CV Format (2026): What to Include, Section Order, and When a CV Beats a Resume in India

Most Indian job ads say "send your CV" and mean a two-page resume. A true CV is a different document: longer, complete, and built for academic, research, medical, government and overseas applications. This guide shows both, with a section-by-section format and a full academic CV sample.

CV vs resume vs biodata in India

Three words, three documents, constantly mixed up. The confusion is harmless when an IT recruiter writes "CV" and means "resume". It is costly when a candidate sends a two-page resume to a university committee expecting a full publication record, or a biodata with father's name and a declaration to a startup.

For the resume column, the how to write a resume guide covers everything. For the biodata column, see biodata format for job. The rest of this page is about the middle column.

When a CV is the right document

• Academia: Assistant Professor and lecturer posts, postdoctoral fellowships, PhD admissions, JRF and SRF positions. Committees score publications, teaching and research record, so every item must be listed.
• Research institutions: CSIR labs, DRDO, ISRO, ICAR, ICMR and private R&D centres, where a detailed CV is expected as an attachment to a long form.
• Medical and allied health: Residencies, consultant posts, nursing and paramedical roles, especially for Gulf recruitment. Registration numbers, internship, rotations and case exposure need space.
• Government and PSU: Where the form asks for a "detailed CV", or for contractual and consultant positions at ministries and state bodies.
• Abroad: UK, Europe, Gulf and Australia say CV by default; expectations by country are below. US employers say resume and want one to two pages, except in academia.
• Senior leadership in India: Board-level and CXO applications sometimes ask for a full career chronology; two to three pages is normal.

If none of these apply and you are applying to a company in India, send a two-page resume, whatever the advertisement calls it, and check your resume's ATS score free first, because company applications go through parsing software while academic ones usually go straight to a committee.

CV section order

A CV is complete, but still read by a busy person. This order puts what committees score highest near the top.

1. Header. Name, current designation and institution, city, phone, email, ORCID or Google Scholar link. Date of birth and nationality only if the destination expects them.
2. Research interests or professional profile. Three to four lines naming your field, sub-field and methods; for non-academic CVs, a short career profile.
3. Education. Highest degree first, with thesis title and supervisor for PhD and M.Phil, university, year, and division or CGPA. Include NET, GATE, SET or equivalent qualifying exams with year.
4. Academic and professional positions. Reverse-chronological: designation, institution, dates. Guest faculty and ad-hoc positions count; label them as such.
5. Publications. Numbered, most recent first, split into journal articles, conference papers, book chapters and books. Bold your own name. Add DOI or ISSN. Mark items under review separately.
6. Conference presentations and invited talks. Title, event, organiser, city, month and year. Distinguish oral from poster.
7. Teaching experience. Courses taught with level (UG or PG), institution and semesters. Lab supervision and project guidance go here.
8. Research projects, grants and fellowships. Funding body, title, amount if public, role (PI or Co-PI), duration.
9. Skills and instrumentation. Techniques, instruments, software and languages relevant to your field.
10. Awards, memberships and administrative responsibilities. Best paper awards, society memberships, committee roles, exam coordination.
11. References. Two or three academic referees with designation, institution and email, or "available on request" if the form collects them separately.

A non-academic CV (medical, government, overseas corporate) drops publications and teaching unless you have them and expands professional experience into resume-style bullets.

Academic CV extras: publications, conferences, teaching

Publications

This is what a selection committee turns to first. Keep it credible: one citation style throughout (APA, Vancouver, or your field's norm); most recent first; your name in bold in every author list; indexing (SCI, Scopus, UGC-CARE) noted only if the institution's scoring scheme uses it; and "communicated" or "under review" papers in their own sub-list, never mixed with published work. Label preprints as preprints.

Conferences

List presentations, not attendance; a participation certificate is not a CV entry. Give the paper or poster title, conference name, organiser, city and dates, and whether it was oral, poster or invited.

Teaching

Committees for Assistant Professor posts want evidence you have stood in front of a class. List each course with its level and number of semesters, plus lab courses, dissertation supervision, question-paper setting or evaluation duties. Guest, ad-hoc and teaching-assistant work counts; label it as such.

