If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door. That’s what you’re here for. To build a resume that will have all kinds of companies knocking on your door.
Whether in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, or almost anywhere in the world having a CV in English is essential to find a job in an increasingly global market in which you will have to adapt if you want to achieve your professional goals.
Needless to say, yes, when looking for work in English-speaking countries, you limit yourself to making a CV in Spanish or without taking into account the rules of the country you are going to, your application will end up with words: “Thank you, next.”
In this guide you will see:
- An example of a CV for England or the United States.
- How to make an English CV part by part.
- The best templates to find a job abroad.
Example of Curriculum Vitae in English
Personal Info
Sara Torres Rosas
Address
79 Bouverie Road
Phone
078 6907 0850
Personal Statement
Hotel Manager with more than 5 years of professional experience developing effective communication with a team of 20 people and providing outstanding customer service in a 4 stars resort. Willing to be part of The Little Door Hotel, ensuring the venue maintains high standards for the guests.
Work Experience
Hotel Manager
Travelodge, London, UK
June 2016- January 2020
- Customer feedback review to create targeted action plans and solving potential problems.
- Part of the recruiting process, hiring +10 employees for the team, making sure they match with the hotel standards and values.
- Ensured all rooms and communal areas were cleaned thoroughly and consistently.
- Responsible for hotel safety, banking, and rota management.
- Improved hotel rating from 3.9 to 4.8 on Booking
- Increased the number of customers by 15% during the last year.
Assistant Hotel Manager
Premier Inn, Manchester, UK
September 2014- May 2016
- Responsible for the bar café team, ensuring the high standards of the hotel.
- Collaborated with team members to create personal development plans for employees.
- Reported repair or maintenance needed, solving potential problems for the guests.
- Handled guest complaints.
- Increased 35% of the food and beverage sales by upselling strategies.
- Exceeded client satisfaction by over 80% in critical areas.
Education
Master of Hotel Administration
Murcia University, Spain
2012
BA, Tourism
Murcia University, Spain
2010
Key skills
- Organizational skills: Managed the café team organization for special venues.
- Leadership: Headed a 20 members team with a daily and solid communication system.
- Problem-solving: Having feedback from guests and employees, solving issues on time.
Languages
- Spanish – Native
- English – Fluent
- French – Conversational
Certificates
Certification in Floor and Cleaning Management – Sheffield Hallam University
You just to see how to make a resume to expand a career to new horizons.
However, your profile may not be the same as the example and is not even related to the hostelry. Therefore, we are going to see a series of general guidelines so that you can make your CV regardless of the profile you have.
If you want to start your CV in English now, you can consult the following lists of templates fully adaptable to the language of Shakespeare:
What is a Curriculum in English?
Let’s start with the most essential: what is a CV in English? To begin with, CVs in English are called “resumes” and, as in Spanish, they consist of a document that clearly summarizes your professional experience and skills. However, there are a few differences with the Spanish CVs, which we will see below.
How to make a CV in English
Now that we have the basic concepts clear, let’s move on to practice.
Use the best format for your CV/Resume
- Use a font size between 10 and 12 points, depending on the font.
- Spacing must be 1.5 points.
- Margins must be tight a 2,5 cm
- Try to make your CV no longer than a face. You can add a second face. But only if you have broad and relevant work experience for the position you are applying for.
- Use the PDF format, as this will ensure that the structure of your CV is not broken and can be read by the ATS (applicant tracking system) that more and more companies use in the preselection of candidates.
- When naming your PDF file, avoid generic names such as CVs. Use your name instead, as this will make it easier for the recruiter to locate.
CORRECT
Sara Torres CV.pdf
Sara Torres Resume.pdf (For the USA)
In the last example, putting in a number can imply that you have made different CVs and that the company you are contacting has not been your first choice.
Personal Info
When starting your CV, avoid the obvious title of “Resume”. Instead, it is best to start with your full name. That is the brand with which you will have to sell your profile.
- Avoid starting with surnames. First, the name to avoid confusion.
