Advice for Chinese Job Hunters And Recent Graduates - How To Improve Your English Language Resume

The word "resumé" is mainly used inare close to perfect... unlikely!It's better to use an
American English. Originally, it is a French wordactual qualification to show your language ability,
meaning "summarised".or at least statement of your English level using
It is not the same word as the English verbone of the following words:a) Elementary (-
"resume" (/'rezju:m/). As such, you should write itmeans you can understand a little but can't really
with the acute accent on the final letter: "é"use English effectively)
and you should pronounce it /'rez-ju:-mei/.In Britishb) Lower Intermediate (- means you can
English we normally use the letters "CV" to meanundersand a wide range of simple English and
a resumé.express yourself in simple ways)
CV stands for 'curriculum vitae', which are wordsMost high school graduates in China are at either
from the ancient language Latin, meaning "outlineelementary or lower intermediate level in their oral
of my life". People usually say the letters CVEnglish.
rather than saying the Latin words.c) Mid Intermediate (- means you can follow a
**************************************native speaker's speech in normal situations, and
8 Tips That Are Guaranteedcan express yourself in some quite full ways)
To Help You Make A Better Impressiond) Upper Intermediate (- means you can watch
In Your English Language Resumé:English movies or listen to English radio and follow
**************************************the meaning; you can
1.express yourself in most situations, although
Why are you writing a version of youryour language is still not accurate)
resumé in English? Because you want toe) Advanced (- means you can express yourself
show that you can use English, right?The numberin a complete way in virtually every situation,
one thing that is going to make a poor impressionalthough your language often shows limitations,
is bad English.Here are the main areas to thinkespecially of vocabulary)
about:f) Proficient (- means you can use English to the
a) Capitalisation.almost same practical standard as a
b) Punctuation.normally-educated native speaker)7.
c) Spacing.Formatting...You must format your CV so that it
d) Grammar and tenses.looks good, is easy to read quickly, and highlights
e) Subject-verb agreement.the most important information that you want to
f) Word choice and word forms.communicate.It's impossible to explain in plain
g) Spelling.If you don't know what the abovewords how to do this well. It's like asking what
mean, it's quite likely you're making a lot ofmakes a famous painting impressive... you just
mistakes already!2.have to see it.So go online to Google or wherever
This simple piece of advice deserves a number alland search for the words "resume formatting
to itself:Do NOT rely on a computer, Kingsoftexamples" and look at some examples of good
dictionary, or software of any kind to "translate"and bad resumés. Remember, your
Chinese into English.The result is a horrible, horribleresumé is your personal advert, and you're
abomination of English that will send yourcompeting for attention with a whole pile of other
resumé flying straight into the companyresumés. If your resumé is hard to
recycling bin.3.read or ugly it will just get tossed in the bin.Not
Even if you are a very advanced English user,being good with computers is no longer an
you are going to make mistakes, because Englishexcuse. It's 2005: wake up and smell the coffee. I
isn't your first language.Make sure you ask adoubt there are any jobs you can apply for out
native English speaker to check your resume.Ithere, except possibly serving fries in McDonald's,
guarantee the proof-reader will make changes,where IT skills - and in particular, word processing
even if you have checked it a hundred times, andskills - are not a major advantage.
they will be able to suggest some improvementsIf you don't know how to use Microsoft Word to
of wording to make your language "sound" moreformat fonts, bullets, tables, borders, and graphics,
smooth or impressive.4.LEARN! ASAP!8.
When you are composing your English versionWriting in the English language? Think about
resumé, don't simply translate your ChineseEnglish culture!In English we like our statements to
version.Here's one basic example: in your Chinesebe measured and perhaps a little understated.Do
resumé you might write a date period asyou really want to fill your resumé with
"2002/09-2004/07" but to an English languagethings like...:
reader that looks weird. You should write:"I feel happy!"
"September 2002 - July 2004".Another example: in"I am the best!"
your Chinese resumé, you may list your"I will surprise you!"
family name separately from your given names"I had a good relationship with everyone and
(e.g. "Family Name: Li;... Given Name: George"), andnever received criticism!"When applying for jobs in
you probably also list your gender ("male" /any culture, it's important to show balance and
"female"). That's not necessary in English, becauseself-awareness. To my (English) ears the above
your first name will tell us whether you're a boyexamples simply show that you love yourself and
or girl (how many boys do you know calledhave no idea of what impression you make on
Susan?). And there's no sense in separating yourother people.HOWEVER, don't fill your English
family name from your given names: just putresumé with weak words, for example:
them side by side: George Li.There are a lot of"good"
more complicated ways that translation will lead to"nice"
problems, so let me repeat: get a native speaker"useful"
to proof-read your resumé.5."interesting" (- surely the most boring word in the
Be careful about choosing an English name whenEnglish language !)If you don't know what other
applying for jobs. This is especially important ifwords to use... use a thesaurus! Did you know
your potential employer is from a westernMicrosoft Word has a free thesaurus? Right click
country.Don't choose 'cute' names like "Bobo",on any word and select "synonyms" at the
"Fifi", or "Lala" unless you think that is the sort ofbottom of the context menu.--------Did You
image you want to project.Similarly, don't inventKnow?--------In most other countries outside
names, e.g. "Gindrom" or "Brinty" - in English youChina, you should send your resumé with a
are supposed to use names that already exist."cover letter". This is a formal letter introducing
And don't choose things as your name, e.g.yourself and explaining why you want to get an
"Mountain", "Pencil", "Apple", or "Email" - that justinterview for this position.
sounds stupid in English. Iwould also recommendObviously, in a letter you can include a lot more
avoiding animal names such as "Tiger" and "Eagle"self-description and "advertising" for yourself than
unless you are particularly confident aboutyou can in the simple, factual format of a
that.Finally, make sure you have one, consistentresumé.Since it seems to be the norm not
spelling for your name, and make sure you knowto include cover letters when emailing
the correct English way toresumés to employers in China, perhaps
pronounce your name, e.g. "Lily" has a short 'i'you can help
(not /i:/ as in "Lisa") and if your name's "Vivian" oryourself stand out from the crowd by providing
"Jonathan" make sure you know how toone...?If you choose not to, you have to put a bit
pronounce 'v' and 'th'.As with all my points ofmore effort into self-advertising in the text of
advice - you'd do best to ask for honest adviceyour resumé, especially in your
from a native English speaker.6."personal statement" or "objective statement" at
On an English language resumé, you'rethe top of your page.Author: George Baily (UK).
probably going to say something about yourESL Teacher, Shenzhen, China.Preparing for an
English level.Beware: "fluent" is a very vague word,English language job interview?
and probably suggests to an employer that you