and personal details: leave out age, date of birth, marital status and nationality. The EEOC says information about race, sex, national origin, age and religion is irrelevant to qualifying for a job.
• Order: most recent first, with results rather than duties.

• The word: in the US the document is a resume. “CV” is used mostly in academia and research.
• Length: aim for one page, two only if your experience requires it. CareerOneStop, the US Department of Labor's job-search site, says so, and suggests including only the jobs that add the most value, usually from the past 12 to 15 years. A UK CV can run to two pages more comfortably.
• The opening: a US resume usually starts with an optional two- or three-line summary rather than a long personal profile.
• Address: city and state are enough; a full street address isn't needed.
• Spelling and dates: use American spelling and the date format your reader expects.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) says pre-employment questions should be limited to what is essential to decide if a person is qualified, and that questions about protected traits can be used as evidence of an intent to discriminate unless they have a business purpose. Employers are explicitly prohibited from asking about disability before an offer.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act protects applicants and employees aged 40 and over. That is one reason a resume doesn't carry a date of birth.

Many US employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS), which search resumes for keywords. Keep a plain, single-column layout with standard section titles, no tables or graphics, and use the same words as the job posting. This is also good practice in the UK.

• Calling it a CV when the employer says resume.
• Two dense pages when one tight page would do.
• Including age, a photo or marital status.
• A long personal profile in place of a short summary.
• Tables, columns and graphics that software can't read.

• One page if you can; two if your experience requires.
• No photo, age or personal details.
• Bullets that start with a verb and show a result.
• Plain layout and the keywords of the posting.
• The last 12 to 15 years of experience.