Translator Resume: Templates, Tips & Skills

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Syntax, grammar, pronunciation: They’re all second nature to you, but how do your turn your language knowledge into a fulfilling career as a translator? Whether you prefer to say it životopis, hervat, or gjenoppta, the first step is to make a great translator resume that showcases your experience and skills to potential employers.

Here at ResumeGiants, we might not be able to help you convert Sanskrit to Tamil, but we can help you build a translator resume designed to wow potential employers. In this guide, we’ll go over all the resume-building essentials to help you land the job of your dreams:

• How to make a great resume for translators.
• Writing a translator resume summary or objective.
• Adding your experience and education resume sections.
• Including all your translator skills.
• Tips, tricks, and advice to help you start your career as a translator.

It’s always best to learn pronunciation through example, and we feel like resumes are the same way. That’s why we’ll include plenty of translator resume examples to help you visualize what your resume should look like. 

If you already know what you want your resume to say, go ahead and skip ahead to the ResumeGiants free online resume builder. We have dozens of professional resume templates to choose from. All you have to do is pick the one that fits your style, fill in your personal information, and you’re ready to start applying.

Need a little more instruction before you jump right in? Keep on reading! There are plenty of resume tips, tricks, and examples in the following sections to help you “translate” your skills and experience into a resume you can be proud of. 

Before jumping into the exciting world of resume building, let’s take a look at what a good translator resume looks like. This will give you an idea of the sections and information to include in your own resume. 

Resume Example

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William Ingual
[Translator]

646 Speaker St. McCormick, SC | 864-555-8255 | bill.ingual@email.com

>> Summary <<

Multilingual ATA-certified translator with 5+ years of experience in French to English and English to French translations. Successfully translated over 400 projects, including documents, websites, books, and transcripts.

>> Experience <<

Broadleaf Publishing | Augusta, GA

Translator

2020 – 2022

• Translated various projects between French and English, including audio files, written texts, legal documents, website pages, and live speaking presentations. 
• Maintained strict confidentiality agreements when translating sensitive information for clients.
• Successfully translated over 300 projects.
• Stayed up to date with the latest French-English cultural references and idioms to ensure realistic translations for modern publications.

>> Education <<

University of South Carolina | Columbia, SC

Bachelor of Arts in French Translation and Interpretation

2016 – 2020

>> Skills <<

• Written, verbal, and non-verbal communication
• Time management
• Interpersonal skills
• Analysis and research

• Cultural awareness
• Copy editing

• Knowledge of legal terminology
• French to English translation
• Translation software

Languages

• English (native)
• French (native)

>> Certifications <<

• American Translators Association (ATA) – Certified translator from French into English
• American Translators Association (ATA) – Certified translator from English into French

Awards

• 2021 Translator of the Year, French to English, Broadleaf Publishing

Memberships

• Translators without Borders (TWB)
• International Federation of Translators (FIT)
• International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS)

Do you prefer speaking over writing? Check out this guide on how to write an interpreter resume for even more resume-building ideas!

Just like there’s no “best language,” there’s also no best resume format.

The rules aren’t set in stone (unlike the ancient languages on the Rosetta Stone), so you’re welcome to change things up on your own resume to fit your style or showcase your unique skills.

Although you can pick whichever format you like best, there are a few universal resume-building guidelines you should always follow:

• Use reverse-chronological order for your work experience and education.
• Include plenty of space between sections to ensure readability.
• Keep your resume to one page (unless you absolutely can’t help it).
• Use headings and bolded titles for sections to help readers scan for information.
• Choose a professional font like Calibri, Cambria, or Arial.
• Make your resume easy to read with heading sizes around 13-15 and body text between 11-12.
• Save your resume as a PDF to prevent formatting issues.

When organizing your sections, put the most important information at the top.

You want to wow potential employers right away to entice them to continue reading the rest of your resume. Suspense is for the movies, not resumes!

Now that we know the pieces of a great resume, let’s take a closer look at each. Since you already know your contact information and address, let’s dive into the resume summary or objective.

Your resume summary or objective is the very first thing potential employers read about you, so it has to be good! But first, what’s the difference between a resume objective and a resume summary?

• Resume summary – A short overview of your professional experience.
• Resume objective – A brief description of your overall career goals.

Top Tip: Resume summaries are better for applicants who have professional experience, while resume objectives are best for entry-level translators who might not have a resume to summarize.

Translator Resume Summary Example

All you need for a solid translator resume summary is two or three short sentences summing up your professional experience and describing a few of the skills you bring to the table.

Since this is the first thing potential employers read, make sure it’s only the best of the best information that makes you look like you’ll be the best translator that ever was!

To give you an idea of what to write, here’s an example of what a good translator resume headline and summary would look like:

The key to a great resume summary is to be detailed yet concise.

You want to showcase the unique skills and experience that will help you stand out from the other applicants.

The more specific, the better. And don’t forget to include plenty of numbers!

