résumé / life story
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résumé / CV
A document that summarizes a person's educational and professional background as well as their qualifications, and is usually used for job applications.
Bitte fügen Sie Ihrer Bewerbung einen tabellarischen Lebenslauf bei.
Please attach a tabular résumé to your application.
life story
The course and sequence of events in a person's life from birth to death.
Sein ungewöhnlicher Lebenslauf führte ihn von einem kleinen Dorf in die großen Metropolen der Welt.
His unusual life story took him from a small village to the great metropolises of the world.
'Lebenslauf' is a compound word made up of 'das Leben' (life) and 'der Lauf' (course/run). It literally means 'the course of life' and describes the path a person takes in their life.
Der Film erzählt den beeindruckenden Lebenslauf einer berühmten Wissenschaftlerin.
The film tells the impressive life story of a famous scientist.
You can recognize the meaning from the context. If it is about a job application, the document is meant. Adjectives like 'tabellarisch' (tabular) or 'lückenlos' (complete, without gaps) point to this meaning. If it is about a biography or life story, adjectives like 'bewegt' (eventful) or 'ungewöhnlich' (unusual) are typical.
Für die Stelle müssen Sie einen lückenlosen Lebenslauf einreichen.
For the position, you must submit a complete résumé with no gaps.
In the context of job applications, 'Lebenslauf' is often used with verbs like 'schreiben' (to write), 'erstellen' (to create), 'aktualisieren' (to update), or 'einreichen' (to submit). A very common form is the 'tabellarische Lebenslauf' (tabular résumé/CV).
Ich muss meinen Lebenslauf für die neue Bewerbung noch aktualisieren.
I still need to update my résumé for the new application.
vita / CV
Lebenslauf and Vita can both refer to a written overview of a person's education and career for a job application. Lebenslauf is the neutral and usual word for this, while Vita is more elevated in register and often sounds somewhat more concise. In a normal application, „Lebenslauf“ is usually the best choice; „Vita“ is more often found in more formal or sophisticated profiles.
Für die Bewerbung schickte ich meinen Lebenslauf als PDF an das Unternehmen.
For the application, I sent my résumé to the company as a PDF.
Auf der Website stellt die Autorin ihre kurze Vita vor.
On her website, the author presents her brief CV.
