Writing an English resume: a guide for Persian speakers

Writing an English resume involves more than replacing Persian words with English ones. Information order, headings, dates, qualifications, and bullet-point style must make sense to the intended reader. Translation must never exaggerate, change, or invent any part of your history.

This guide is for writing an English resume from scratch. If you already have a complete resume and want to convert the same content between Persian and English, see resume translation.

1. When should you send an English resume?

Choose the language according to the destination and application instructions, rather than assuming English is always more professional. Before preparing the final version, ask:

• What language is the advertisement or call for applications in?
• What language has the organization requested?
• Which language does everyday work in the role require?
• Does the application system, form, or sample specify a language?
• Is this a domestic, international, academic, or remote opportunity?

If the advertisement is Persian and does not request English, a Persian resume may be more natural. If the advertisement, form, or initial communication is English, an English version usually fits the process better. Ask the recruiter or official contact when unsure.

Keeping both versions can help, but their underlying facts must agree. Role titles, dates, organization names, and responsibilities must not change meaning between languages.

2. Why avoid word-for-word translation?

Persian and English sentence structures differ. Literal translation can produce long, vague, or unnatural sentences. First break each experience into simple facts:

1. What action did you take?
2. In what context, or to address which problem?
3. With which tool or method?
4. What actual output resulted?

Rewrite the same meaning as a short English sentence. You need to preserve facts, scope, and contribution, rather than Persian word order.

English bullets commonly start with a verb:

Developed [specific feature] using [tool] for [project context].

This is a fill-in pattern, not a sentence to copy unchanged. Replace the action, feature, tool, and context with your own experience.

3. Keep language, direction, and formatting consistent

An English resume's main text runs left to right. Align headings, bullets, addresses, and dates consistently. Frequent switching between right-to-left and left-to-right text can reduce readability.

For formatting:

• Use one or two readable fonts.
• Keep headings at the same level consistent in size and style.
• Follow one date pattern throughout.
• Avoid complex tables, skill charts, and decorative elements without meaning.
• Review the final file on desktop and mobile.
• Choose a clear filename, such as [name]-resume.pdf.

Use Resume or CV according to the destination's terminology. The terms do not mean exactly the same thing in every country or setting. Follow the advertisement or application system when it specifies one.

4. Your name and contact information

Use the spelling of your name found in relevant documents and professional profiles. If several Latin spellings are possible, choose one and use it consistently across your resume, email, and profiles.

Contact information may include:

• Full name
• City and country, if relevant
• Phone number in a format the destination can understand
• Professional email
• Relevant portfolio or professional profile

Include a full home address, marital status, identity details, document numbers, or other personal data only when the legitimate official process specifically requires them. Before sending sensitive information to an unfamiliar organization, check its credibility and why the information is necessary.

Place a suitable target title below your name, for example:

Junior Frontend Developer

Choose a title reflecting your actual level and field. Adding Senior, Lead, or a management title without corresponding experience is misrepresentation, not translation.

5. Writing the professional summary

A Professional Summary should be short and supported by the rest of the resume. Combine your role or field, experience, relevant tools, and intended opportunity.

Suggested pattern:

[Role or field] with experience in [relevant area] through [work, internship, or project context]. Skilled in [relevant tools] and familiar with [relevant method or domain]. Seeking a [target role] focused on [relevant responsibility].

Replace the placeholders and remove claims lacking evidence later in the document. Words such as expert, highly skilled, and results-driven tell the reader little without supporting experience.

If you lack formal employment, draw on real projects, internships, or other activity. The resume without work experience guide explains how to identify and organize that evidence.

6. Explaining experience and projects clearly

Keep these details for each experience:

• Actual role title
• Official organization name or a verified Latin spelling
• City and country, if needed
• Time period
• Bullets describing actions and outputs

Do not invent English company names. Check the official website, a reliable English page, or organizational documents first. Without an official English name, use a consistent transliteration and, where helpful, a short generic explanation in parentheses. Do not create a new name or affiliation.

Verbs and tense

Completed responsibilities or experiences generally use past tense:

• Developed
• Analyzed
• Designed
• Coordinated
• Documented

Use present tense for responsibilities that are genuinely ongoing:

• Develop
• Analyze
• Coordinate

The verb must fit your actual work. Collaborated on can clarify a shared contribution. Do not claim the whole team's result as your own.

Bullet structure

A useful structure is:

[Action verb] + [specific task or problem] + [tool or method] + [verifiable output].

Fill-in example:

Analyzed [type of data] using [tool] and documented [specific output] for [project context].

Do not add figures unless accurate and documented. A feature's scope, report, dashboard, document, or concrete deliverable can explain a result without invented numbers.

7. Education, universities, and qualifications

Education requires particular care. Qualification and field names may vary by country, university, and purpose. To preserve meaning:

1. Check the university or faculty's official English name.
2. Where appropriate and available, use the English title on an official certificate or transcript.
3. Without an official equivalent, use a consistent transliteration with a limited explanation.
4. Do not claim educational equivalence or credential assessment yourself.
5. Do not present resume translation as a substitute for certified document translation.

