Thursday, September 12, 2019

How to write a working resume in English: 5 main rules

Of course, compulsory English is more common in vacancies of a certain level - for executives or in international companies. But HR managers advise having a resume in two languages, even if you are not looking for a job abroad: often English acts as a filter by which candidates who have good growth prospects in the company are identified.

Therefore, tightening the tongue before making a breakthrough in the career ladder will not hurt. Start with a simple - resume. Maria Mikhailova, a methodologist and teacher at the Alibra School * School of Foreign Languages, helped to figure out how to properly translate it into English.

You can create a resume without errors at a free master class in Moscow, which suits Alibra. They will also talk about the features of business communication in employment - this lesson will help those who are serious about their careers.

Profile: About Me
It is better to start English-language resumes with a section that can be called a “profile” in the English manner. In fact, this is a squeeze from your entire resume of three to four sentences. In the summary on hh.ru this information can be indicated in the "About Me" section.

Here you need to say who you are and why you apply for this vacancy. For example, “A lawyer with 5 years of experience with the Russian, US and UK copyright” - “A lawyer with five years of experience working with copyright in Russia, the USA and the UK.” Briefly explain why you were attracted to this job, and accompany it with a listing of your core skills.

What words will help here? Everything related to your professionalism, knowledge, experience and intentions. Experienced, dedicated, qualified, proficient, enhanced, striving for, eager to, focused on. This short section has one task - to "sell" a resume to an HR department employee, so that studying CV would arouse his maximum interest.

Work Experience and Achievements - work experience and achievements
This section in no case can be translated from Russian into English verbatim. A direct translation of constructions like “it was my responsibility ...” or “engaged in solving problems ...” will turn the resume into a poorly written sixth-grader essay.

Your task is to retell the main points contained in the Russian text in organic English. To do this, it’s best to use simple sentence constructions and action words - words that indicate your actions.

For example, instead of “I had to make interviews with large amount of people”, simply write “Interviewed people”. Instead of “My responsibility involved planning and making decisions in ...” write “Planned and made decisions in ...”.

Here are a few words to help describe your experience: advised, created, managed, researched, arranged, promoted, distributed, trained, supervised.

You can demonstrate a high level of English using professional terminology. Include one or another specific term in the summary, but before that carefully check if it turned out to be tracing paper from Russian, which has a different meaning in English or is completely meaningless. A rough example: using a staff manager or, worse, a personal manager instead of an HR manager.

In addition, try to avoid cliches - phrases like “achievement of personal and organization goals” and “opportunity to grow” the recruiter sees ten times a day for sure.

Skills - Skills
Basic skills that are specific to your job should be clear to the employer from experience. Additional skills usually indicate knowledge of professional programs, driving skills, level of knowledge of foreign languages. By the way, it is not necessary to confirm it with Cambridge or other international exams. For most employers, a certificate of completion is sufficient: for example, in the Alibra certificate there is a note about the level of proficiency in vocabulary and grammar a student left school.

More abstract skills, such as team spirit or advanced ability to communicate, should be indicated only if you have something to reinforce them specifically. For example, communication skills can coexist with frequent participation in industrial exhibitions, and leadership can be reinforced by active participation in sports for a university team.

Words that may come in handy here: meeting deadlines, working independently, data handling, analytical and problem-solving skills, communication skills (written and oral).

Hobby - a hobby
Some employers pay attention to what a person does in his free time, and thus assess his degree of socialization, character traits or other qualities.

We understand that not everyone can boast that at leisure they are busy with something impressive. But this is not required of you. Just indicate any occupation that is approved in society, if you have any relation to it. They played basketball at the institute - excellent. Traveling from time to time - great! Love Charles Dickens books - almost perfect!

References - recommendations
In contrast to Russia, in Europe and the USA it is customary to indicate the contacts of past employers directly in the resume so that the recruiter has the opportunity to contact them even before being invited for an interview.

If the resume turned out to be more than one or two A4 sheets excluding the “profile” and the cover letter, then you definitely wrote too much. Simplify the text and remove irrelevant details to the last. Leaving only the most important in the resume, you will focus the recruiter on your main advantages.

Take your time to send your resume right away: make yourself wait at least a day to check it again with a fresh mind.

Better yet, give the resume to the English teacher for verification. If you live in Moscow, sign up for a free master class on writing resumes in English at Alibra School: you will learn how to write the perfect resume that you can safely use when looking for a job.

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