A multilingual CV - good or bad idea? Thread poster: Alistair Ian Spearing Ortiz
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Hello.
Right now I have five different CVs, each in one of the languages I work in. I have been thinking of removing all non-essential stuff and joining them into one only file, thus creating a multilingual CV. The final document is 10 pages long, with 2 pages in each language.
The advantage is that having one only CV is much more compact than having five different files. It also allows me to send one file instead of five when I click on "Include the CV/resume from your... See more Hello.
Right now I have five different CVs, each in one of the languages I work in. I have been thinking of removing all non-essential stuff and joining them into one only file, thus creating a multilingual CV. The final document is 10 pages long, with 2 pages in each language.
The advantage is that having one only CV is much more compact than having five different files. It also allows me to send one file instead of five when I click on "Include the CV/resume from your profile?".
But, am I failing to see any potential downside to this which could put off potential customers? Would you mind receiving a 10-page file with only 2 pages in your language? ▲ Collapse
| | | | Michal Glowacki 
Poland
Local time: 11:20
Member (2010)
English to Polish
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| 10 pages too long | Apr 28, 2011 |
Hi Alistair,
Personally and from my experience as a PM I can tell you that I don't think this is a good idea. For several reasons:
1. 10 pages is way too much. 2 is max. I know that you have 2 per language, but if I saw that your CV was 10 pages I'd probably bin it straight away.
2. I don't see the point of informing your future client of all your skills in 5 languages. CV might be a little bit about presenting your language skills, but not to the point of... See more Hi Alistair,
Personally and from my experience as a PM I can tell you that I don't think this is a good idea. For several reasons:
1. 10 pages is way too much. 2 is max. I know that you have 2 per language, but if I saw that your CV was 10 pages I'd probably bin it straight away.
2. I don't see the point of informing your future client of all your skills in 5 languages. CV might be a little bit about presenting your language skills, but not to the point of sending someone 5 different language versions. I'd stick to having them in separate files and providing one.
3. When you send a CV with 5 languages saying, essentially, the same, you're providing the same information 5 times. I'm not sure that makes sense.
4. How many of your clients will be able to read 5 of those languages? And why would they want to? For me, a CV is for information purposes and I'd read 1 and that's it. Maybe out of interest, if I knew the language, I'd read a second one to see if the translator did it properly but I think most people wouldn't simply have the time to see them.
Bottom line: stick to 5 files and don't combine them, you might put off your potential clients that way and the gain seems rather negligible. That's my 2 cents.
Cheers,
Michal ▲ Collapse
| | | | Diana Coada (X)
United Kingdom
Local time: 10:20
Portuguese to English
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1. If I contract you for a EN>ES translation, I do not want to read your CV in French or Catalan.
2. Having worked as an intern at a translation agency, I saw CVs that were 39 pages long (I'm not joking!). Now imagine the thoughts going through my head at that moment and what impression that person was making..
3. Most agencies enter your details into their database in English anyway, so unless they specifically ask for a CV in a particular language, I would stick to E... See more 1. If I contract you for a EN>ES translation, I do not want to read your CV in French or Catalan.
2. Having worked as an intern at a translation agency, I saw CVs that were 39 pages long (I'm not joking!). Now imagine the thoughts going through my head at that moment and what impression that person was making..
3. Most agencies enter your details into their database in English anyway, so unless they specifically ask for a CV in a particular language, I would stick to English.
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| | | | | At first I thought that the idea is rather bad | Apr 28, 2011 |
but after all - why not. If you could add at the beginning an interactive table of contents or just hyperlinks to various language versions so that the reader does not have to browse through all languages than maybe it could work
Best Regards
Stanislaw
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| Short and sweet | Apr 28, 2011 |
I advise you to take this webinar: "Quote to Win: How To Win Projects On The Freelance Market". It will convince you that short is better. There will be time to expand once your initial contact grabs the outsourcer's attention. A 10 page CV will not.... See more I advise you to take this webinar: "Quote to Win: How To Win Projects On The Freelance Market". It will convince you that short is better. There will be time to expand once your initial contact grabs the outsourcer's attention. A 10 page CV will not.
http://www.proz.com/translator-training/course/4096-quote-to-win-how-to-win-projects-on-the-freelance-marketplace ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 03:20
English to Spanish
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In memoriam | Short is Better | Apr 28, 2011 |
It has been said that many people normally do not even go beyond the first page of a CV, so that's the important one where you either make it or break it. In my own case, after almost 40 years in the business, I keep my CV to just one page.
| | | | Alison Sabedoria (X)
United Kingdom
French to English
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| One page is plenty | Apr 28, 2011 |
Who wants to wade through more?! Less is more: prioritise, pare down, refine...
What you can't get onto one page probably isn't that important. The discipline of the single page can help you to organise your thinking and communicate more effectively. If people want to know more about anything, they'll ask (a good conversation opener).
One combined file might be easier for you, but the message that sends to potential clients is that you can't be bothered to adapt your CV... See more Who wants to wade through more?! Less is more: prioritise, pare down, refine...
What you can't get onto one page probably isn't that important. The discipline of the single page can help you to organise your thinking and communicate more effectively. If people want to know more about anything, they'll ask (a good conversation opener).
One combined file might be easier for you, but the message that sends to potential clients is that you can't be bothered to adapt your CV to their needs, or send something personalised. That's a bad message to be putting out in any business!
I've done a lot of things over the last 30 years, but my CV always was - and still is - just one A4 page. It exists in at least 4 versions at any one time, and the older I get, the less inclined I am to use it at all - oh, the overzealousness of youth!!! 
Hope this helps.
Alison ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Good idea - bad idea | Apr 28, 2011 |
Great! I clearly had a bad idea at the beginning, but at least I had one good idea: asking for your opinions! Now I see that it's better to keep the different language versions of my CV separate.
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hoangdiem
Local time: 16:20
English to Vietnamese
| Don't do like that | May 1, 2011 |
in my opinion, a good CV should be simple, clear and informative. if i'm a customer i won't like read a CV with a language i dont know, read it like looking a blank paper.
to summarize, i think that this idea will not encouraged by a large of people.
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