An average recruiter or a sleep-deprived HR manager takes 20 to 30 seconds to look at your resume and decide wheatear you will get an answer or not. I know it sounds cruel, seeing how you probably spent a lot of time on your resume. So, how do you save yourself from ending up in the trash bin? As I look at many resumes from translators every day I hope to give you a few pointers.
The first question you should ask yourself when you are writing any resume is what do these employers want from me? After you have identified these key traits they should become the headings in your resume. So for example, the translation agency wants to know your language combinations, your prices, what CAT tools you use, what experience you have in terms of specializations, any relevant certificates and your formal education. Nail a few of these and your chances of getting the job are looking much better.
Also, you can Google yourself and see what comes up.What you see is the same thing I see, so unless you think it is a good idea to have those Friday night drunken photos up there, you should hide under a different name or take them off. To be honest I do not Google people very often and if I do I ignore the Facebook photos, but I know other HR professionals do not. Having a professional looking profile on social networks like Linkedin and memberships in relevant groups can help you get recruited. Further, profiles on professional networks such as proz.com and others like it show you are up to date or at least trying to be.
I also want to mention some things that you should in my opinion never do....
1. Please do not write on those awful Europass templates. They are too long and show you have not invested any time in creating something of your own.Usually, I get these from beginners and they are four pages long and mention their experiences at Starbucks which I really do not care about and are not relevant to the job they are applying for. Your resume should include only relevant information.
2. Photos or no photos, the question is now? I usually glance at the photo and start reading. I do not think it is a bad idea to include a photo but only if you have a decent one. By a bad photo I mean those from your cousin's wedding, your last year’s vacation or a miscalled huge photo that takes up almost half a page on your resume. A professional looking headshot is all you need. Always remember that a great photo will not really help your chances but a bad photo will hurt your chances.
3. Marital status, pets and hobbies are really not relevant. People that like signing and have cats have not been proven to translate better than those that are not married and have iguanas so I really just dismiss this information as clutter. Unless your hobby isdiscovering new CAT tools or learning some rare terminology it has no business being on your resume.
4. Try to spell and grammar check your CV. You are trying to get hired as a translator or proofreader!
5. Don't lie! Please! I will check!
I wanted to include a template or two so you could get a better idea. You will see they are not very fancy (I will leave that up to you) but they get the job done right!
YOURNAME
222 First Street, CITY YOU LIVE IN, T3A-3Y5 | ||
Phone (403) 000-0000 • E-mail me@home.com | ||
Obtaing work as a freelance English-Croatian translator especially in the area of medicine where I have the most experience. | ||
2000-2004 BA in English at the University of XXX 2006 Court certified interpreter for English and Croatian 2009 SDL Trados certified 2011 US State Department Certified translator | ||
Work Experience/Specialization | ||
Localization of XX manual, Eng-Cro, number of words xxxxxxxx Translation of EU documentation for tenders in the medial industry , number of words, xxxx | ||
Skills/CAT TOoLS | ||
CAT tools I use are Trados 2007 and Trados 2009 Studio | ||
PRICES | ||
Tehnical translations xxE per source word | ||
References and letters of recommendation available on request or just put names and titles, ideally for the work you stated above. | ||
OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION | ||
I am registered as a trade or self-employees and can issue bills. Name of trade, VAT number, Payment info, ect… | ||
Template 2
PERSONALINFORMATION:
Name and surname: | |
Mother tongue: |
EDUCATION:
Completion year | School, university, training |
LANGUAGE COMBINATIONS:
Source language | Target language |
TRANSLATIONEXPERIENCE:
(pleaseextensively describe translation experience stating clients, subjects andtranslation quantities)
TECHNICALSKILLS:
(IT skills, CAT tools and other)
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