Shadowing Practice: Write a CV for an English-Speaking Job - Tips to Write a Great Resume - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Hi, I'm Martin.
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Welcome to Oxford Online English.
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In this lesson, you can learn to write a CV or resume in English.
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If you're wondering, CV and resume have the same meaning.
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The word CV is more common in the UK, while resume is more common in the USA.
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Although some people say that there is a difference, in everyday speech, a CV and a resume are the same thing.
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You write a summary of your employment history, your education, and your skills in order to apply for a job.
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In this video lesson, you'll see how to write an effective CV in English.
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share some useful language tips to make your CV clearer.
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Before we start, we highly recommend you visit our website, OxfordOnlineEnglish.com.
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You can find many other free English lessons, like this one, on all kinds of topics.
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You can also book a lesson with one of our professional teachers to improve your English further.
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But now, let's look at how to write your CV in English.
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We're going to divide your CV into four sections.
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Your personal profile is a short introduction to you, your key skills, and your career goals.
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It generally goes at the top of your CV, under your contact information.
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Not all CVs include a personal profile, but many do.
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Many people we've spoken to find it the most difficult part to write.
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So, if you need a personal profile, what should you include?
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Aim to write four to five sentences.
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In the first sentence, introduce yourself.
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For example, I recently graduated from the University of Toronto in International Affairs with a 3.8 GPA
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and I'm seeking employment in the NGO sector.
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I am a web development professional looking to move into a senior role in an established company.
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I am a cardiology nurse with over ten years' experience in Spain.
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I'm now looking for a position in the UK.
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Here you can see language, which you could adapt to your situation.
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Take a few seconds.
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How could you use these sentences to talk about yourself?
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Pause the video if you want more time to think about it.
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Generally, you should write your personal profile in full sentences in the first person.
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You can write in the third person, but this can sound impersonal.
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It's simpler to write in the first person using I.
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After your introduction, write one to three sentences about the skills you will bring to the job you're applying for.
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Be specific and focus on the facts.
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Avoid using clichés like team player, good communicator, or passionate.
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These are overused in job applications.
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Try to show your good qualities by giving specific examples instead.
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Let's take a look at some examples here.
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During my degree, I did a six-month internship at a Toronto-based charity,
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and also volunteered for two local charitable organizations.
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This has given me an understanding of NGO work in both smaller and larger organizations,
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as well as the desire to learn more about the field.
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Over the last fifteen years, I have honed my technical skills by working on a wide range of projects,
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both working individually and in large teams.
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Recently, I have developed my managerial abilities by working as a team leader for my current employer.
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Since I started working as a ward nurse, I have pursued every opportunity to learn and develop my skills.
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Consequently, I have been working as a specialized cardiology nurse for the past five years.
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Because your personal profile should be short, it's useful to organize your ideas using time references,
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like during, over the last years, recently, or since.
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If you're writing in the first person, this also helps you to avoid repetitive sentence structures.
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It doesn't sound good if every sentence you write starts with I.
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Find your personal profile with a sentence summarising your career goals.
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For example, I hope to build on my prior experience and make a meaningful contribution by working in an international NGO.
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Having worked mostly for start-ups and smaller firms,
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I would now like to challenge myself by managing projects and teams in a larger company.
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My short-term goal is to work in an English-speaking environment,
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with a view to moving into a training teaching role in the medium term. And you've finished!
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If you want to read the three full profiles, go to the full version of the lesson on our website.
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There's a link in the video description.
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The exact order of sections on a CV can vary.
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However, in many cases, you'll put your work history at the top, after your personal profile.
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Let's see how you can write about your employment history on your CV.
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In this section of your CV, you should list the companies you've worked for, the dates you worked there,
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your responsibilities, and any significant achievements.
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For example, you might write,
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Customer Service Supervisor, JUICIT, September 2016 to January 2019.
