Translate Your Resumé to English for Canada (2026)

Applying in the US? Read the American resumé format guide.

Short answer: Translate the meaning, not the words. Keep the original names of your schools, employers and degrees, and add a plain English version in brackets. Do not claim a Canadian equivalent for a degree unless an assessment says so. Follow Canadian conventions: two pages or less, no photo or personal details, and Canadian spelling. A resumé translation is for job applications. Immigration, licensing bodies and credential evaluators usually want a certified translation of documents such as diplomas and transcripts, which comes from a certified translator.

If your resumé is already in English and you want it adapted for Canada, start with our Canadian resumé guide for newcomers. This guide covers the step before that: getting it into English.

Step 1: Translate meaning, not words

A word-for-word translation can turn a clear title into something a Canadian reader does not recognize. Job Bank notes that job titles and duties in Canada may be different from where you worked before (Job Bank, newcomers).

Job titles. Keep your real title, then add the common Canadian title in brackets if they differ. You can search the National Occupational Classification (NOC) by job title to see the Canadian name and its main duties (NOC). Job Bank stresses being honest on your resumé, so the bracket explains your title; it does not replace it (Job Bank, resumé tips).
Employers. Keep the company’s real name. If a Canadian reader will not know it, add a short note on what it does, and write the location as “City, Country” (University of Waterloo Centre for Career Development).
Duties and results. Write them in plain English with action verbs and numbers. Job Bank suggests simple words, action verbs such as “managed” or “led”, and quantified achievements (Job Bank, resumé tips).
Dates. Write months in English (“Mar 2019 to Jun 2025”) so nobody has to guess which number is the day and which is the month.

A sample experience entry (fictional sample, translated from Spanish):

Jefe de Ventas (Sales Manager) Distribuidora Ejemplo S.A. (regional food distributor), Bogotá, Colombia | Mar 2019 to Jun 2025

Led a team of 8 sales representatives covering 140 retail accounts

Opened 3 new regions, adding about 30 accounts in two years

Step 2: Translate your education without converting it

Your degree name is a fact, so keep it in the original language and add an English translation in brackets. What you should not do on your own is say what it equals in Canada.

Get your credentials assessed. An Educational Credential Assessment (ECA) verifies that a foreign degree, diploma or certificate is valid and equal to a Canadian one. IRCC says the report “may help when you’re looking for a job”, but it does not guarantee a job in your field or a licence in a regulated profession (IRCC, Educational credential assessment). If you came through Express Entry, you may already have one. IRCC’s designated organizations include World Education Services (WES), the International Credential Assessment Service of Canada and the University of Toronto’s Comparative Education Service (same IRCC page).

For job applications, WES recommends its Document-by-Document evaluation, and says to confirm with the employer that this type is enough. Its Course-by-Course evaluation adds a Canadian grade point average on a 4.0 scale (WES, Canada employment applications). So do not convert your grades yourself. List the original grade, or leave grades off.

Check whether your job is regulated. If you plan to work in a regulated occupation or compulsory trade, you first need your credentials recognized, and you need a licence or certificate before you can work in it or use the designated title. The Foreign Credential Recognition Tool shows whether your occupation is regulated where you plan to work (ESDC, Foreign Credential Recognition). For non-regulated jobs, recognition is normally up to the employer (CICIC). On your resumé, name the licence you hold and where it is from, and do not translate it into a regulated Canadian title you do not hold yet.

A sample education entry (fictional sample):

Licenciatura en Administración de Empresas (Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration) Universidad Ejemplo, Bogotá, Colombia, 2017 Canadian equivalency: four-year bachelor’s degree (WES evaluation)

Only add the equivalency line once you have the report. Until then, the original name and the English translation are enough.

Step 3: Follow Canadian resumé conventions

A translated resumé still has to read like a Canadian one. Job Bank’s advice (Job Bank, resumé tips):

Limit it to two pages, focus on recent experience, and cut or shorten jobs more than 15 years old.
Put your name, address, email and phone number at the top.
Do not use “I”, “my” or “me”.
Keep references on a separate sheet.

Use Canadian spelling consistently, for example “centre”, “labour” and “organize”. For the layout and headings, see our Canadian resumé format guide, and for stronger bullets, our before and after examples.

