Any advice with regards to how I should organise my CV? Thread poster: Louise Souter (X)
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Louise Souter (X) 
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:50
Spanish to English
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I would like to know if you have any advice with regards how I should organise my CV. I think I should use it to reflect my language experience and skills, not merely list my previous employment.
[Subject edited by staff or moderator 2009-04-08 13:11 GMT]
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Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 16:50
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Make lists of your clients and your recent projects.
Be original, don't use Times New Roman and black and white photos
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| Vital information at a glance | Apr 8, 2009 |
I must admit that I have neglected my CV lately as I don't use it much. I would try to summarise the vital information on the first page so that it easy to see and remember. I receive many CVs (I wonder why, as my company does not outsource) and I would prefer to see CVs organised as listed below.
1. Identification (your name). Optionally (although I think it is useful), a professional picture depicting you as a positive, good-humoured professional. Not necessarily a picture with a ... See more I must admit that I have neglected my CV lately as I don't use it much. I would try to summarise the vital information on the first page so that it easy to see and remember. I receive many CVs (I wonder why, as my company does not outsource) and I would prefer to see CVs organised as listed below.
1. Identification (your name). Optionally (although I think it is useful), a professional picture depicting you as a positive, good-humoured professional. Not necessarily a picture with a white background; maybe some picture you like of yourself and matches the idea you have of yourself as a professional translator. Some CV pictures are awful... or maybe I am too fastidious...
2. Right under your name, a tagline that is easy to remember and that summarises your abilities and qualifications (e.g. "Spanish and French to English, DipTrans [if you passed], Master of Arts (Hons) in French and Spanish studies")
3. Email address, phone number, postal address (in this order, as this is the order in which a potential customer will try to contact you)
4. Your education, certificates. Dates and description of the most important ones (your Master of Arts, your degree, the DipTrans if you passed...)
5. Work experience (if you haven't had a job as an employee in translation, summarise relevant translation jobs you have done).
6. Personal interests. If there is something you do or particularly like as a hobby, or some knowledge you have acquired that could be relevant for your work as a translator (i.e. that can help you make better, knowledgeable translations in the area), make it stand out. I am thinking of things like "Also a screenplay writer" if you look for work in arts/TV/movies...
(All this is just my opinion! I am not an outsourcer, so I don't know what they prefer to see first in a CV.)
[Edited at 2009-04-08 05:02 GMT] ▲ Collapse
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Anne Carnot
France
Local time: 00:50
Member (2009)
English to French
| Organise your CV | Apr 8, 2009 |
Hi Louise,
For what it's worth, I think you should shorten your CV. Is there a way you could summarize your teaching experience under a general heading? It looks a bit like a list on your CV. Maybe you could put a general heading like ESOL teacher, and list a few achievements relating to this underneath? (different type of pupils you had, the type of courses you prepared/ taught, etc.). Also maybe highlight any time spent abroad as an additional asset?
Here are just a f... See more Hi Louise,
For what it's worth, I think you should shorten your CV. Is there a way you could summarize your teaching experience under a general heading? It looks a bit like a list on your CV. Maybe you could put a general heading like ESOL teacher, and list a few achievements relating to this underneath? (different type of pupils you had, the type of courses you prepared/ taught, etc.). Also maybe highlight any time spent abroad as an additional asset?
Here are just a few ideas but what I remember from my time as an HRM is that HR people all have different ideas about what a good CV should look like, so just try to find your own style, that should do the trick! Just remember that very often, HRM spend very little time scanning through a CV, so your assets should stand out.
Hope this helps.
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 00:50
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
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| Your current CV seems fine... | Apr 8, 2009 |
Louise Souter wrote:
I would like to know if you have any advice with regards how I should organise my CV. I think I should use it to reflect my language experience and skills, not merely list my previous employment.
Yes, that may be an idea. But before we hand out advice here, let's first ask what you plan to use your CV for. Do you want to find permanent employment with it? Or do you want to use it to get more freelance clients?
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Louise Souter (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:50
Spanish to English
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TOPIC STARTER | I want it to be more focused | Apr 8, 2009 |
In reply to your comments/queries:
I agree with AC translation's assessment that my CV looks like a list and I want it to look like I am genuinely interested in translation work (both in-house and freelance) rather than a general CV drafted for any job going. I think I need to summarise my administration/teaching experience and, as AC Translation said, emphasise my time abroad but am unsure how to do this.
Also do I need my employer's permission to list the projects I h... See more In reply to your comments/queries:
I agree with AC translation's assessment that my CV looks like a list and I want it to look like I am genuinely interested in translation work (both in-house and freelance) rather than a general CV drafted for any job going. I think I need to summarise my administration/teaching experience and, as AC Translation said, emphasise my time abroad but am unsure how to do this.
Also do I need my employer's permission to list the projects I have worked on for them.
Thank you ▲ Collapse
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Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 00:50
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Louise Souter wrote:
...I want it to look like I am genuinely interested in translation work (both in-house and freelance)...
In that case, you need two CVs, namely one for inhouse jobs and one for freelance jobs. But in fact, you don't need a CV for that -- what you need is a résumé, or a brochure.
Also do I need my employer's permission to list the projects I have worked on for them.
For projects done for employers: without their permission, you can't be specific but you can give general, non-identifiable details.
For projects done for *clients*: without their consent, you can basically mention only the subject fields.
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| Regarding the French version | Apr 8, 2009 |
First I agree with AC translation: your teaching experiences could be shortened especially since some of them are simply repeated. Plus, they all lasted a few months only. Maybe you could say that in year XXXX you did several teaching missions? Just an idea.
Secondly you state in your profile that you translate from EN to FR, but your CV in French shows that you are not a French native (abusive use of capital letters, syntax mistakes)...So you might not be taken seriously by potenti... See more First I agree with AC translation: your teaching experiences could be shortened especially since some of them are simply repeated. Plus, they all lasted a few months only. Maybe you could say that in year XXXX you did several teaching missions? Just an idea.
Secondly you state in your profile that you translate from EN to FR, but your CV in French shows that you are not a French native (abusive use of capital letters, syntax mistakes)...So you might not be taken seriously by potential French clients.
Good luck
Stéphanie ▲ Collapse
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Louise Souter (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 23:50
Spanish to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER | Eng-Fr/Span - interpretation only | Apr 8, 2009 |
Stéphanie Soudais wrote:
Secondly you state in your profile that you translate from EN to FR, but your CV in French shows that you are not a French native (abusive use of capital letters, syntax mistakes)...So you might not be taken seriously by potential French clients.
Thank you for the warning, I will look at my French CV again. However I translate only French/Spanish - English. I have only ever unofficially INTERPRETED from English - French/Spanish. Is there an way to mention this unofficial experience in my CV?
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