CV Question - Marital Status

How would you translate "ledig, in Lebensgemeinschaft, ein Kind" for a CV (Resume)

1. For the UK.
2. For the States

how about common-law relationship or something like that?

or living in sin?

Single parent, living with your partner?

Although if you write 'partner' in the US it will be assumed that you are gay. You would never write this on a resume in the US, anyway. Only professional, no personal details.

agree with Ami US resume doesn't need marital status only professional details (even age is not required)
for UK - how about co-habiting andt putting 1 dependants ? (then you only need answer if asked specifically)

Thanks for the advice.

Regarding an American Resume. There's no SEX, DOB, Maritial Status, Photo etc. due to equal opportunities laws, right? Although as an employer these are the things I look at first. :$

So in spoken American English it isn't ok to say "I have a partner". What's a better way of saying it?

Spouse

That's right eric, all of that info is left off. Partly for legal reasons but mostly it's simply tradition. You also don't list your hobbies and interests as you do in Germany (and the UK?). Only your job history, education, club and association memberships and addiditon skills and qualifications. So you wouldn't write that you enjoy bird watching, but you could write that you are the President of the local bird watching society.

Spouse is a generic term for husband or wife, but if you're not married you don't have a spouse.

To be honest, I can't think of what we call someone we live with out of wedlock. You know, we are a Godly nation and such things are frowned upon.

Hmmm..interesting.

And what about at the job interview. Can the employer ask questions like "Are you married?", "Do you have any kids?","When were you born?" etc.

Technically no but any US job that requires security clearance or Government work will need those details.

Those questions have never come up in any interview I've ever had in the US. I'm not sure if they are prohibited, but as far as I know they are generally not asked (although some things are pretty obvious, like gender, race and basic age range. I suppose you could look for a wedding ring, too).

there is no "between".
You are either single or married. If you live with somebody or not.

Concerning to tax stuff or when you want to have unemployment money there is also "getrennt lebend" which means you are "officially seperated" and they are allowed to ask if you live with somebody and if this person can support you.

But no need to write this on a CV.

Hannah: but isnt it not usual to put hobbies or interests on your CV in Germany? A number of times germans I showed my CV to said to me take out the "interests" section, anything to do with freizeit does not belong in your CV: "nicht relevant"??

'ledig' is 'not married' so you could be single or living with somebody. Generally there are only two categories on a UK CV for Marital Status: Single or Married, though I have seen Divorced and Widowed on some recently.

CVs are just creative bullshit anyway! Not to be taken seriously.

Rick, I think it depends on, what kind of job you apply for. Putting "drinking and knitting" on the CV does not seem very handy
But lets say you apply for an IT job, your private hobby being online (don't tell them it's in a brit forum ) might be helpful

I do work in IT, but I wouldnt mention my hobby as being "online" or even computers - which it isnt either. Just sounds so nerdy!

I always put in my interests in my CV and have been encouraged to do so. I think it shows your interests outside of work and a bit about your personality.

there are people who say your hobbies say loads about your personality and maybe some employers "legen Wert darauf" (hell I need a vacation, can't think of the english impression for that anymore) :$

EDIT: ops, what iceee said

Hobbies and interests are only of any real value if the CV does not contain a work history (school / college leavers).

After you have a few years work experience, your personal interests are uninteresting (unless they are very exceptional) and just take up space, academic qualifications other than the last, highest level of qualification are also less relevant.

Prospective employers want to see what you can do on the job, what you've been successful at. If your last success after a few years job experience was a school/ college exam or a hobby, then you are not going far.

There are no hard and fast rules, only guidelines. Your CV is advertising you, not some standardized nonentity. Above all, your CV needs to be targetted!

Your CV has to be easy to read, as the reader may have several hundred CVs to read.

A good CV contains:

* Name, age, nationality, contact details (phone and email are enough).

* Overview of knowledge, skills and experience relevant to the job. It is important that this is on the first page.

* Reverse timeline of jobs with descriptions, to show where you got the knowledge and experience. You generally only need short descriptions of old jobs, although you may want to accentuate the one or other if you have changed fields and want to change back.

* Qualifications (highest qualification at start of career, plus any additional qualifications gained during you working life) , any job related citations (Awards, patents, etc).

Whether you do the qualifications, or the job timeline first will depend on your job experience. Keep it as short and to the point as possible, use plain language and avoid "white-paper" language. Make shure their are know spelling or gammatitical erors. Get somebody else to proof read it for you.

Limit yourself to a maximum of 2 different fonts, and use a serif-font (like times) for the body text. A serifless font (like Arial or Helvetica) can be used for titles, and bold for the employer's details.

Use white space to lead the reader's eye. Avoid scrunching the text together, write less, or use an additional sheet (keep it to 2 if you can, but never more than 4).

Look here to see what typically happens to your CV. It is easier to understand how to aim it, if you know how it will be treated.

All good stuff Mike.

How would a picture go down on a British CV?

now I have an academic CV I don't exist before the age of 25 and the hobbies section is now called 'Professional memberships'

Never mind the CV, what about the (in)famous "Bewerbungsmappen" they love here. Dont exist in UK!
Better not get on to what should and should not go in them, or we`ll be here all night...