How to Write an Entry-Level Translator Resume Objective

A resume objective is very similar to a resume summary, except it’s all about your career goals instead of your professional experience.

Tell potential employers where you want to go as a translator. Here’s what a good translator resume objective example might look like:

This applicant might not have professional experience to mention, but they discuss their specific skill set and what they hope to achieve in their career — which is enough to entice even the toughest hiring managers!

Anyone can say they’re good at translating languages, but having a detailed resume experience section proves how good you are in real-world situations.

That’s why your resume’s experience section is arguably the most important part of your entire resume!

To build an effective experience section, you need to discuss three essential pieces of information:

• Your work history
• Key accomplishments
• Responsibilities

You probably have tons and tons of experience you want to talk about, but like with anything else on your resume, it’s important to keep your experience section short and sweet.

Limit your experience to only your top 3-7 jobs — as long as they fit on one page!

Translator Resume Examples: Experience

Now that you’re fluent in writing a resume experience section, let’s take a look at some examples.

Since it’s always more fun to learn from other peoples’ mistakes, here’s an example of what not to do on your translator resume experience section:

Where are the details!? This resume will likely end up in the basura (translation: trash)!

There’s nothing in this experience section that would make the applicant stand out. Every other applicant with any little bit of translating experience can say the same things.

Instead, your resume’s experience section should be full of detail and specific numbers.

Anything that makes your experience unique should be included. With that in mind, here’s a translator resume experience section example to be proud of:

Now those are details! The more concrete details you include, the more impressive you’ll look to potential employers. 

Writing an education section might not be as difficult as translating Mandarin Chinese into English, but it’s still important to get it right! Your resume’s education section tells potential employers that you have the background and formal knowledge to be an effective translator. 

There are three key pieces of information that employers want to know about your education:

• Where you went to school
• The dates of attendance
• The degree you earned

As long as you cover these three items, your education section will “translate” into success!

Translator Resume Education Section

To give you an idea of what to do with your own resume, here’s a quick translator resume education section packed with enough information to get the job done:

It might be short and sweet, but that’s all you need for an effective resume education section.

If you have more than one degree, make sure you list them in reverse-chronological order with the most recent education experience at the top.

You can also choose to add your GPA or any academic achievements, but only if they’re impressive (and relevant to the position you’re applying to)!

You’re a skilled translator (some might call you zručný), so why not show off those skills in a dedicated resume section!? 

Your resume’s skills section is exactly that: It’s a place to list all the skills you posses that don’t necessarily fit into the other sections of yourr resume. 

Resume skills can be divided into two basic categories:

• Hard skills – Measurable, concrete skills.
• Soft skills – Universal, harder-to-define skills.

Think of hard skills like anything you can get a degree or certification in (like a specific piece of software), while soft skills are more like personality traits (like leadership or communication).

It’s always important to look well-rounded, so be sure to include a healthy dose of both types of skills on your resume.

For example, here are a few hard and soft skills that look great in a translator resume’s skills section:

While you probably want to add all your countless skills, try to limit your list to only the most impressive and relevant skills. No hiring manager wants to read through dozens of skill bullet points, etc.

Is there still more you want to brag about yourself? Of course there is! For information that doesn’t fit nicely into the rest of the sections on your resume, add some “other” sections.

Other sections are simply additional sections at the end of your resume dedicated to specific types of information.

On a translator resume, for example, a languages section is almost a must-have. Just make a list of the languages you speak and write, along with your proficiency level, making it easy for employers to see exactly what you can do.

You’re welcome to add whatever other sections you want, but remember that they should all be relevant to the position you’re applying to!

Translator Resume Sample Extra Sections

Not sure where to start with your other sections? Here are just a few extra sections that look great on a translator resume:

Languages

• English (native)
• French (native)

Certifications

• American Translators Association (ATA) – Certified translator from French into English
• American Translators Association (ATA) – Certified translator from English into French

Awards

• 2021 Translator of the Year, French to English, Broadleaf Publishing 

Memberships

• Translators without Borders (TWB)
• International Federation of Translators (FIT)
• International Association for Translation and Intercultural Studies (IATIS)

Now that you know how to translate your experience and skills into an effective resume, it’s time to get writing!

Remember, it’s all about the specifics and details that will separate you from the competition. 

As you’re working, keep these time-tested resume tips in mind:

• Customize your resume to fit the job description (no copy and paste work!).
• Add specific details about your background and experience.
• Match your experience and skills to the position you’re applying to.
• Use plenty of concrete numbers and statistics.
• Use a clean and easy-to-read layout.
• Choose a professional font and format.
• Save your resume as a PDF.

If you need a little jumpstart to get going, check out some of the professional resume templates at ResumeGiants.com.

Our templates already utilize many of these resume-building tips, so all you have to do is fill in your information and download your new resume. You’ll be using your multilingual talents to translate your skills into a paycheck in no time!