The API score and UGC forms

Many Indian universities ask for a points-based self-assessment (API) form alongside the CV. Align your CV sections with that form's categories (teaching, publications, projects, conferences) so the committee can cross-check quickly.

Europass, UK and Gulf expectations

The Globe template follows the no-photo, two-page international layout; add personal details only where the table says so.

Sample academic CV: Assistant Professor candidate, Chemistry, Bhubaneswar

A recent PhD applying for an Assistant Professor post. The full document would run to three pages; the lists are shortened here to show the format.

The Scholar template produces this structure. For school or college teaching roles rather than research, the teacher resume page shows the shorter version; for management applications, see the MBA resume guide.

Formatting rules for a CV

• Single column, one serif or sans-serif font at 10.5–11.5 pt, generous margins. Committees print CVs; make sure it reads in black and white.
• Your name and page number in the footer of every page ("Mohanty, S. — page 2 of 3"), because printed CVs get separated.
• Section headings in the same order for every application; only the content changes.
• Consistent dates: month and year for positions, year alone for degrees and publications.
• Publications numbered and never abbreviated with "et al." for your own papers; every author is listed.
• No skill bars, icons, graphics or two-column layout: institutional portals parse the PDF, and a sidebar reads out of order.
• PDF export, named Surname-Firstname-CV.pdf. Word only if the form demands it; the resume format in Word guide covers safe settings.
• A one-page resume kept alongside the CV for corporate roles and recruiters. The templates page has both styles.

CV mistakes that committees notice

• Padding the publication list with abstracts, preprints or "communicated" papers presented as published. Committees check.
• Missing thesis title and supervisor under the PhD entry.
• Biodata fields on a CV bound for the UK or US, or leaving them off a Gulf CV that expects them.
• A resume objective on a CV. "Seeking a challenging position" has no place above a research record. Use a research-interests block instead.
• One CV for every purpose. An academic CV sent to a company confuses the recruiter; a resume sent to a selection committee looks thin. Keep both.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a CV and a resume in India?

In Indian private-sector hiring the two words are used interchangeably and both mean a one- or two-page document focused on work experience. In the strict sense, a CV (curriculum vitae) is a complete academic and professional record with no page limit, listing publications, conferences, teaching and grants, and it is expected for academic, research, medical and many overseas applications.

How long should a CV be?

As long as the record requires and no longer. A fresh PhD might fill two to three pages; a senior professor may run to ten or more because of the publication list. For a job in a company, even one that says CV in the advertisement, keep it to two pages. Length comes from substance, not from padding.

Should a CV have a photo and date of birth?

Depends on the destination. Indian universities and government bodies often have a photo box and date of birth field in their application form, so the CV itself can stay clean. Gulf employers commonly expect a photo, date of birth and nationality on the CV. UK, US and most Europass-style applications expect neither, and including them can work against you.

What is a Europass CV and do I need one?

Europass is a standard CV layout used across the European Union, generated free through the official Europass website. Some EU universities, scholarships and public-sector employers ask for it specifically. If they do not, a clean conventional CV is usually preferred, because the Europass layout is long and repetitive.

How do I list publications on a CV?

Use one consistent citation style, number the entries, put the most recent first, and bold your own name in each author list. Separate peer-reviewed journal articles from conference papers and book chapters. Add the DOI where it exists, and mark papers under review or in press as such rather than listing them as published.

Is biodata the same as a CV?

No. Biodata is a personal-details document with date of birth, father's name, religion, marital status and a declaration, used for some government forms and for matrimonial purposes. A CV is a record of your qualifications and work. If a company or college asks for biodata for a job, they almost always mean a resume with a few personal fields added.

Related guides & tools

• Free ATS score checker — for the resume version you send to companies
• Resume and CV templates — Scholar (academic) and Globe (international) layouts
• How to write a resume — the two-page corporate document
• Biodata format for job — when a form really wants biodata
• Resume format in Word — if a portal insists on .docx
• Teacher resume — for school and college teaching roles
• MBA resume — for management applications
• Cover letter guide — academic applications usually need one