- Follow with your address, email, and telephone number (Do not forget to put the prefix if you are looking for work from outside the country).
- Do not forget your profile from LinkedIn. This social network is increasingly used internationally within the world of work.
Pro Tip: If you are introducing yourself to a job offer with many candidates, it is recommended that, within the contact information, you can put an address or a local telephone number that will show human resources that you can have an interview in person and join immediately.
CORRECT
Address
51 High Street
ASH BULLAYNE
EX17 2FE
INCORRECT
Address
Quevedo, 26
15313 Irixoa, Spain
Unless you are applying for a highly specialized job and are confident that your profile is much higher than that of other candidates, indicating a place of residence outside the country where you are seeking employment may end up being a handicap.
CORRECT
Phone
+34 682 976 451
If you are looking for work abroad, and you still have the number for your country, don’t forget to add the prefix.
Personal Statement
Also known as an extract in Spanish, it consists of an introductory paragraph of no more than 5 lines in which you have to catch the recruiter’s attention and invite him to continue reading.
So, what is the difference between an extract in Spanish and one in English?
In Spain, it has traditionally been something optional within the curriculum. Depending on the profile and the needs of the position, it could be put or not. When writing a curriculum vitae in English, this section is mandatory as an introduction to your profile.
When writing your Personal Statement you must answer 2 questions:
- What are your greatest achievements and aptitudes about the position you are seeking?
- What are your professional goals within this sector and the company?
Pro Tip: Make sure that, within your excerpt, you use keywords for the position you are applying for. If, for example, you apply for a Manager offer, you could use words like “leadership”, “analytical skills”, “effective communication”, etc.
Work Experience
The information of your work experience should follow the following order:
- Job Name: With your technical name, each work experience that you are going to include in the CV.
- Company and city: Add the name of the company and the city in which you worked. If you have experience outside the country where you are looking for work, add the country as well.
- Dates: Limit yourself to the month and year of the start and end.
- Responsibilities and achievements: add a list of between 5 and 6 points, summarizing your work experience in a way adapted to the position you are looking for. Try to provide results in numbers whenever you can.
- Keywords: Read the description of the offer, look for the requirements for the job and adapt your work experience to them, trying to use the same or similar words.
Pro Tip: If you do not have work experience in the country where you are looking for work, try to add responsibilities that involve the language with which you are going to work or communicate within the company. In this way, the recruiter will see that you know the language, not just in a theoretical way.
CORRECT
Customer Assistant
Carrefour, Barcelona
05/2017 – 02/2020
- Serving +100 customers daily, ensuring they receive an easy and personalized experience.
- Replenishing fresh products like fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish within the store.
- Supervised a team of 5 cashiers.
- Managed fragile product deliveries into the store.
- Customer service in English, French and Italian.
In addition to showing relevant responsibilities for the position you are looking for, try to add related experience with the use of languages.
INCORRECT
Customer Assistant
Carrefour, Barcelona
05/2017 – 02/2020
Don’t let forgetfulness play a trick on you. Try to show a little of your skills and responsibilities in each job that you are going to include.
Education
If your professional career is not closely related to the position you are looking for, or you do not directly have the experience, you can place this section above work experience. If, on the other hand, you have a work experience as solid as Sherlock Holmes, you can place it right after the professional career.
For each title that you are going to put, include:
- Name of the degree
- University or educational center
- City
- Date of graduation
Pro Tip: Are you still studying? If you have not finished your studies, you can continue to include them. Add the expected year of completion.
If you don’t know how to name your studies in English, you’re in luck. Here is a table with the most relevant translations.
Translations of Academic Degrees in English
Baccalaureate/COU
GCE (General Certificate of Education)
| Basic qualifications | |
| Name in Spanish | English translation |
| Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) | GCSE (General Certificate of Secondary Education) |
| Training cycles (FP) | VET (Vocational Education and Training) |
| Degree / Bachelor / Diploma | B (Bachelor’s Degree) |
| Postgraduate | PGCert (Postgraduate Certificate) |
| Master | M (Master’s Degrees) |
| PhD | PhD (Doctorate) |
It is well known that both English and Americans are very given to using abbreviations in acronyms, especially for degrees. Therefore, here is another more detailed list of university degrees.
