What your resume needs, country by country
Employers in different countries expect different things on the page. Find the country you're applying to and see what belongs on yours.
In most of the world this document is called a CV. It's the same document.
What the law says
This binds the employer, not you. It's the rules on what a company may ask for, keep, or take into account.
What practice expects
This binds nobody. It's local habit. A resume can be perfectly legal and still get set aside for ignoring it.
Why they disagree
In Germany, acting on a photo is legally risky for the employer, and a photo is still normal on a German resume. Both columns are right at once.
Spotted something wrong? Open a country and use the button at the end of the entry to send us a correction. Tell us what's wrong and, if you have one, a link that shows it. We read every request and update the entry when it checks out.
This is research, not legal advice. Employment and data protection law changes, state and provincial rules matter in federal countries, and practice varies by industry and seniority. Each entry shows when it was looked up and how confident we are. Where nothing reliable was published it says Not found rather than a guess.
How we researched this
We used AI assistants to research each country, working from a written checklist: a few web searches per country, one of them in the local language, with government and regulator sources ranked above generic CV tip blogs. Then a second, separate pass tried to poke holes in every entry: does each law named actually exist, is the entry mixing up what the law says with what employers do, and was the first pass too sure of itself.
Every entry shows when it was looked up, when it was checked, how confident we are and which sources we opened. If we couldn't find something reliable, the entry says Not found instead of guessing. Spot a mistake? Send a correction from the entry and we'll fix it once it checks out.
What a resume is called around the world
Resume, CV, Lebenslauf, currículum, hoja de vida, 履歴書, 简历, резюме, السيرة الذاتية. Same document, different names. Here's what it's called, and which language to write it in, for every country we cover.
- Afghanistan
- Curriculum Vitae (CV); terminology same in Dari and Pashto · Written in English (international organizations and NGOs); Dari or Pashto (government and domestic employers)
- Albania
- Kurrikulumi Vitae (CV/Biografi) · Written in Albanian, English
- Algeria
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in French, Arabic
- Andorra
- Currículum Vitae (CV) · Written in Catalan (official), Spanish, French, Portuguese
- Angola
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Portuguese
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume · Written in English
- Argentina
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Spanish
- Armenia
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Armenian; English increasingly used
- Australia
- Resume (CV less common) · Written in English
- Austria
- Lebenslauf (CV) · Written in German (primary), English
- Azerbaijan
- CV, Rezyume · Written in Azerbaijani, English
- Bahrain
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sira al-dhātiyyah) · Written in Arabic, English (English for expats)
- Bangladesh
- জীবনবৃত্তান্ত (Jibonbitti) · Written in Bengali, English
- Barbados
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- Belarus
- Резюме (Rezume) · Written in Belarusian, Russian (Russian more common in practice), English
- Belgium
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in French, Dutch, English (for international positions)
- Belize
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English (official language)
- Benin
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in French
- Bhutan
- CV, གཞུང་ལས་ཀའི་སྒྲིགས་ཆེན (CV in Dzongkha context) · Written in English primary, Dzongkha acceptable depending on role
- Bolivia
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish (unless otherwise specified)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Životopis · Written in Bosnian, Serbian, or Croatian
- Botswana
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- Brazil
- Currículo (or Curriculum Vitae) · Written in Portuguese
- Brunei
- CV, Rezyume · Written in English, Malay
- Bulgaria
- Резюме (Rezjume) · Written in Bulgarian, English increasingly common for international positions
- Burkina Faso
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in French
- Burundi
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Kirundi, French, or English
- Cabo Verde
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Portuguese
- Cambodia
- CV, ឯកសារប្រវត្តិរូប (Eksar Provattirup) · Written in Khmer, English
- Cameroon
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French, English (bilingual country)
- Canada
- Resume / Curriculum Vitae · Written in English; French (bilingual in Quebec and federally)
- Chad
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French, Arabic (official languages); English accepted in some international companies
- Chile
