Writing a Spanish curriculum vitae.

Objectives:

Skip this introduction to see model and example curriculum vitae in Spanish...

A curriculum vitae should have the following objectives: To show in the clearest, most precise and most attractive way possible the qualifications passed, certificates we hold, professional experience and other details which will arouse sufficient interest in an employer's mind that he/she will feel motivated to interview the candidate with a view to a possible offer of employment.

Whether you are writing a CV in English or Spanish the objectives remain the same. Having said that, Spaniards have a tendency to write very long CV's including every scrap of information about their careers and qualifications, which tend to make them seem laborious and tedious to read. Admittedly, sometimes this is necessary; Spaniards looking for work in the Public Sector are usually judged on "credits" they receive from courses attended, published articles etc. so everything goes into the CV to obtain as many points as possible.

Within the context of what this website offers, I am assuming most of you will be looking for in the Private Sector: language academies, private schools, temporary and summer jobs abroad etc. This being the case, your CV should be concise and fairly brief, divulging only essential information required for the job being applied for.

First considerations:

Before embarking on creating your CV in Spanish, there is something important I should mention first. If you are looking for work abroad and relying on doing so via the Internet, you may not want to spend time typing out a nice-looking CV just yet. With the exception of smaller companies (small private academies etc.), most companies will insist you fill out their pre-formatted CV's online; a time-consuming process if you hope to contact several companies. The best you can do to save time is to pre-prepare some paragraphs in Spanish to scoop up and paste into the boxes provided in the form. Therefore, rather than a nice CV format, writing correct and suitable phrases would seem what is required in this situation. The links below take you to some genuine (but with details changed, of course) Spanish CV's so you can look for suitable phrases and expressions for your own CV.

Creating your own Spanish CV for sending via e-mail or snail mail:

Create your presentation CV in a well-known, standard and more or less up-to-date word processing programme so that it can be easily opened by the receiver when sent as an attached via e-mail. Word or Word Perfect are good options. If you choose an old programme that few people use, the CV format may change when opened by the recipient or, at worse, it may be impossible to open! Likewise use a popular, standard type set like Arial, Sans Serif either size 10 or 12 (you can safely incorporate italic and bold versions of the same type set).

When planning your CV, consider the best of what you have to offer and highlight those qualities. For example, if you have little work experience, emphasize your qualifications by providing a somewhat longer explanation. If you think a particular detail could be seen as a negative (such as having children or NOT having children!) omit it. However, you should be truthful at all times, as you could pay dearly later on for any information in your CV which leads an employer to believe you are what you are not.

To sum up here are eight basic rules to remember when creating your Spanish CV:

1) A good curriculum should occupy just one page or two pages maximum (size A4). Even if you send it by e-mail, this is still the case as it will probably be printed out onto a hard copy. Test-print your CV before you send it using the standard margins your programme provides. If you require more than one page, that is acceptable; do not reduce the type size to size 9 or 8 just to squeeze it onto one page. Try to avoid one or two lines "dribbling" onto the next page!

2) Ensure your CV reflects the demands of the position applied for.

3) Use titles and subtitles so that the text is easy to read and understand.

4) Do not write long paragraphs: maximum one or two sentences.

5) Use typical and conventional expressions in Spanish that you read in CV's written by native speakers (see example below) - do not be tempted to use literal translation.

6) Limit the use of the first person in Spanish CV's, neither should you boast; try to provide facts only.

7) If you are sending the CV by snail mail, always send an original version and avoid photocopies.

8) Highlight your qualities but never lie.

Note: The Spanish prefer a CV that is signed (snail mail) and dated (e-mail and snail).

Create your Spanish CV:

(Back to introduction...)

Curriculum vitae template to add to and adapt.

It is best to start here and then consult the CV's below for more expressions:

Template curriculum vitae in Spanish

Use Europass to complete your Spanish CV...

Monolingual Spanish CV's on this site for selecting phases and expressions: The following are CV's written by Spaniards; they will provide you with invaluable phrases and format to use in your own CV.

Application for a job (cover letter and curriculum vitae)

Now go to:

Write a cover letter to accompany your CV...

The Cover Letter writing machine...

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