Translate Cv

Translating a CV is not transferring words one by one, because job titles and qualifications have no exact equivalent across languages. This guide covers how to carry the meaning rather than the wording.

The steps

1. Translate the sections and duties, never company or qualification names
2. Find the job title actually used in the target market
3. Rewrite achievements using the cultural logic of the target language
4. Reformat numbers and dates to the target language convention
5. Read the translated version as a native reader and flag anything that sounds foreign

Practical tips

• Translate job titles by function, not literally
• Keep technical terms in the language the industry actually uses
• Leave no trace of the source sentence structure in the translation
• Use a translator who knows your field, not a generalist

Common mistakes to avoid

• Relying on machine translation with no human review
• Translating university and qualification names word for word
• Keeping the source word order, which reads as clumsy

Frequently asked questions

Is machine translation good enough for a CV?

No. It works as a first draft but gets industry terminology wrong and produces awkward phrasing. Review it yourself or with a translator in your field.

Should qualification names be translated?

Keep the official name as it is, then add a short level equivalent in the target language in brackets.