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish
- China
- 简历 (jiǎnlì) · Written in Mandarin Chinese, English
- Colombia
- Hoja de Vida · Written in Spanish; English acceptable for multinational employers
- Congo (Democratic Republic of the)
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French (official); English also accepted in professional circles
- Congo (Republic of the)
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French
- Costa Rica
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish; English acceptable for multinational employers and tech sector
- Cote d'Ivoire
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French
- Croatia
- Životopis (životopis) · Written in Croatian, English increasingly common
- Cuba
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish
- Cyprus
- CV / Curriculum Vitae · Written in English, Greek
- Czechia
- Životopis (životopis) or Curriculum Vitae · Written in Czech, English increasingly common
- Denmark
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Danish, English (widely accepted for international roles)
- Djibouti
- Not found · Written in French, Arabic, English
- Dominica
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume · Written in English
- Ecuador
- Hoja de Vida (Currículum Vitae) · Written in Spanish; English acceptable for multinational employers
- Egypt
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sira al-dhatiyya) · Written in Arabic, English
- El Salvador
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish
- Equatorial Guinea
- Curriculum Vitae (Spanish/French) · Written in Spanish, French
- Eritrea
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English, Tigrinya (likely)
- Estonia
- Elulookirjeldus (CV) · Written in Estonian, English (widely used)
- Eswatini
- Not found · Written in English, Siswati
- Ethiopia
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume · Written in English, Amharic (likely)
- Fiji
- Resume/CV (English); Lomalomani (Fijian, less formal) · Written in English, Fijian in local context
- Finland
- Curriculum Vitae / Ansioluettelo · Written in Finnish or English
- France
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French
- Gabon
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French, English
- Georgia
- CV / Curriculum Vitae · Written in Georgian, English
- Germany
- Lebenslauf · Written in German
- Ghana
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- Greece
- Βιογραφικό Σημείωμα (Viografiko Simeioma) · Written in Greek or English
- Grenada
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- Guatemala
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish typically; English acceptable for multinational companies
- Guinea
- Curriculum Vitae (CV), French: Curriculum Vitae or Parcours Professionnel · Written in French (official); English increasingly accepted
- Guinea-Bissau
- Curriculum Vitae (CV), Portuguese: Curriculum Vitae or Currículo · Written in Portuguese (official); English limited
- Guyana
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- Haiti
- Curriculum Vitae (French: CV or dossier) · Written in French (official); Haitian Creole unofficial but widespread
- Honduras
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish (official)
- Hong Kong SAR
- 簡歷 / 履歷表 (jiǎn lì / lǚ lì biǎo) · Written in English and Traditional Chinese
- Hungary
- Önéletrajz · Written in Hungarian
- Iceland
- Ferilskrá · Written in Icelandic
- India
- CV / Curriculum Vitae or Biodata (बायोडेटा) · Written in English, Hindi, regional languages
- Indonesia
- Riwayat Hidup or Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Bahasa Indonesia (for government/BUMN); English (for multinationals and tech)
- Iran
- رزومه (Rezume) or سوابق کار (CV) · Written in Persian (Farsi), English for international roles
- Iraq
- CV / Curriculum Vitae or رسالة تقديم (Resume/Application Letter) · Written in Arabic (Iraqi), English for international firms
- Ireland
- CV · Written in English
- Israel
- CV / Curriculum Vitae (קורות חיים) · Written in Hebrew, English (for international roles or non-Israeli candidates)
- Italy
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in Italian; English acceptable for international roles
- Jamaica
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- Japan
- 履歴書 (rirekisho) or 職務経歴書 (shokumu keirekisho) · Written in Japanese; English for international companies
- Jordan
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sira al-dhatiya) · Written in Arabic; English for international companies
- Kazakhstan
- Резюме (Rezume) or CV · Written in Kazakh; Russian widely used; English for international companies
- Kenya
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- Kiribati
- Resume/CV (English); Iango-ma-akea (Kiribati, informal) · Written in English
- Kosovo
- Jetëgjatja / CV · Written in Albanian and English
- Kuwait
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sira al-dhatiya) or CV · Written in Arabic; English widely used for business
- Kyrgyzstan
- Резюме (Rezume) or CV · Written in Kyrgyz; Russian widely used; English for international positions