Languages. Canada has two official languages, English and French, and Job Bank points newcomers to language training in both (Job Bank, newcomers). List each language you speak with an honest level, including your first language. For a bilingual role, put French near the top.

Step 4: Leave out what Canadian employers do not expect

Many resumés written for other countries include personal details. Job Bank advises leaving out age, weight, height, marital status, religious preference and political views, never including your Social Insurance Number, and not adding a photo, which “is not the norm in Canada” (Job Bank, resumé tips). Settlement.org adds gender and immigration status to the list (Settlement.org).

Job Bank also suggests leaving out reasons for leaving past jobs and hobbies that do not relate to the job (Job Bank, resumé tips). A translation is a good moment to remove these, rather than translating them.

A resumé translation is not a certified translation

These are two different things, and it matters which one you need.

A resumé translation puts your resumé or cover letter into English so an employer can read it. If an employer asks for a certified translation, use a certified translator (see below).

A certified translation is for official documents such as diplomas, transcripts and licences when an organization asks for one. Job Bank’s newcomer guidance says to have a certified translator provide an English or French translation of your education, training and work certificates (Job Bank, newcomers).

Where certified translations come from:

IRCC’s definition. For Express Entry, IRCC says a certified translator is “a member in good standing of a professional translation association in Canada or abroad”, confirmed by a seal or stamp showing their membership number. A translator still in the process of getting certified does not count, and a family member, representative or consultant cannot translate your documents (IRCC, Apply for permanent residence through Express Entry). Rules can differ between applications, so follow the instructions for yours.
Provincial associations. In Canada, the power to certify translators is a provincial jurisdiction, and certification is granted by the provincial member societies of the Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council (CTTIC).
In Ontario, the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO) is the only organization that can give someone the title “certified translator” (Settlement.org, Words to Know), and you can search its directory for one.

Credential evaluation services and licensing bodies set their own document rules, so check what yours asks for before you order any translation.

Our resumé translation is not a certified translation, and we do not translate documents for immigration, licensing or credential evaluation. For those, use a certified translator: in Ontario, search the ATIO directory; elsewhere, your province’s CTTIC member society.

Translation checklist

Want help with yours?

Send your resumé or cover letter in any language for a resumé translation: $7 CAD per document, not a certified translation. We keep your content and layout and put every line into natural English with Canadian spelling, and we point out anything Canadian employers do not expect, such as a photo or your date of birth. It is all by email, back 24 hours from payment and complete information.

Want it rewritten for Canadian employers too? Order a resumé edit and add the translation to the same order. No resumé yet? Fill in the Build your resumé form in your own language and add the translation on the last step.

Related guides

Sources

All accessed 2026-10-27.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Apply for permanent residence through Express Entry (Translation of documents; Certified translator). https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/apply-permanent-residence.html
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Educational credential assessment. https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/documents/education-assessment.html
Job Bank (Government of Canada). Find a job in Canada as a newcomer. https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/newcomers
Job Bank (Government of Canada). How to write a good resume. https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/findajob/resources/write-good-resume
Employment and Social Development Canada. Foreign Credential Recognition. https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/foreign-credential-recognition.html
Employment and Social Development Canada. National Occupational Classification (NOC). https://noc.esdc.gc.ca/
Canadian Information Centre for International Credentials (CICIC). Settle in Canada: Work. https://www.cicdi.ca/858/work.canada
World Education Services. Canada employment applications. https://www.wes.org/ca/evaluations-and-fees/employment-applications/
Canadian Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters Council (CTTIC). Home: Certification. https://www.cttic.org/
Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario (ATIO). Home: Certified, a reserved title; Directory. https://atio.on.ca/ and https://atio.on.ca/directory/
Settlement.org. Access to Professions and Trades Guide: Words to Know. https://settlement.org/access-to-professions-and-trades-guide/words-to-know/
Settlement.org. What do I include in my Canadian resume? What do I exclude? https://settlement.org/ontario/employment/find-a-job/resume/what-do-i-include-in-my-canadian-resume-what-do-i-exclude/
University of Waterloo Centre for Career Development. Experience section. https://uwaterloo.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/CCDCH/pages/44230378219