Writing a resume in English: the rules to know (and traps to avoid)
An English resume is not a word-for-word translation of a French CV: in the UK and the US it drops the photo, age and marital status, fits on one or two pages, and describes each experience with action verbs and results.
Resume or CV: what are we talking about?
Before writing, know which document is expected:
| Country | Usual term | Expected length |
|---|---|---|
| United States, Canada | Resume | 1 page (2 for very experienced profiles) |
| United Kingdom, Ireland | CV | 2 pages at most |
| International (NGOs, EU) | CV | 1 to 2 pages |
In the United States, “CV” refers to a long academic document reserved for research and teaching: for a regular job, you send a resume. The expected content stays similar in every case: career, results, skills.
What an English resume leaves out
This is the biggest difference with resumes from many other countries. In the UK, the US and Canada, employers set personal details aside to prevent hiring discrimination:
- No photo.
- No age or date of birth.
- No marital status or nationality.
Remove them from your English version even if they appear on your original CV. Do mention your work situation when it reassures (“EU work permit”, “eligible to work in the UK”) if the offer is open to international candidates.
The sections, in the expected order
- Header: name, target title, email, phone with dialing code, city, LinkedIn profile if relevant.
- Summary (or Profile): two or three lines that sum up your profile and your goal.
- Work experience: most recent first, each position described with bullets starting with an action verb (“managed”, “built”, “increased”), with quantified results whenever possible.
- Education: degrees with their local equivalent when useful (“Master's degree”, “Bachelor's degree”).
- Skills: tools, methods, certifications.
- Languages: “French — native”, “English — fluent (C1)”… The European scale (A1 to C2) is understood in Europe; elsewhere, prefer “basic / professional / fluent / native”.
Translating your resume without betraying it
Word-for-word translation produces strange resumes: degree titles, company names and set phrases do not carry over as they are. The right method:
- Start from your up-to-date resume in its original language.
- Translate the content while keeping technical keywords, tools and certifications intact — recruiters search for “SQL”, not its translation.
- Adapt the sections to the target country: remove photo and age, adjust the length.
- Have a native speaker proofread if possible.
CVticket does steps 1 to 3 in one click: the “Translate content” button translates your resume while preserving keywords, and section titles, months and printed labels switch automatically to the resume’s language. The templates stay the same: only the content changes.
Classic traps for non-native speakers
- False friends: check every word that looks like one from your language — a “stage” is an internship, a “société” is a company.
- Local acronyms (degree or contract names): spell them out or give the equivalent (“two-year technical degree”, “permanent contract”).
- An overstated English level: the interview will happen in English; announce the level you can hold out loud.
- The forgotten letter: in the UK and the US, a cover letter often goes with the resume — our cover letter guide applies in English too.
- A resume not matched to the offer: tracking software compares your resume with the posting’s words; check the match with the ATS test.