General structure:

[Degree or program] in [Field] — [Official institution name]
[City, Country] | [Start date] – [Expected or actual end date]

If studying, use Expected [Month Year] only with your genuine expected date. Include GPA, ranking, or honors only when accurate, documented, and relevant. Do not guess a grade-scale conversion; check official destination instructions.

8. Consistent, understandable dates

Month and year are usually clearer than mixed formats:

• March 2024 – June 2025
• Sep 2023 – Present
• Expected July 2027

These are format examples only. Convert your own dates carefully, using a reliable reference rather than approximating Solar Hijri and Gregorian years. An exact day may add clutter when not required.

Choose abbreviated or full month names and stay consistent. Use Present only when the work or activity is actually continuing.

9. Skills, languages, and certifications

In Skills, include relevant, demonstrable abilities. Group tools, technologies, methods, or specialist knowledge. Percentage charts and labels such as Perfect or Excellent rarely explain proficiency in a verifiable way.

Use descriptions such as Native or Professional working proficiency only when you understand them and they reflect your actual ability. If including a valid, current language-test result, give its exact name, score, and date.

For Certifications:

• Use the official certification name.
• Name the issuer accurately.
• Add dates where relevant.
• Do not describe an unfinished course as a completed certification.
• Do not retranslate a certification title without an official source.

10. Common English section names

Depending on experience and purpose, use:

• Professional Summary
• Work Experience
• Relevant Experience
• Education
• Projects
• Skills
• Certifications
• Languages
• Volunteer Experience
• Publications

You do not need every section. Include only sections with real, relevant content. Do not add Publications merely to complete a template if you have no published or referenceable work.

Choose Work Experience or Relevant Experience according to the entries. The latter may better describe a mixture of projects, internships, and related activities, provided each experience's type remains clear.

11. English resume example

Example disclosure: This editorial template contains placeholders. It represents no real person, university, company, degree, certification, score, or achievement and promises no ATS, interview, admission, or employment outcome. Replace or remove every bracketed item using documented facts. Review the English wording for your destination and actual experience before using it.

[FULL NAME]

[Target Role]
[City, Country] | [Phone] | [Professional Email] | [Portfolio or Profile]

PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY

[Role or field] with experience in [relevant area] through [work, internship, or projects]. Skilled in [tool or skill] and [tool or skill]. Seeking a [target role] focused on [relevant responsibility].

RELEVANT EXPERIENCE

[Actual Role] — [Official Organization Name]
[City, Country] | [Month Year] – [Month Year or Present]

• [Action verb] [specific task] using [tool or method] and delivered [verifiable output].
• Collaborated with [actual team or function] on [your specific contribution].

PROJECTS

[Project Name] — [Academic, Personal, or Volunteer Project]
[Month Year] – [Month Year]

• Developed [specific component or output] for [project context] using [tool].
• Documented [process, decision, or finding] in [report, repository, or presentation].

EDUCATION

[Official Degree or Program] in [Field] — [Official Institution Name]
[City, Country] | Expected [Month Year]

SKILLS

• Tools: [tools used in real work or projects]
• Technical: [relevant, demonstrable skills]
• Languages: [language and accurate level]

CERTIFICATIONS

• [Official Certification Name] — [Issuer], [Year]

Remove sections without real content. A short, accurate page is better than one filled with invented qualifications, skills, or responsibilities.

12. Common mistakes for Persian speakers

• Translating long Persian sentences word for word
• Mixing present and past tense inconsistently
• Inventing English university or company names
• Changing seniority when translating a role title
• Approximating dates or grade conversions
• Claiming language proficiency without an explainable basis
• Overusing generic adjectives
• Copying a generic online summary or bullet
• Mixing right-to-left and left-to-right direction within a section
• Sending the file without checking names and links

Use job-description terminology only when supported by experience. Keyword repetition or a simple template alone cannot guarantee ATS acceptance.

13. Review checklist

Before sending, check:

• The language matches the destination's requirements.
• Your Latin name spelling agrees across the resume and profiles.
• Institution, company, degree, and certification names come from reliable sources.
• Dates are correctly converted and consistently formatted.
• Job titles preserve your actual level.
• Each bullet has an explainable action, context, and output.
• Verb tense matches ongoing or completed experience.
• Language levels and figures are documented and defensible.
• Unnecessary sensitive information is removed.
• Grammar, spelling, direction, and links have been reviewed.

See resume review for a content check. A reviewer familiar with English and your target field may spot meaning or terminology errors that automated tools miss.

Next step

Create a master record of the facts: titles, dates, tools, projects, and outputs. Rewrite each section for the English destination and check official sources. To convert an existing resume, start with resume translation. If you need a structure first, use the ResumeYek resume builder.

No translation, template, or automated tool guarantees employment or admission. The sender remains responsible for checking names, dates, qualifications, and suitability for the destination.