A curriculum vitae (also known as a CV) is a document that lists an individual's work experience, education, and other factors that can make him or her a desirable candidate for a job opening. This document is similar to a resume, but whereas resumes tend to be shorter and only highlight relevant experience and education, a curriculum vitae is often more exhaustive and contains information related to publications and other projects that may not be directly related to a career. An executive curriculum vitae is used by individuals who are seeking high level positions and often include contact information, a proper salutation, a complete employment and education history, and information related to accomplishments, publications, and awards.

Your name, address, phone number, and email address is often included at the top of an executive curriculum vitae. In many instances, the information printed here is used a potential employer to contact you. Human resource employees normally handle these documents, so when basic contact information is clearly printed at the top of a curriculum vitae, it may be easier for them to file and locate it.

A salutation is a greeting to whomever reads your executive curriculum vitae. This is sometimes included in a cover letter, which is an accompanying document, rather than directly on the CV. If you believe that a salutation can help to improve your curriculum vitae, it can often be best to have the correct name of them individual whom you expect to read it. For times when you are unsure of whom might read the document and you are also unclear of the individual's gender, it can be best to use a generic, gender neutral salutation, such as "To whom it may concern."

Employment and education history normally make up the bulk of an executive curriculum vitae. Standards for how much information to include vary from location to location and career to career. In some areas, a curriculum vitae should be no longer than a single typed page. In these cases, you may have to be selective about how much to include. Documents presented by professionals who are seeking senior level positions often feature more information to reflect a greater breadth of experience and education.

An executive curriculum vitae is many times more detailed and comprehensive than resumes for lower level positions. For this reason, many documents of this kind include information regarding publications and awards. This information is most often included at the bottom of the document and is meant to supplement the education and work experience.