Language Qualifications and Jobs

[Kat]

I would have no qualms to include a CEFR level into my CV without having taken an official test. It's useful to describe your skills and limitations. According to the definition, CEFR is "a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages", not (only) a certification system.

So why not write something like: ~B1 (self-assessed)?

I agree with the advice not to overstate your abilities. If it's relevant to the job, they will test you.

[fcoulter]

This is similar to issues we've had with certain technical skills. The specific skill we needed was Excel.

Interview Question (from my boss): On a scale of 1 to 10, how good are your skills at Microsoft Excel?

Interviewee (thoughts): I use Excel every day. I'm sure there's something I don't know, but I've never run into it. So I'll be safe and not say 10.

Interviewee (spoken response): 9

Followup question (from me, who's in charge of annoying follow up questions): How often have you used conditional formatting, pivot tables, or filtering?

Interviewee (expression): Deer in headlights

(Turns out that Excel can do a lot to promote data analysis that most of the users know nothing about. Even though they're on the damn menu. We're not talking about programming macros in Visual Basic or anything esoteric.)

(If you're good at Visual Basic as well as all the normal menu stuff in Excel, you can give yourself a 10.)

I cannot emphasize how strongly I want documentation of skills when I interview someone. Microsoft has a user certification program for various programs in the Office suite. I'd rather have a response of "I have earned the Microsoft Excel 2016 Expert certification" than having the job candidate self assess. Self assessment comes in two forms: either you think very highly of yourself or you don't realize how much you actually know compared to others. Both are bad. Certification tests avoid both issues.

Yes, the resume needs to be short and sweet. You don't need to go into detail on the resume about your assessment unless the job specifically calls for a certain language level. But if the language skills you put on the resume come up during the interview, being able to say that you passed the B2 DELF last year would be a great way to avoid the annoying follow up questions. If you're really paranoid, bring a binder with any certifications you have readily available.

[tiia]

As I also have some B1 skills in Spanish and wrote applications this year, I'll quote here my CV for the summer job:

German: native
English: B2­-C1**
Finnish: B1­-B2**
Spanish: B1**
Swedish: A1**

**self­-assessment according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)

However, I actually have certificates for B1 in Finnish and Spanish, but not the exams that are typically considered/well-known for the languages. Plus, my level of Finnish is higher than what I have a certificate for (B1). I thought mentioning the certificates made the whole thing too complicated. (After all, a CV should be easy to understand!)
Additional info: my letter of motivation was written in Finnish, which certainly gives a better impression what to expect.

For my last application I was too lazy to translate the explanation at the end into Finnish, so I wrote something like (here the English equivalent):

German: native language
English: fluent
Finnish: fluent
Spanish: basics
Swedish: beginning

I was not really happy that English and Finnish ended up with the same expression, but I simply couldn't think of a better description for my English skills, because "extraordinary" would be usually considered the next level on this super simple scale. And I simply do not consider my English skills extraordinary. (Note, that my Finnish improved between the two applications due to working partly in the language, while the rest of the languages didn't have changes in their level.)

One thought was that when I differenciate Swedish and Spanish with those words, someone will get a closer idea of the level. Without the level of Swedish written there I may have to choose a different wording for Spanish. But well, my Spanish skills were the least important ones for applications in Finland. The A1 skills in Swedish are only listed as it's the second official language in Finland. Anywhere outside of Finland and Sweden I probably wouldn't mention it at all.


Otherwise:

I would have no qualms to include a CEFR level into my CV without having taken an official test. It's useful to describe your skills and limitations. According to the definition, CEFR is "a guideline used to describe achievements of learners of foreign languages", not (only) a certification system.

So why not write something like: ~B1 (self-assessed)?

I agree with the advice not to overstate your abilities. If it's relevant to the job, they will test you.

The levels are not only there for official tests but (also) for self-assessment. However I think it's useful to state it's a self-assessment.

[Soclydeza]

When I passed the German B2 exam I put it on my resume (I forget how I worded it, probably "Intermediate German - Goethe Zertifikat B2 Certified" or something), that got me the interview. I gave them Goethe's statement on what B2 means (they had no idea) and told them I'm not fluent but that I'm still progressing, just so there wasn't the expectation of conducting meetings or anything in German. I've now been working here about a year and a half and get to sometimes use the language, plus it acts as motivation to learn further.

Put it on your resume if you feel comfortable, just make sure you indicate your level (say intermediate). The resume gets you the interview; once you get the interview, if they ask, you can more deeply explain you strengths and weaknesses in the language just so there is no over-expectation. You'd be surprised of the uses of intermediate level language, even if it doesn't include conversations, emails, etc., so don't discount non-fluency/proficiency as being useless to employers.