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In responsibilities, responding to customer queries and complaints, creating and implementing surveys to gather customer feedback,
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organizing training sessions for other staff members.
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Often, you won't write in full sentences to talk about your responsibilities and achievements.
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Instead, you'll write bulleted lists.
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There are two possible styles you can use, and you should choose one.
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One way is to write sentence fragments starting with an –ing verb.
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You saw this in the example just now.
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The other common possibility is to write sentence fragments starting with a past simple verb.
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So, for example, a full sentence about your work experience might be,
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I designed training programs for other staff members.
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You could make this a fragment with an ing verb, as in designing training programs for other staff members.
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Or you could make a fragment with a past simple verb, as in, design training programs for other staff members.
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Of course, you can write in full sentences if you want, however, it's more common to use one of these two styles on a CV.
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Just remember, don't mix styles.
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If you're writing in fragments starting with an ing verb, then all of your bullet points should be in the same style.
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Also, when describing your responsibilities in a role, try to use active, specific vocabulary.
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For example, instead of making promotional materials in print and digital formats,
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say creating promotional materials or designing promotional materials.
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Using a more specific verb is better where possible,
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so it's better to use create than a more general verb like make.
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Instead of worked with customer data to suggest alternative strategies for sales team members,
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Today, analyze customer data in order to devise more effective strategies for sales team members.
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Next, let's add one more vital section to your CV.
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On most CVs, education either goes at the top, after the personal profile, or after the work experience section.
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Here you list the institution, qualification, grades and dates.
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For example, University of Warwick 2015-2018 B.Sc in Chemical Engineering 2.1.
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Do you know what 2.1 means?
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University grades for UK degrees are given in classes – first class, upper second class, second class, and so on.
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Two-one means an upper second-class degree, which is the second highest grade.
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On a CV, you can write BSc in chemical engineering, or you might write it without the preposition.
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This might be all you need, but you might also add modules you've studied,
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projects you worked on, or the title of your thesis or dissertation.
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Here, the simplest way to add this information is to use a colon to introduce a list, like this.
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Modules studied, chemical reactor design, distillation and absorption, process synthesis.
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You could also use this to list exams you took at school.
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For example, A-levels – geography, English, literature, politics, economics.
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Do you know what A-levels are?
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They're the exams you take at the end of secondary school in the UK.
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Usually, people take three or four subjects.
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Depending on where you are in your career, you might not need a lot of details about your education.
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If you've been working in your field for many years, and have lots of relevant achievements,
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then you probably don't need to go into details about your high school exam results.
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At this point, you have the most important parts of your CV.
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There's one more section you might add.
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At the end of your CV, you might list relevant skills, such as other languages which you speak,
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certificates, or software you can use.
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You might also list your hobbies and interests.
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Should you add your hobbies and interests to your CV?
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Some people say yes, others say no. We don't know.
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This lesson is about how to write a CV in English.
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Here you can keep this simple.
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Introduce a list using a colon, like this.
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Proficient with Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign, Microsoft Office, QuickBook.
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You can show different levels of skill by using different adjectives,
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like proficient, familiar or competent.
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Proficient suggests a higher level of skill.
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Competent suggests a medium degree, while familiar suggests a more basic level of skill.
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You can use these adjectives with the preposition with plus a noun, for example, proficient with AutoCAD,
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competent with WordPress, or familiar with a range of common double-entry bookkeeping applications.
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You can also use some adjectives like this.
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Plus at, plus an ing verb.
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For example, competent at building and styling web pages using HTML and CSS.
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Skilled at using a range of Adobe Creative Suite applications for graphic or print design.
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With languages, you can use a similar format.
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Introduce a list using a colon like this.
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If you want to add additional information to something,
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add it in parentheses, like this.
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As before, you're not writing in full sentences here.
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That means you can be flexible with the structure.
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For example, you don't need to add AND between the last two items on your list.
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However, you should still pay attention to grammar and structure,
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because it's important to be consistent.
