Writing a CV in English when it is not your first language creates a specific kind of anxiety. You know your work is good. You know you can do the job. But you are not sure if your English is good enough to communicate that clearly on paper.
Here is the thing: your English does not need to be perfect. Your CV needs to be clear, specific, and relevant. Those are two different standards.
What actually matters in a CV written in English:
Recruiters reading CVs in English are not grading your grammar. They are looking for evidence that you can do the job. A CV with minor grammatical imperfections but strong, specific achievements will outperform a grammatically perfect CV full of generic phrases every time.
What will hurt you is not imperfect English. What will hurt you is vague language that fails to communicate what you actually did and what you are capable of.
The most common mistakes non-native speakers make:
The first is translating phrases literally from their native language. Direct translations often produce sentences that are grammatically correct but sound unnatural to a native English speaker. Instead of translating how you would say something in your language, look for how native speakers describe the same type of work.
The second is using overly formal language. Many non-native speakers default to formal registers when writing in a second language because formal language feels safer. But CVs in English, especially in international or English-speaking markets, benefit from being direct and clear rather than formal.
The third is avoiding quantification because they are not confident in how to express numbers in English. Numbers work the same in every language. "Increased revenue by 25%" is perfectly clear regardless of your first language.
How to check your CV:
Read each bullet point and ask yourself one question: does this tell the reader what I did and what happened as a result? If the answer is no, rewrite it with a specific action and a specific outcome.
For language accuracy, tools that check grammar in English can help, but the most important thing is clarity and specificity, not grammatical perfection.
Resumelyn rewrites your CV sections in clear, professional English, pulling in the specific keywords from the job posting you are targeting. It handles the language so you can focus on the substance.
Write your CV in professional English at resumelyn.com