Fine arts degrees
| Degrees University students | |
| Name in Spanish | English translation |
| Bachelor of Arts | BA |
| Science degrees | BS |
| BFA | |
| Bachelor’s degrees in business administration | BBA |
| Bachelor’s degrees in architecture | B.Arch |
| Bachelor of Nursing | BSN |
| Engineering degrees | BE |
| Bachelor’s degree in agriculture | B.Ag. |
| Degree in civil engineering | BCE |
| Degree in electrical engineering | BEE |
| Degree in journalism | BJ |
| Degrees Master’s Degree | |
| Name in Spanish | English translation |
| Master of business administration | MBA |
| Master of Arts | MA |
| Master of Science | MS |
| Master in research | MRes |
| Master in public health | MPH |
| Master in social work | MSW |
| Master of Laws | LLM |
| Master of Fine Arts | MFA |
| Master in Music | MM |
| Master of Education | MEd |
| Master of Engineering | MEng |
| Master of Architecture | MArch |
| PhD degrees | |
| Name in Spanish | English Translation |
| Doctor of Architecture | D.Arch. |
| Doctor of Chemistry | D.Chem. |
| Doctor of Social Sciences | DSSc. |
| Doctor of legal sciences | JSD |
| Doctor of Geology | |
| Doctor of Theology | Th.D |
| Doctor of Business Administration | DBA |
| Doctor of Educational Psychology | D.Ed .Psych. |
| Ph.D. in civil engineering | Eng.D. |
| Doctor of Veterinary Medicine | |
Key Skills
Also known as skills or abilities. This section is ideal to include other skills or keywords that you have not been able to include in the work experience.
Most required skills for a CV in English
- Communication
- Conflict resolution
- Creativity
- Leadership
- Decisiveness
- Active listening
- Customer service
Languages
In an increasingly global market, speaking several languages is a point in favor that, You can easily put yourself above other candidates. Besides, if you are looking for a job outside your country, it is a good time to show that you handle the local language.
When indicating your level in each language you can say:
-
-
- Basic, beginner
- Conversational, intermediate
- Advanced, proficient
- Fluent, native
-
Another option if you are looking for work within Europe, is to use the Common European Framework Reference for Languages (CEFR).
Additional Sections
To put the finishing touch to your CV, you can add sections additional that reinforce your profile and differentiate you from the rest of the candidates for the job offer.
Additional sections of a CV in English
-
-
- Software Skills
- Certificates
- Hobbies
- Volunteering
- Awards
- References
- Publications
- Projects
- Certification
- Licenses
-
These should go at the end of the curriculum since in most cases, the most important sections will be the work experience and academic training.
If you want to know which of them should be added, open our guide on additional information in the CV.
Cover Letter
Last but not least, there is the cover letter.
Although in Spain, not everyone uses cover letters, in countries like the United Kingdom or the United States, it is practically mandatory if you want to have options for the position.
This must be personalized for each job offer you are going to apply for, in addition to having a design according to your CV.
Resume Templates in English
You know what to put. But the devil is in the details.
According to studies conducted by The Ladders, recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds reviewing each resume during the first selection phase. Lots of competition and little time to shine.
If you really want to attract the attention of HR and be closer to the interview and the contract, you should have a resume design that looks as professional as the information you will have written on it.
- Professional template CV in English with a double-column layout. Ideal for scientific or academic profiles with a lot of relevant information. You can edit this model for free and, later, download it in both Word and PDF.
- English curriculum vitae template with a layout visually divided into three parts to facilitate the distribution of information in it and, with a touch of branding, to help the selectors remember your name. You can edit it to your liking, by clicking on the image.
- Classic template one single column, with graphic details that, united by a linear stroke, facilitate reading development. You can directly edit this British CV template, by clicking on the image. You will be able to download the final result in PDF and Word.
