Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

Any advice welcome on translating UK qualifications such as o levels into something a US recruiter might understand enough to stop them putting Mrs HTS's application in the bin?

Mucho grassy arse in advance.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

That might explain where mine have been going :unsure:

I usually try to put a short (very short) explanation that A-levels are roughly equivalent to a US high school diploma. I usually mention the GCSEs as well but since they were done at 16 and not 18, I usually don't dwell on them. I do have some uni time though, so I base it on faith that the fact that I was admitted into a university should demonstrate that my secondary education is satsfactory for their purposes.

I have been able to get a few interviews using that set-up, so maybe that's enough. Or, it could be a load of old bollocks. Your mileage may vary ...

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

Monster offers free examples of resumes for various professions:

http://career-advice.monster.com/res...y/article.aspx

Rather than listing O levels individually, it might be better to just say "graduated from such and such high school" -- but if there are higher levels of education, there's no need to mention O levels.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

I was always under the impression an A-level was like an Associates Degree as they are taken at college over 2 years (??), but pop the question into Google and you get a lot of conflicting responses.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

It might depend on what the job is.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

Americans don't leave school until 18 though.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

Ah, OK so does that mean that a UK students A-levels would form part of a US high school diploma (major subjects)? Would a US student be able to major in 3 subjects? I am really unfamiliar with US schooling!

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

I just lie and :fingerscrossed: my fingers lol

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

My A levels meant that a major US university let me do a four-year degree in three years.

Honestly, I would seek out help in americanizing your cv from a professional cv writer, or at least look at examples online. It's more than just explaining qualifications - there is a whole different way of presenting oneself here that is far more directly and explicitly self-promoting than is usual in the UK, and it's very difficult for us to get that right. I've been here a long time, and for my next job search I still want someone else to look at it.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

It gets complicated because you get different levels of classes in US high school, the higher levels definitely compare with A-levels in my view. However, the requirements for just graduating high school are fairly basic. So it would be difficult to generalize. You can get college credit for AP (advanced placement) subjects so perhaps A-levels are viewed in this way - Lion in Winter's experience suggests so. Just not sure A-levels could be seen as the whole of an Associate Degree.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

Lion has it right. My wife has always had trouble with this area, until she went that route, and completed an american degree.

Most US companies want experience also, not just a degree. It is all how the entire resume is packaged for that position.

Cheers

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

That varies regionally. I did my A levels in school in sixth form after I did my GCSEs but that was a Northern Ireland grammar school, which is different from the English or Scottish systems, I believe.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

Yup - didn't some chemistry classes have a different focus? :eek:
(I can't talk - I did manage to blow a window & it's frame out of a small cricket pavilion when I was a teen in waiting...)

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

That's pretty good. I never managed anything better than completely stripping the varnish off the top of the lab bench while making soap.

I haven't used soap again to this day.

Re: Translating UK CV into US Resume
 

Just been out walking the dogs - did wonder what that pleasant yet somehow almost overpowering scent was...:p

I should add that my 'explosion' such as it was, was not 'hollywood' grade, all rather limp - more 'keystone cops'!!