- Laos
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume (ໜັງສືລາຍລະອຽດຊີວະປະຫວັດ) · Written in Lao (contracts must be in Lao); English acceptable for international positions
- Latvia
- Dzīvesziņojums · Written in Latvian preferred; English acceptable
- Lebanon
- السيرة الذاتية (Curriculum Vitae) · Written in Arabic and/or French and/or English
- Lesotho
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- Liberia
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- Libya
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sira al-dhatia) · Written in Arabic, English
- Liechtenstein
- Lebenslauf · Written in German; English acceptable for international roles
- Lithuania
- Gyvenimo aprašymas · Written in Lithuanian preferred; English acceptable for international roles
- Luxembourg
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French, German, or Luxembourgish; English increasingly common; document language flexible
- Madagascar
- Curriculum Vitae (French/English) · Written in French, English, Malagasy
- Malawi
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- Malaysia
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English, Malay
- Mali
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French (official), Bambara
- Malta
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English; Maltese acceptable
- Mauritania
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sira al-dhatia) / Curriculum Vitae · Written in French (primary), Arabic, English increasingly accepted
- Mauritius
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume · Written in English or French (company-dependent)
- Mexico
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish (official); English for multinational companies
- Micronesia
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume · Written in English
- Moldova
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Romanian, Russian
- Monaco
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in French (required for employment)
- Mongolia
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Mongolian, English
- Montenegro
- Biografija, CV (Biografija) · Written in Montenegrin, English
- Morocco
- Curriculum Vitae / CV · Written in Arabic (official) or French
- Mozambique
- Currículo Vitae · Written in Portuguese
- Myanmar
- အဖြေရေးစာ (Resume/CV) · Written in Burmese and/or English
- Namibia
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English, Afrikaans
- Nauru
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume · Written in English
- Nepal
- बायोडाटा (Biodata) / CV · Written in Nepali and/or English
- New Zealand
- CV / Resume · Written in English
- Nicaragua
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish, English
- Niger
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French
- Nigeria
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- North Korea
- 이력서 (이력서)
- North Macedonia
- Biografija, CV (Biografija) · Written in Macedonian, English
- Norway
- Curriculum Vitae (CV), Europass CV · Written in Norwegian, English
- Oman
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sīrah al-dhātiyyah) · Written in Arabic, English
- Pakistan
- Curriculum Vitae (سی وی) · Written in English (international); Urdu (local)
- Palau
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume · Written in English
- Panama
- Currículum · Written in Spanish, English
- Papua New Guinea
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume · Written in English
- Paraguay
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish, English
- Peru
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish (strongly preferred/required)
- Poland
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Polish, English
- Portugal
- Currículo / Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Portuguese; English acceptable for international companies
- Qatar
- CV (السيرة الذاتية) · Written in English; Arabic (for local roles)
- Romania
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Romanian; English common in international and multinational companies
- Russia
- Резюме (rezyume / resume) · Written in Russian; English less common in domestic hiring but may be used for international companies
- Rwanda
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English, French
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- CV or Resume · Written in English
- Saint Lucia
- CV or Resume · Written in English
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- CV or Resume · Written in English
- Samoa
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume · Written in English
- San Marino
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Curriculum · Written in Italian; English acceptable in international contexts
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Currículo Vitae · Written in Portuguese (English if requested)
- Saudi Arabia
- السيرة الذاتية (CV) · Written in Arabic (preferred for local); English (for international)
- Senegal
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French
- Serbia
- Životopis / CV · Written in Serbian; English acceptable for international companies
