vita / CV
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CV / résumé
A written summary of a person's professional and educational background, typically used for job applications. Synonymous with Lebenslauf or curriculum vitae (CV).
Bitte fügen Sie Ihrer Bewerbung eine aktuelle Vita bei.
Please attach an up-to-date CV to your application.
life story
The life story or life path of a person in general.
Die Vita des berühmten Autors war von zahlreichen Schicksalsschlägen geprägt.
The famous author's life story was marked by numerous strokes of fate.
'Vita' is a Latin word and means 'life.' This origin explains both meanings in German: the summary of a professional life (CV/résumé) and a person's life story in general.
In seiner Vita finden sich Stationen in drei verschiedenen Ländern.
His vita includes stops in three different countries.
You can tell which meaning is intended from the context. In connection with applications, careers, and work, it refers to a CV/résumé. In biographical or literary texts about a person, it means their entire life story.
Für die Stelle wird eine lückenlose Vita erwartet.
A complete CV is expected for the position.
In the sense of 'Lebenslauf' (CV/résumé), 'Vita' is a somewhat more formal and elegant variant. It is often used in academic and highly qualified professional contexts.
Der Professor hat eine beeindruckende wissenschaftliche Vita vorzuweisen.
The professor has an impressive academic CV to show.
résumé / life story
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.
Auf der Website stellt die Autorin ihre kurze Vita vor.
On her website, the author presents her brief CV.
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.
