At first glance, translating a resume may seem fairly simple; it’s simply a matter of translating some education and work experience, and that’s it. Or is it?

Actually, there’s a lot more to translating a resume than that. For example, how do you make it clear to your desired future employer what level of education you have? Many types of schools and vocational training are completely unknown from one country to another.

Even seemingly petty details must not be overlooked. That starts with something as simple as the format of a date. Every country has their own way of doing this, and using the appropriate format not only results in a good appearance, but is a testament to your eye for detail. In fact, it is considered sloppy to use an incorrect date format: it means you start off on a bad foot before your desired future employer even gets to the content of your resume. You don’t want to stand out from all the other candidates in a bad way.

The right tone of a resume and an application letter

And that only covers the resume; we haven’t even talked about the accompanying application letter. What is the proper salutation for your application letter in the other country, and what tone is acceptable? Should an application letter be strictly business, or can it be a bit exaggerated, as is customary in Anglo-Saxon countries? And how far can you take this?

Despite all these pitfalls, a striking amount of people translate their resume and application letter themselves. After all, they speak a fair bit of French, German, English, or Spanish, so shouldn’t they handle the translation themselves?

Yes, of course you know that Hoge School is not translated as High School, but it does not end there. Many pitfalls are not that obvious. For example, in Spanish, ambition can be translated to ambición. However, if you do not explain your ambition in the right way in a Spanish application letter, people may think you are planning to force your way up. That meaning is also contained in the concept ambición. Needless to say, this does not leave a good impression with an employer.

Translating twice

Therefore, translating a resume is twofold. Not only should the content be perfectly translated in a linguistic sense, but the message, context, and tone must also be clear, appropriate, and correct for the receiving party.

Your resume and application letter and up among dozens or hundreds of others. Therefore, yours should stand out in a positive way. You only get one chance to make a first impression. A resume that does not hit the right note and generates more questions than it answers, completely misses the mark here.

Clearly, translating your resume and application letter is specialised work. That is why Translation Agency™ only uses translators for this who are tried and tested in this field. They must also be native speakers living in the country where you are applying. With its 1,132 translators, Translation Agency™ has the translator(s) for you.

And…more for less!

This additional attention to your resume and application letter does not result in higher prices with Translation Agency™. On the contrary: you will see that our high quality translations cost a lot less than those of other translation agencies. How can that be? Simple! Our translators work in their own countries, which means we do not need an office. How much discount does that generate? If you complete our online quote form, you can find out within 15 minutes. That is the time we need to provide you with a customised quote.