- Sierra Leone
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- Singapore
- Resume (CV) · Written in English
- Slovakia
- Životopis / CV · Written in Slovak; English acceptable for international companies
- Slovenia
- Življenjepis / CV · Written in Slovene; English acceptable for international companies
- Somalia
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English, Arabic
- South Africa
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- South Korea
- 이력서 (rirekisho) · Written in Korean (local); English (international)
- South Sudan
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- Spain
- Currículum Vitae (Europass) · Written in Spanish, English
- Sri Lanka
- Curriculum Vitae (Resume) · Written in English
- Sudan
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sirah al-dhatiyyah) · Written in Arabic, English
- Suriname
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Dutch, English
- Sweden
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Swedish, English
- Switzerland
- Lebenslauf (German); Curriculum Vitae (French); Curriculum Vitae (Italian) · Written in German, French, or Italian depending on region; English increasingly accepted
- Syria
- السيرة الذاتية (Curriculum Vitae / CV) · Written in Arabic, English
- Taiwan
- 履歷 (liúlì, resume) + 自傳 (zìzhuàn, self-introduction essay) · Written in Traditional Chinese (繁體字). English accepted for international roles but Traditional Chinese required for most positions
- Tajikistan
- Резюме (Rezyume) · Written in Tajik, Russian, English
- Tanzania
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- Thailand
- เรซูเม่ (resume) · Written in Thai, English
- the Bahamas
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- the Central African Republic
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in French
- the Comoros
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in Comorian, French (Arabic also spoken)
- the Dominican Republic
- Currículum Vitae · Written in Spanish; English acceptable for multinational employers and tourism/education sectors
- the Gambia
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- the Maldives
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- the Marshall Islands
- Curriculum Vitae / Resume · Written in English
- the Netherlands
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in Dutch, English
- the Palestine
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sīra al-dhātiyya) · Written in Arabic (official); English and Hebrew common for international roles
- the Philippines
- Resume (Curriculum Vitae) · Written in English
- the Seychelles
- Curriculum Vitae · Written in English
- the Solomon Islands
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume · Written in English
- the United Arab Emirates
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sīrah al-dhātiyyah) / CV · Written in Arabic, English
- the United Kingdom
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume · Written in English
- the United States
- Resume (preferred); Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- Timor-Leste
- Currículo (Português) / Kuríkulu (Tetum) · Written in Tetum, Portuguese, English
- Togo
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in French
- Tonga
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume · Written in English
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Resume · Written in English
- Tunisia
- CV / Curriculum Vitae · Written in French or Arabic
- Turkey
- Özgeçmiş (Türkçe) / CV · Written in Turkish preferred for local companies, English for international
- Turkmenistan
- Резюме (Русский) / Rezyume (Түркменский) · Written in Turkmen, Russian, English for international roles
- Tuvalu
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume · Written in English
- Uganda
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
- Ukraine
- Резюме (rezume, Ukrainian) · Written in Ukrainian, Russian (historically), increasingly English for international roles
- Uruguay
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Hoja de Vida · Written in Spanish; Portuguese increasingly accepted
- Uzbekistan
- Rezyume (Резюме) · Written in Uzbek, Russian, English
- Vanuatu
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume; French: Curriculum Vitae; Bislama: CV · Written in English, French, or Bislama (trilingual nation). English dominant for private sector/NGO; French for government/education sectors
- Vatican City (Holy See)
- Curriculum Vitae (Latin: Curriculum Vitae; Italian: Curriculum Vitae) · Written in Italian and/or English; Latin proficiency valued
- Venezuela
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Hoja de Vida · Written in Spanish
- Vietnam
- Hồ sơ xin việc / Sơ yếu lý lịch (Resume/CV and Biographical Summary) · Written in Vietnamese, English
- Yemen
- السيرة الذاتية (al-sīrah al-dhātiyyah) · Written in Arabic, English
- Zambia
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume · Written in English
- Zimbabwe
- Curriculum Vitae (CV) · Written in English
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