A CV in English is not just a translated Polish CV!
It is not only about the fact that in the UK we do not attach a photo.
A CV (Curriculum Vitae, also called a Resume) lets us show our work experience and skills. It is worth remembering that in Anglo culture work experience – especially in the UK – is usually more important than a school certificate (except in cases where the certificate, usually after recognition, gives specific rights, for example the teaching QTS, which you can read about in a separate post).
So education itself is not the main focus – especially since unlike what many people think, language skills in the UK are not at the highest level!
A CV in English is usually in the Skills Based CV format. How do you write it?
The standard CV format in the UK is the so-called Skills Based CV, which means a CV where what you can do matters most, not what paper you have. The whole point is to prove this through specific tasks you have completed in your working life. You must show it through the results you achieved in previous jobs.
Tailored CV – there is no shortcut
Have you sent a thousand CVs in English and nobody even replied?
Sadly, for jobs with strong competition, you need to tailor your CV to a specific job advert. You must show, point by point, that in your career you have done everything mentioned in the English job advert – and done it very well. Sometimes employers even ask you to complete an online questionnaire on their website.
If you work in a job that is needed on the market, for example an IT specialist, once you register with a recruitment agency, the phone may keep ringing. In many other jobs, such as marketing or sales, you have little chance of beating a local English candidate as an outsider.
It is also worth remembering that in the UK a career is more about slowly climbing up the ladder in one company, because building trust takes years there.
Sample skills-based CV in English
So let us return to our CV. We start with personal details: your first and last name in large letters, then your address, and possibly extra details (for example gender, if it is not obvious from the name, especially a foreign name – and we do not need to worry about the word sex here: male/female).
Skills-based CV in English – sample
Below we place a very important section, that is a few words about yourself, the so-called personal statement.
In many cases this will be the only section the recruiter reads, so it should be good and eye-catching. Here we do not only describe how great we already are, but also what we want to achieve.
This section is a neat summary of why it is worth hiring us.
How do you write a Personal Statement in an English CV?
-
Do not ramble. Time is money, and a too-long epic about your colourful childhood will only increase the chances that nobody reads it. A personal statement should be no more than two paragraphs, with two to three essential sentences in each.
-
Stay on topic. It is great that you like riding a bike if you are applying for a bicycle courier job, but it does not matter if you want an office job.
-
Be consistent. Do not write anything you cannot prove. If you say you are unmatched in customer service, you must prove it later with work experience.
-
Stand out. Everyone writes that they are hardworking and a good team player. Give examples that clearly show this.
-
Sell yourself. Think how someone could advertise you on television.
-
Explain gaps in your work history. Gaps look suspicious. Turn a weakness into a strength! Write how you improved your professional qualifications, did volunteer work, studied more with Speakingo…
-
Check everything. Read your CV out loud and see how it sounds. It is also worth asking for feedback from a friend who knows the topic well. friend.
Next, we move on to key skills, or Key Skills.
Here it is important to read carefully what the employer expects from us. We list the skills that are mentioned in the job advert.
We can divide this, for example, into technical skills, which means showing that we know the kind of work we want to do. For example, it is worth mentioning which programs we can use, because simply saying we can use a computer is a bit too little today, as well as personal qualities and any extra strengths.
How do you describe your skills in a skills-based CV in English?
Skills can be divided into:
- transferable, which means skills learned in one place can be used somewhere else
- job-related, which means skills connected to the specific job you do, and
- adaptive, which means skills that can be used in any job.
We do not always realise that we actually have transferable skills. Our current employer does not want us to know that the world does not end with them and that we can use our skills somewhere else. So do not expect your boss to keep praising you and telling you how great you are, only to inspire you to find a better job with someone else! We must know our own value!
These are usually transferable skills such as:
- the ability to work with text, read with understanding, and write clearly
- good communication skills
- the ability to use common computer programs
- the ability to manage people
- sales skills, such as negotiating prices, working with data, and calculating turnover and income
- the ability to finish tasks on time; not all jobs require work to be done before a deadline, so it is worth highlighting if you have succeeded in this area
- there are many skills that can be used in another job. The most important thing is to show in your CV how you developed them in your previous work.
Job-related skills, that is, your work-related skills
Job-related skills are closely connected to the nature of the profession you do. This is mainly what the employer is looking for.
However, they are not important if you are looking for work in a different field: if you have experience doing manicures, this may be an extra advantage when looking for work in a luxury spa or hair salon, but it does not matter if you are applying for a job in a wholesale farm machinery warehouse. If you were a nurse, you can mention caring skills or organisation, but the nursing diploma itself will not be especially useful outside the health and care sector.
There is also nothing wrong with gaining new professional qualifications, but usually it is better to build on what you have already achieved than to start everything from zero in a completely different place.
Read also: Intercultural communication – what does an Englishman say and what does he really mean? (coming soon)
Adaptive skills, that is, skills that can be used in any job
Adaptive skills are strengths of your character. You can also put them in your personal statement and in your work experience. Very important qualities of a good employee are:
- the ability to work in a team (team working). Not everyone can do this.
- Loyalty. If you worked for one employer for a long time, it means you are a loyal employee. Changing jobs often shows strong adaptation and flexibility.
- Positive attitude. Is the glass always half full for you, not half empty? Say so, and explain how this helped you find solutions instead of focusing on the problem. Everyone prefers to work with positive people.
- Creativity. Do you paint, play guitar, or write poems? Many jobs need people with creative minds who can think in an original way.
- Responsibility. Did you take on a problem and solve it? That is valuable experience.
Remember that the employer needs the employee just as much as the employee needs the employer! Finding a good employee is just as hard as finding a good boss! Be proud of your achievements and skills, you are a gift to the world!
Other elements of a skills-based CV in English
Next, it is worth mentioning your professional qualifications and, if relevant, membership in job-related organisations. Put the most important one first, along with the date when you gained it.
Only later can you list your education.
Start with the most recent one, including the completion date. You can briefly mention how your education affected the career path you chose.
That is the end of page one.
An English CV should have two pages, full stop.
On the second page, we describe our employment history.
Second page of a skills-based CV in English
The second page of an English CV may look like this:
How do you describe your employment history in an English skills-based CV?
Start with your most recent job.
If you still work there, give the start date and a dash – to date, meaning up to today. For example:
- 1998 – to date: self-employed English teacher
(That is, self-employed English teacher since 1998)
In a few words, it is worth writing what the company does and what your role there was. Above all, write about the successes you achieved there (increased sales by 10%, gained 100 new customers). Write about things that are connected to the job you are applying for!
Describe previous jobs more briefly, mainly giving the aspects that helped you move to higher levels in your career. Do not be afraid to leave out things that are not relevant to the job you are applying for!
At the end, you usually list hobbies, or Personal Interests. They help the employer get to know you better and see what motivates you, and how you might fit into the existing team.
Different types of work require certain character traits. Think about which hobby will show that you have them.
Finally, add a short note about references. English CVs do not include a folder full of papers, only the line: References are available on request.
There are many templates and websites that help you write a CV; in this article we used the template from Monster.com
Good luck!!!
An English CV is not everything!
However, whatever we write in our English CV, at some point we will have to start speaking English, probably already at the job interview.
So if you want to improve your English,
I invite you to practise on the Speakingo online English course!
Do you want to understand the English? Learn to speak like them!
Sign up for the Speakingo online English course!
And what are your tips and experience with writing a CV in English?
