Contact us Login Help An Education
First company
James Bell is a business English teacher with Englishtown. In addition to teaching and running his own small business, James frequently helps with language coaching for big companies.

Read more Ask James

Professor James Bell's office English column

5 pointers for English CVs

You might be perfect for the job, but if your resume isn't, you could lose out. A top-notch English resume will set you apart from the competition. Just follow these tips for writing a winning resume and get the job!

Review your history.

First, make a list of your previous jobs and educational qualifications. Then, write down everything you can remember including the company information, certificates, degrees, your job titles and duties, and specific accomplishments.

Have a live conversation with James right now
..or whenever you want. James and his 150 colleagues keep our internet classrooms open 24 hours a day. So you can practice your English conversation skills whenever you want, right in your own home.

See how it works

Set up your free conversation class

Your name

Your English level

How do you feel when speaking English?

Set up your free class

State your objective.

An objective is a goal, and many employers want to know your employment goal when you apply to work for them. It helps them determine if you're a good match. Include a heading at the beginning of your resume called "Objective" and then write a short statement. Example: "To work in a dynamic marketing department."

Duties or accomplishments?

A duty is an assigned task. An accomplishment is an achievement - a positive result of your efforts. Employers like to know what your tasks were in past jobs, but they're more interested in what you achieved. So when describing past jobs, brag a little! Cite specific accomplishments. Example: One of your duties was doing staff scheduling, and you solved a big scheduling problem. Write, "Solved scheduling conflict."

Adjust your grammar.

Since you have lots to say, but little space, resume writing standards allow for abbreviated sentence construction. Leave out sentence subjects (e.g. I, my manager), possessive pronouns (my/mine, his/hers), and sometimes even articles (the, a). If you're listing more than one accomplishment in a sentence you can replace "and" with a semicolon. Example: "I led an important project and my manager gave me an award" would become "Led key project; awarded by manager."

Use action verbs.

Action verbs show a specific action, e.g. solved, managed, initiated, accomplished. Examples of passive verbs are am, was, have and had. In a resume, action verbs make you sound like a motivated, energetic person - just the type someone would want to hire! Example: "Managed a team of 20 employees" sounds more powerful than "Was in charge of 20 employees."

Email this column     Printer-Friendly
More office English tips from James!

  • Top 5 mistakes in business English
  • Business English for beginners
  • What English interviewers are looking for
  • English for office emergencies
  • How to Write a Perfect Professional Email in English
  • Get what you want at work with English


  • Read other teacher columns

    Lifestyle
    Kate Johnson writes about travel and social-related English
    Practical
    Mike Davis gives you practical English advice.
    Ask James

    James answers all of your office English worries!

    Q:Dear James,

    My foreign colleague is so noisy in office. I wanna tell him to keep quiet, but I don't know how to say it politely. Would you help me, James?!

    Jean, Paris


    A:Dear Jean,


    I understand that it is difficult to work when someone is making a lot of noise. To get your colleague to quiet down without offending him, why don't you try this the next time he starts to get loud. Simply turn around and say in a quiet, polite voice "Would you mind keeping your voice down a little? I think that people are trying to work. Thanks!" Then give him a big smile and he should get the idea.

    Best,James

    Q:Dear James,

    I would like to send a formal proposal to a new client, but I never know if I should use "Miss", "Ms" or "Mrs" when writing. Please help!

    Ed, Seoul, Korea


    A:Dear Ed,


    Here is the rule for titles. "Miss" and "Mrs." bear reference to that woman's marital status. If she is not married, then she is "Miss Smith". If she is married, they you would refer to her as "Mrs. Smith". If you don"t know the marital status of your new client, the best would be to use "Ms. Smith", which does not refer to her marital status at all.

    Best,James

    Read more about James