Interpreter Resume Sample & Guide with Skills

The structure of your interpreter resume will depend on the type of resume format you choose. Here’s a guide to the three kinds of resumes you can choose:

• Chronological: Chronological resumes focus on employment history.
• Functional: Functional resumes focus on skills. 
• Combination: Combination resumes showcase both skills and experience. 

Header

 

Once you have chosen your resume format, you should include a resume header. Your resume header contains all of your contact information, helping the hiring manager contact you with application updates. In this section, you should include:

 

• Full name 
• Email address
• Phone number 
• Location 

If you have lots of experience as an interpreter, then you can also provide a link to a professional networking site. This is a good opportunity to provide the hiring manager with more information about your career and the types of clients or industries you worked with. 

 

 

A resume summary is your opportunity to introduce yourself to the hiring manager. This two to three-sentence section summarizes your overall resume. This section is designed to hook the hiring manager or recruiter. 

 

To do this, you can include striking information such as specialist skills or qualifications. You can also include your total years of experience in this section. 

 

If you don’t have any experience in an interpreter position, then you can use a resume objective. A resume objective is similar in length but instead explains your career goals. You can explain how this role aligns with your career targets and why you’re the ideal candidate. 

 

 

If you choose a functional resume format, then your skills section is essential. Regardless of the type of resume you choose, you should ensure you include the right skills. 

 

This section should contain a mixture of both hard and soft skills. Hard skills are role-specific, whereas soft skills are transferable across multiple industries. 

 

If you can’t think of the right interpreter skills that align with your job application, then consider using some of these bullet points:

 

• Interpersonal skills 
• Cultural differences and understanding 
• Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Social media 
• Diverse language services 
• French 
• Spanish 
• Portuguese 
• English
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Arabic 
• Translation services
• Proofreading

Work history

 

Depending on the role and the type of resume you choose, the work experience section might be the most important part. You should try to only include experience where you’ve translated or interpreted foreign languages to avoid information redundancies. 

 

If you’ve previously had interpreter jobs, then you should list your experience in reverse chronological order, starting from the most recent example. You should also include brief bullet points that summarize your primary responsibilities while working. 

 

If you have many years of relevant experience as a professional interpreter, then try and keep to the most recent five years of experience to avoid your resume becoming too long. 

 

 

To become an interpreter, you’ll need to prove you’re bilingual and fluent in your target language. You can also study for a bachelor’s degree in the same language and build up your experience as a freelance translator. 

 

In this section, you should include the following information:

 

• The title of your qualification or degree
• University or training facility name 
• Year you graduated 
• Special achievements such as making Dean’s list or graduating with honors

Do:

• Use a resume template and resume builder to provide structure to your resume.
• Use the job description for keywords to navigate applicant tracking systems. 
• Proofread your resume before you submit it.

Don’t:

• Mention your high school diploma. This is an example of irrelevant information. 
• Forget to use an interpreter resume sample to inspire your resume.
• Make your resume sections too long as this may bore the hiring manager.