Writing an English CV When Arabic Is Your First Language

Write an English CV that reads naturally: accurate job titles and degrees, one spelling of your name, clear dates, active verbs and a matching Arabic CV.

If Arabic is your first language, the English version of your CV is often the one that travels furthest. It may go to a recruiter in another country, to the hiring team of an international company, or to a manager who does not read Arabic. It has to read as if it were written in English, not translated into it, and every fact in it must stay exactly the same.

This guide covers the details that decide whether an English CV reads naturally: job titles, degree names, the spelling of your name, dates, literal phrasing, verbs, how you describe your English, proofreading, and keeping an Arabic version in step.

Why English matters on a CV in the region

English is not the only working language in the Arab world, but employers clearly value it. In the Bayt.com and YouGov Middle East Job Index survey (2022), 58% of the employers surveyed across the Middle East and North Africa named good communication in English and Arabic as a top skill for their hires. That put it ahead of being a team player (45%). In the survey's 2023 edition, YouGov's research director described an increased focus on English and Arabic proficiency among private-sector employers.

Two practical points follow:

• Your English CV is also a writing sample. An employer looking for good English will judge the CV partly on how it reads, not only on what it says.
• The job decides the language. If the advert and the application form are in English, apply in English; if they are in Arabic, apply in Arabic. If an employer asks for both, send two separate, consistent CVs rather than one document that mixes the languages.

Conventions also depend on where you apply. The UK's National Careers Service, for example, advises leaving your age, date of birth, marital status and nationality off a CV. Expectations are different in other places, so check our regional guides for the Gulf, Egypt and the Levant and the Maghreb.

Job titles: translate the role, not the words

A job title is a fact that can be checked. A 2023 SHRM report on employment verification said former employers usually confirm little more than a person's start date, end date and job title. So the title and dates on your CV should match what your employer has on record.

Start from your official title. If your employer already uses an English version (on your contract, your email signature or your staff card), use it exactly. If not, translate the meaning rather than each word, and keep the level honest. Some versions that confuse English readers:

Some of these are false friends. مندوب can mean "delegate", but in sales it means "representative". فني can mean "artistic", but as a job title it usually means "technician".

When an official title is vague in English, keep it and add a short clarifier, such as "Administrative Officer (HR and payroll)". Never upgrade the level: "manager" or "director" belongs on your CV only if that was your role.

To check the usual English name for your work, compare your duties with English-language adverts for similar jobs. You can also look the occupation up in the International Labour Organization's ISCO-08 classification, which defines a job as a set of tasks and duties and has a search tool for occupations.

Degrees: the official name, plus context

If your university issues your certificate or transcript in English, copy the degree name exactly as printed. If it does not, translate the degree type and subject plainly, as in "Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering". Don't render the faculty's Arabic name word by word.

Where a term can be read several ways, add the level or length in plain words. A دبلوم, for instance, can be a two-year post-secondary programme or a postgraduate diploma. So write "Higher Diploma in Education (one-year postgraduate programme)" rather than "Diploma" alone.

Grades need the same care. Give the grade as your certificate states it and add the scale if it isn't obvious, for example "GPA 3.4/4.0" or "Grade: Very Good (university scale)". These are formats, not targets: use your own results.

Don't claim an equivalence you haven't been given. When an employer needs to compare your degree with its own system, credential evaluation services exist for that purpose. World Education Services (WES) explains that its reports help universities and employers see what your academic qualifications are worth. Write "equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree" only if an evaluation says so.

Your name: one spelling everywhere

Arabic names can be written in Latin letters in several ways. Mohammed, Muhammad and Mohamed are all in use. Choose the spelling in your passport and use it everywhere you control it: your CV, email address, LinkedIn profile and application forms. Organisations that check documents compare names across them. WES, for instance, asks applicants to enter their full name exactly as it appears on their transcripts and required documents.

A few details to decide once and keep:

• whether your family name takes "Al-" (Al-Harbi or Alharbi);
• how much of your full name to show: first and family name are usually enough on a CV, provided they match your passport;
• where your profession goes: in a headline under your name ("Civil Engineer"), not as a title in front of it ("Eng. Ahmed").

Dates, numbers and formats

Write dates so no one has to guess. As the International Organization for Standardization points out, a numeric date such as 01/05/22 could mean 5 January or 1 May. Use month names and one format throughout, for example "Sep 2021 – Present".

