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If you're trying to land a job, it’s critical that your translator resume gets you recognized as a top candidate by the prospective employer. This page gives you professionally written translator resume examples and the keys to write a strong resume.
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Check out these professional resume examples:
Build my resumeHere are four keys to write a strong resume for translator:
While the general description of a translator role will highlight the need for a professional who can accurately transform a document written in one language into a document written in a different language, each specific job will require something special. Embedded in the job requirements, expected skills and qualifications are keywords describing what makes the job unique so tailoring your resume to include those keywords shows the hiring manager that you’re qualified. Those relevant keywords also help you get past the applicant tracking systems (ATS) set up to select qualified job seekers.
For example, if the job description requires the ability “translate English to Spanish educational materials using translation software” then be sure to highlight that you're proficient using Google Translate and SDL Trados Studio software in your translator resume, cover letter and job application.
The purpose of a resume and a cover letter is to describe why you’re the best translator for the job. Since most translators will feature similar related experience in the resume summary, skills and work experience sections, you must feature accomplishments that show you can be trusted to effectively perform the most important, critical business translations for a company. Feature quantifiable accomplishments that will be viewed as remarkable assets for the new company. For example: “Listened to 10+ one hour video Puerto Rico travel presentations in Spanish weekly to effectively decipher and translate to the English language to incorporate appropriate subtitles.” Include freelance projects like when you “translated an entire English website to Spanish” or translated 15 technical manuals in thirty days from Japanese to English.”
In addition to having an excellent command of multiple languages, translators need to possess a combination of both hard skills and soft skills. You will be required to bring specific hard skills to the effective translation of words from one language to another like proficiency in grammar, cultural knowledge, translation technology and other related skills to provide accurate, professional and culturally diverse translation. It’s equally important to demonstrate your soft skills like strong verbal and written communication, presentation, project management, multitasking, organization and attention to detail. Your specific soft skills represent your individual personality traits that show a recruiter that you can efficiently perform the job of translator.
The point of your resume is to get noticed among many other translators vying for the same position. That means meeting and exceeding job qualifications, so highlight your special certifications and credentials. Holding ATA (American Translators Association) certification, for example, shows you’ve taken time to train up on skills that will allow you to excel as a professional.
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To bring life to your translation experience and skills, express your accomplishments using action verbs that tell readers how you did something, not just what you did. In your resume summary and work experience sections, use active language to spell out your qualifications. For example: “Translated English-to-Spanish dialogues for Brantley Police Department, communicating citations, arrests and accident scenes” and “Communicated with 10+ Spanish speaking patients in medical office regarding upcoming medical procedures.”
Action words to feature in a translator resume:
When writing your resume for translator, there are three resume formats to select from: chronological format, functional format or the combination format. Make sure you’re using the format that best fits your skills and experience.
While the job of a translator is to interpret a language and translate it into another language, a job candidate’s hard skills and soft skills will depend on the type of translator position that you’re applying for. Here are some skills to consider featuring on your resume for translator:
To ensure that your most impressive skills stand out on your resume for translator, use our Resume Builder tool that provides you with a professional template to set up your resume sections in addition to industry-specific skills suggestions.
Build my resumeFollow these expertly prepared tips to write each section of your resume:
The first resume section, positioned prominently at the very top, will be a header with your contact information. Your resume header is where the hiring manager will look at to see your full name, phone number, email address and links to your professional portfolio, or networking profiles like your LinkedIn profile.
Below your header is where you’ll include a powerful resume summary or a resume objective. These are short one-paragraph career summaries with 2-3 sentences which highlight your most important skills and achievements. The goal here is to explain what makes you stand out from the competition, pique the interest of the prospective employer, and incentivize them to read your entire resume.
If you have a nice amount of translator experience, write a professional summary. If you have little to no work experience or you are a recent graduate, write a resume objective to state your career goals and best job relevant skills.
In your resume skills section, be sure to match the skills that the prospective employer is asking for in the translator job description of the position you’re applying to. Provide a mixture of soft skills and hard skills.. Your hard skills are technical skills that you learned through education, online courses or on-the-job training that show you have the ability to accurately translate verbal and written words. Soft skills, on the other hand, are your personality traits (such as a strong work ethic) that show how well you’ll work by yourself and with others.
Any professional translation experience that you have should go in your work history section. This can include translation experience that doesn’t perfectly match the job you’re trying to achieve at this moment, as long as it showcases important skills.
Your education section is where you display your education experience and relevant coursework. Translators almost always need a bachelor’s degree in their target language, usually in the form of a Bachelor of Arts in Translation. You’ll also want to become a certified translator and put your certification in this section. Accreditation from professional associations, such as the American Translators Association (ATA), can make you stand out from other job applicants.
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In your resume for translator, include a mixture of hard skills (technical skills that you learned) and soft skills (personality traits that make up who you are) directly relevant to the job role you’re applying for. This would include soft skills like attention to detail, verbal and written communication, creativity and time management that all demonstrate how smoothly and efficiently you get the job done. Your hard skills will include translation skills, foreign language fluency, cultural nuances, computer knowledge and translation software.
When you describe yourself as a translator on a resume, you want to include years of experience, your best relevant translator skills and career highlights that no other job candidate could match. For example, did you translate an entire 150-page online product catalog from English to Spanish within a three-month period? Were you specifically selected to translate an important speech for the President of your company for a presentation? Don’t describe yourself with mundane daily tasks of a translator but instead highlight measurable achievements that make the reader say, “wow!”
Every translator open job role will each come with a separate set of required experience. Read the job description carefully to see that you match qualifications. Here is an example of what relevant experience professional translators may need:
Yes, you should always include a cover letter with every job application. Cover letters expand on the information covered in your resume by providing a glimpse into your personality, passion for the industry and work ethic, thereby giving you a better chance to land a job interview. Taking the time to write a cover letter shows that you really want the job so you made the extra effort to reach out to the prospective employer and provide more information about yourself. Need a quick cover letter written? Use our ResumeHelp Cover Letter Builder tool to write the strongest translator cover letter in minutes.
If you don’t have much work experience in the translation field or looking for an entry level position, you can still follow the professional resume examples on this page. Simply use a translator resume template as your foundation and instead of focusing on work history, play up your most relevant skills like your foreign language proficiency and your highest level of education. ResumeHelp can help you write an entry level resume and resumes for less experience.
In today’s competitive job market, you don’t want to send a generic resume to every open job position. Instead, take the advice from our certified professional resume writer and revise your base resume to match the job opportunity based on the specific job description. Use specific keywords listed in the job posting (e.g., particular skills, requirements and qualifications needed), which increases your chances of passing through applicant tracking systems (ATS) that are programmed to only select qualified applications based on matching keywords. Look at the outstanding resume for translator examples on this page for a guide to writing a strong resume.
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