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When do you put languages on your CV? | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Languages & Work |  | |
| Lapislazuli Tetraglot Senior Member Austria Joined 7038 days ago 146 posts - 170 votes  Speaks: German*, EnglishC2, Swedish, ItalianB1 Studies: French, Hungarian, Esperanto, Czech | Message 49 of 86 30 November 2012 at 12:01pm | IP Logged | ||
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So far I put in all of my languages (along with explaining at what level speak them), as I was mainly applying for jobs in tourism, where also the most basic knowledge can be useful, as long as you can make yourself understood.
From now on I am going to work a tour-guide and for those job applications I am only going to use my strongest languages, the ones in which I can see myself doing guided tours in. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6599 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 50 of 86 30 November 2012 at 6:33pm | IP Logged | ||
I guess I sort of have a mental scale, giving points to languages depending on 3 main criteria: -My level: My Finnish skills are practically a part of my identity, I can't imagine not mentioning them even where they aren't needed. -Is it considered useful? (by people who recognize that English is not the only language worth learning): if it's seen as a natural/obvious/normal choice, the required level doesn't need to be high. That's how Spanish and German ended up on my CV (and to some extent Polish) -Is it geeky/obscure? No Esperanto, no Indonesian, no languages they've not heard of. Can obviously be overriden by #1 Teh Level. It's also important to keep in mind WHY exactly a language is needed for the job. Is it because of contacts with people from said country or not? If there's no objective reason like this, the language(s) listed as required is/are simply considered useful/important. Your skills in them or lack thereof can be complemented/balanced out by your level in the languages that are as important. Employers just see way too few cases where the choice is not between "speaks language X" / "doesn't speak any foreign language". 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Julie Heptaglot Senior Member PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6905 days ago 1251 posts - 1733 votes 5 sounds Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French | Message 51 of 86 30 November 2012 at 8:43pm | IP Logged | ||
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I usually have four languages in my CV: English, German, French, and Spanish. All of
them are mainstream, and you never know what the employer may need. No English on a CV would be almost suspicious, and my German skills are a part of my identity like Finnish is in the case of Serpent. I don't care about whether I have a recognized certificate or not, but I do usually add a short explanation/justification after the language and level, like "B2 certificate DELE Intermedio", "M.A. in German language and literature", "studies in French abroad" etc. I change the level description depending on where I'm going to send my CV, and sometimes I change the level too (I generally underestimate my language skills a bit if applying for a linguistic job where I know that expectations are very high). This list of four languages is usually followed by general additional information: "Basic skills in" and a list of 2-3 languages that may be relevant (or not). Edited by Julie on 01 December 2012 at 12:30am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Solfrid Cristin Heptaglot Winner TAC 2011 & 2012 Senior Member Norway Joined 5336 days ago 4143 posts - 8864 votes Speaks: Norwegian*, Spanish, Swedish, French, English, German, Italian Studies: Russian | Message 52 of 86 30 November 2012 at 10:01pm | IP Logged | ||
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Like I mentioned in my opening statement, here it depends on the language. German is a language where I
would be very precise when putting it on a CV, and I would not put anything lower than B1, for the simple reason that you have so many people with some knowledge in it. Russian is another matter entirely, since almost no one speak any of it, so if they stated that a knowledge of Russian was desired, I would most certainly put my A2 Russian. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
 jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6911 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 53 of 86 01 December 2012 at 12:15am | IP Logged | ||
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The "suspicousness" about English not being on the CV (as Julie hinted) definitely depends on where you live and which job you're applying for. In some countries it might be more important to state even basic knowledge of English, but I wonder how important it is in the Scandinavian countries. Apart from workplaces like travel agencies and schools (and maybe law firms etc.), I don't think I've ever even seen English in an ad in a Swedish paper. Everybody speak it (more or less), so it's expected that you know it. No reason to put in the ad, nor on the CV. Even teen cashiers speak English whenever there's a foreign customer, without having been asked about by the employer about their level in English, or having put it in capital boldface on the CV (other than perhaps including a copy of their recent grades).
But if there's a certain reason (no matter how small) in mentioning your language skills, even an non-certified A2 Russian could give you better odds. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Serpent Octoglot Senior Member Russian Federation serpent-849.livejour Joined 6599 days ago 9753 posts - 15779 votes 4 sounds Speaks: Russian*, English, FinnishC1, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese Studies: Danish, Romanian, Polish, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Croatian, Slovenian, Catalan, Czech, Galician, Dutch, Swedish | Message 54 of 86 01 December 2012 at 12:22am | IP Logged | ||
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It does. My English wasn't even tested at my job interview for Kaspersky Lab, but I've been asked about it way too many times since starting the job XD
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Julie Heptaglot Senior Member PolandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6905 days ago 1251 posts - 1733 votes 5 sounds Speaks: Polish*, EnglishB2, GermanC2, SpanishB2, Dutch, Swedish, French | Message 55 of 86 01 December 2012 at 12:29am | IP Logged | ||
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For me, it would be strange to leave English out (provided that the CV includes a
language section). No need to put it in bold, though. But I obviously have a different perspective: in Poland, English is still not a standard, and it's usually included in ads as a requirement. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| jeff_lindqvist Diglot Moderator SwedenRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 6911 days ago 4250 posts - 5711 votes Speaks: Swedish*, English Studies: German, Spanish, Russian, Dutch, Mandarin, Esperanto, Irish, French Personal Language Map | Message 56 of 86 01 December 2012 at 9:37am | IP Logged | ||
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Of course, if the CV indeed has a language section, there's no point in leaving it out. I've seen online forms where you can compose your CV on the spot. The level in each language (or other kind of skill) that you select from the list is typically graded with "radio buttons" from 1 to 5.
1 person has voted this message useful |
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