• Use Gregorian dates; if a certificate gives a Hijri date, convert it.
• Write "Present" for your current role, not "till now" or "until today".
• Give your phone number in international format, with the country code.
• Copy figures exactly from your records and name the currency, as in "a budget of SAR 2 million" (a format example).

Write English, not translated Arabic

A translated CV usually shows in phrases that are correct word by word but unnatural in English. Examples to look for:

• "Responsible of" becomes "responsible for". Better still, use a verb (see the next section).
• "Five years experiences" becomes "five years of experience"; in this sense, "experience" has no plural.
• "I am working here since 2019" becomes "I have worked here since 2019". On a CV, drop the "I" and let the date range speak.
• "Did many works" becomes "completed several projects".
• "Excellent command of English" with nothing behind it becomes a stated level (see below).

Leave out features of formal Arabic correspondence that don't carry over, such as long opening courtesies or a line like "I have the honour to present my CV". Open with a short summary instead. Our guide to writing a CV summary shows how.

Finally, choose British or American spelling ("organise" or "organize", "programme" or "program") and apply it consistently.

Lead with action verbs

English CVs describe work through what you did. Purdue University's Online Writing Lab advises opening every bullet point with an action verb. Compare two versions of the same hypothetical job:

Before: Responsible for following up customer complaints in the branch.

After: Resolved customer complaints at the Jeddah branch and introduced a weekly complaints log that the area manager adopted in three other branches.

The "after" line is an illustration only. Use your own facts and your own numbers, and only those you can support. If a result belonged to the whole team, write "helped" or "contributed to". Useful verbs include managed, prepared, reduced, trained, negotiated, analysed, launched and coordinated.

Describe your English honestly

"Fluent" and "excellent" mean different things to different readers. The Council of Europe's CEFR describes language ability on six levels, from A1 to C2, grouped into basic, independent and proficient users. If you have a recent test result, give the test, the score and the year. If not, a CEFR level you could defend in an interview is more useful than an adjective. List Arabic as your native language.

Remember that an English CV invites an English interview. Claim only a level you could show on a phone call tomorrow.

Proofread like a stranger would

The UK's National Careers Service recommends asking someone else to read your CV and check the spelling and grammar. That help is worth even more when English is your second language: a colleague who writes English at work will catch phrases that a spellchecker accepts. Then:

1. Read the CV aloud; a sentence that is hard to say is hard to read.
2. Check every proper name: employers, universities, cities and certificates.
3. Check consistency: date format, capital letters in job titles, and full stops at the end of bullets (all or none).
4. Run a spellcheck set to the variety of English you chose.

Keep an Arabic version in step

If you apply in both languages, two CVs describe one career, so any difference between them looks like a mistake. A simple routine:

1. Pick a master version, the language you update first.
2. Keep a personal glossary of your official job titles, degree names and employer names in both languages, and translate them the same way every time.
3. Update both on the same day whenever a fact changes: a new role, a promotion, a certificate.
4. Compare before sending. Dates, numbers and titles must match exactly.
5. Adapt the wording, not the facts. Each version should read naturally in its own language.

How Tabhar helps

Tabhar supports CVs in English and Arabic, with correct right-to-left layout for Arabic. Each CV has one language, so your English CV and your Arabic CV are separate documents, which suits the routine above. Arabic CVs use Western digits (0-9), so figures look the same in both. On paid plans, the AI can translate a whole CV between English and Arabic into a new copy, and your original stays as it is. Check the titles and degree names in the new copy against your glossary before you use it.

AI writing help is also on paid plans. Its suggestions appear as before and after and change nothing until you accept them. The AI's edit tools cannot change your contact details, dates, or employer and school names, and it flags any number in a suggestion that isn't in your CV. Plans are listed on the pricing page.

Before you send the English version, run it through the free ATS checker. It needs no sign-up. It checks contact details, content, format and keywords, and compares your CV with a job title and description. English CVs can also be exported as a clean single-column "Job Application" PDF made for applicant tracking systems. For Arabic CVs, Word is the ATS-friendly option.

Related reading

• How to make your CV ATS-friendly
• Common CV mistakes and how to fix each one
• How to write a CV summary, with examples

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