Translator CV Examples & Writing Guide

This CV is for a London-based translator with the CIOL Diploma in Translation who worked in-house at a medical device manufacturer and now freelances for agencies and two direct clients. Agency project managers and in-house localisation leads read a translator's CV the same way: language pair and direction, specialisation, tools, volume, credential. Name and clients are made up. Under most agency agreements you cannot name end clients, so this CV describes them by type, which is the accepted practice.

Two kinds of people read translator CVs. Agency vendor managers decide whether to add you to their database and send you a test. In-house localisation or communications managers decide whether to interview you for a salaried role. Both scan for the same five items in the first ten seconds.

• Language pair with direction and variant. "Spanish" is not enough. "English into Spanish (Mexico)" or "German into English (UK)" is what they need, and whether you translate into your native language (agencies usually require it for publication-quality work).
• Specialisation. Legal, medical, pharmaceutical, financial, technical, software and games, marketing transcreation, subtitling. A translator who says "all subjects" gets filed under "none".
• Tools. Trados Studio, memoQ, Phrase, Smartcat, Wordfast, XTM, Crowdin and Lokalise for software strings, Ooona or Subtitle Edit for subtitling. Agencies route work by tool, so a missing tool name means missing work.
• Volume and reliability. Words per day, words per year, projects delivered, on-time percentage. Deadlines are the whole business.
• Credentials and proof. The CIOL DipTrans, ITI or CIOL membership, a translation MA, ATA certification if you also serve the US market, public service interpreting qualifications if you also interpret, and any LQA scores or client ratings you can quote.

“If the first three lines do not tell me the pair, the direction and the field, I stop. After that I want the tool list and a daily word count I can believe. Everything else I learn from the test piece.”

The weak version of a translator bullet describes the activity; the strong version gives content type, volume, tool and a quality or deadline number. Seven rewrites from real translation work:

The skills section on a translator CV does three jobs: it states the pair and direction, it lists the tools agencies search for, and it names the fields you can actually be tested in. Keep each on its own line.

• Languages: source and target with direction and variant, and your level in each. "Native" for your mother tongue, "near-native" or a CEFR level (C2, C1) for others. Say which direction you translate into for publication.
• Specialisations: name two to four fields with the document types (contracts and court documents; patient materials and IFUs; annual reports and fund prospectuses; UI strings and help content). Regulated fields (medical, legal, financial) pay more and are checked harder.
• CAT tools and platforms: Trados Studio, memoQ, Phrase TMS, Smartcat, Wordfast, XTM, MateCat; Crowdin or Lokalise for software; Ooona, Subtitle Edit or Aegisub for subtitles; QA tools such as Xbench or Verifika.
• Machine translation post-editing: say whether you do it, which engines, and your light and full post-editing speeds. Many agencies now route half their volume this way.
• Process skills: terminology management, style guide compliance, ISO 17100 workflows, back-translation, transcreation for marketing, DTP checks on InDesign files.
• Related credentials that are not translation: the DPSI or NRPSI registration, if you also interpret. Keep them separate so the reader does not confuse the two jobs.

Four lines: pair and direction, years and specialisation, tools and volume, credential. Write a career objective only if you have no paid translation yet, and make it lead with the pair and a qualification or degree, not with a wish to grow.

Agencies add new translators to their databases constantly, and many in-house junior roles are open to graduates. What you need is proof you can translate at professional quality, not proof someone paid you. Volunteer, academic and test work all count if you describe them with volumes and tools.

1. 1Pick a pair, a direction and one or two fields. "French into English, technical and business" is a CV; "translation between English, French and Spanish, all subjects" is not.
2. 2Get real word counts on the page: volunteer translation for Translators without Borders or a local charity, a large academic project, subtitles for an open-source or educational project, a portfolio of three or four sample translations with source texts.
3. 3Learn one CAT tool properly. Most offer free trials or student licences (Trados, memoQ, Phrase) and Smartcat and MateCat are free. Agencies filter on tool names.
4. 4List language proficiency with something checkable: a CEFR certificate (DELF/DALF, Goethe, DELE, JLPT), years lived in the country, a degree taught in the language.
5. 5Join the ITI or CIOL as a student or affiliate member and say when you plan to sit the CIOL Diploma in Translation; check the entry guidance and exam dates before promising one.
6. 6Put a 'Projects' or 'Translation portfolio' section above work experience, and keep unrelated jobs to one line each unless they gave you subject knowledge (nursing, law, engineering) that supports a specialisation.

The UK has no government licence for translators and no sworn translator system like those in Spain, Germany, France or Brazil, where a court or ministry appoints translators. A UK 'certified translation' is usually a translation with a signed statement of accuracy from the translator or agency, and many organisations expect that translator or agency to belong to a recognised professional body such as the ITI or CIOL. Some documents may also need notarising. Know what your client needs and use the words correctly.

• CIOL Diploma in Translation (DipTrans), a Level 7 qualification from CIOL Qualifications. The best-known UK translation qualification, awarded per language and direction after a demanding written exam. Write it exactly: "CIOL DipTrans, English into Spanish (2021)". It is not offered in every language every year; if yours is missing, say so rather than leaving a gap.
• ITI and CIOL membership. Qualified Membership of the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (MITI) and the CIOL grades (MCIL, FCIL, Chartered Linguist) are assessed on qualifications and experience. They are what UK clients usually look for when they need a certified translation.
• Translation degrees. An MA in Translation (many UK universities offer one) or a BA in translation carries weight with agencies and in-house employers. A degree in the language or in your specialist field (law, nursing, engineering) is also worth listing.
• Other credentials, if you work across borders: ATA certification (US), NAATI (Australia) or a sworn translator appointment from another country, with the country named. Tool certifications (RWS Trados Studio levels, memoQ and Phrase certified-user programmes) are small but real, and agencies notice them.
• Interpreter qualifications, if you also interpret: the DPSI, NRPSI registration or a community interpreting qualification. List them under a separate heading so a translation-only client is not confused.

• One page early in your career, two once you have several specialisations or a long in-house career; two is normal in the UK. Agencies file the CV in a vendor database, so the first third of page one must carry pair, fields, tools and volume.
• Order: headline with pair and direction, 4-line personal statement, skills (languages, specialisations, tools, QA), experience, qualifications, education. Entry level: education and projects before experience.
• Freelance clients: most agency agreements forbid naming end clients, so describe them by type and size ("a large listed medical device manufacturer", "three UK life-sciences agencies"). Direct clients can be named only with permission. Never paste client text into a public portfolio.
• Write the CV in your target language if you apply to clients in that market, and in the client's language if you apply to an agency abroad. A translator's CV is itself a writing sample, so have it proofread.
• No photo, no date of birth, no rates on the CV; rates go in your cover email or the agency's supplier form. In the US the same document is called a resume; in parts of Europe a photo is common, but it is not expected in the UK.
• Plain single-column layout, standard font, PDF. Agency vendor systems and job boards parse for exact tool and pair names, so spell them the way the industry does: "Trados Studio", "memoQ", "Phrase TMS", "English into Spanish". Run the CV and the advert through the cvplex ATS checker to spot missing terms.