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Finally, you can add your hobbies and interests if you want.
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For example, hobbies and interests, surfing, DIY, arts and crafts.
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At this point, your CV should be close to complete.
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Don't forget to proofread carefully before you send it in.
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In most situations, recruiters won't spend long the first time they look at your CV.
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Even small things, like spelling mistakes, can mean your CV gets thrown out.
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So, take the time to check everything.
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Do you have any other tips for writing a good CV?
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Please share your ideas in the comments.
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Thanks for watching!
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See you next time.
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Thank you.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This B2 speaking lesson is built on the video “Write a CV for an English-Speaking Job - Tips to Write a Great Resume”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: write, sentence, example, skill, profile. This video has 151 sentences and 1766 words to shadow. The speech runs for 17:03. The speaker talks slowly, about 104 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 82% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.
Key vocabulary in this video
The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| verb noun | /vɝb/ | A word that indicates an action, event, or state of being. |
| fragment noun | /ˈfɹæɡmənt/ | A part broken off; a small, detached portion; an imperfect part, either physically or not. |
| proficient adjective | /pɹoʊˈfɪʃ.ənt/ | Good at something; skilled; fluent; practiced, especially in relation to a task or skill. |
| competent adjective | /ˈkɒmpətənt/ | Having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability, or qualifications. |
| hobby noun | /ˈhɑ.bi/ | An activity that one enjoys doing in one's spare time. |
| resume verb | /ˈɹɛz.ə.meɪ/ | To start (something) again that has been stopped or paused from the point at which it was stopped or paused; continue, carry on. |
| adjective noun | /ˈæd͡ʒ.ɪk.tɪv/ | A word that modifies a noun or noun phrase or describes a noun’s referent. |
| colon noun | /ˈkoʊ.lən/ | The punctuation mark ⟨:⟩. |
| promotional adjective | /pɹəˈmoʊʃənəl/ | Of or relating to an advertising promotion; serving to promote a service, institution, business, etc. |
| cardiology noun | /ˌkɑː(ɹ)diˈɒlədʒi/ | The study of the structure, function, and disorders of the heart. |
| preposition noun | /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/ | Any of a class of non-inflecting words and multiword terms typically employed to connect a following noun or a pronoun, in an adjectival or adverbial sense… |
| module noun | /ˈmɑd͡ʒul/ | A self-contained component of a system, often interchangeable, which has a well-defined interface to the other components. |
| organize verb | /ˈɔɹɡənaɪz/ | To arrange in working order. |
| bookkeeping noun | /ˈbʊkˌkiːpɪŋ/ | The skill or practice of keeping books or systematic records of financial transactions, e.g. income and expenses. |
| communicator noun | /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪtə/ | Someone who, or something that communicates. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| throw out verb | /ˈθɹəʊ ˌaʊt/ | To discard; to dispense with something; to throw away. |
Sentences worth repeating
Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:
- How could you use these sentences to talk about yourself?
- Let's take a look at some examples here.
- Instead, you'll write bulleted lists.
- There's one more section you might add.
- As before, you're not writing in full sentences here.
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on | have been working · you've been working |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've spoken · has given · have honed |
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | are overused · are given |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 26 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, you're, you've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: parenthesis /pəˈɹɛn.θə.sɪs/, synthesis /ˈsɪnθəsɪs/, thesis /ˈθisɪs/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: proficient /pɹoʊˈfɪʃ.ənt/, promotional /pɹəˈmoʊʃənəl/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, distillation /dɪstɪˈleɪʃən/, specialize /ˈspɛʃəˌlaɪz/
- Long words — get the stress right: promotional /pɹəˈmoʊʃənəl/, cardiology /ˌkɑː(ɹ)diˈɒlədʒi/, preposition /ˌpɹɛpəˈzɪʃən/, communicator /kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪtə/, distillation /dɪstɪˈleɪʃən/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like verb, fragment, proficient.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.