Resumes (or CVs, if you prefer) for Chinese companies contain more or less the same information as resumes that are made elsewhere in the world, although they may follow certain formats and structures that you might not use when applying for a job in your own country.

Two-page resumes are usually welcomed (two pages for each language; if you need to submit the information in both Chinese and English it’ll be a total of four pages), and if you have a reference letter from previous employer or your school, you may wish to attach a copy of the letter to the resume as well. You don’t have to leave contact information for the referee unless the employer asks you to.

A typical resume often includes the following, in order from top to bottom:

1. Your personal personal information, including your name, gender, date of birth, a recent photo, the highest education that you have received and your contact information (usually phone number and email).
2. Your work experience; put them in reverse chronological order, with the latest first. State the details as briefly as possible: “from September 2011 to January 2014, working as (job title) at (name of company).”
3. Your education; again, put this in reverse chronological order, from your highest education to primary school. Again, be brief: “from September 2003 to July 2006, studying at (name of school or university).” You don’t have to put your test scores here.
4. Awards you have received or achievements you have obtained during your education or previous jobs.
5. Certificates you have earned proving your capability, including bachelor’s and master’s degrees, doctorates, diplomas etc.
6. A brief introduction to yourself and why you should be hired for this job; this information would, in a Western job application, be included in the covering letter. You may not have to submit a covering letter when applying for a job with a Chinese company.

To make things easier for you, we’ve provided sample resumes in English and Chinese (both in Word .doc format); right click and select “Save link as…” to save them to your computer. Feel free to use and personalise them!

Useful Chinese words and phrases 

Photo by Gflores，source：onestop