How to adapt a Brazilian resume for an international job
You find your dream international remote job, translate your resume in Google Translate and send it. Silence. The problem is rarely your experience: an international resume follows different conventions, and translating isn't the same as adapting. People who work remotely for foreign companies compete with candidates worldwide, and the resume needs to speak the language (and format) of that market.
By Carlos Jacon · Founder of CareersForge · Senior Engineering Manager
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Why the Brazilian resume doesn't work for an international job?
The Brazilian CV carries conventions that, outside Brazil, sound dated or even raise red flags: photo, marital status, age, CPF, full address. In the international market these details are omitted (partly due to anti-discrimination laws), and a resume that includes them looks misaligned.
Beyond what to remove, the focus changes. The international resume is results- and impact-oriented, with action verbs and metrics, and almost always fits on one page (early career) or two. Literal translation preserves the Brazilian structure and loses exactly what the recruiter abroad is looking for.
What changes from the Brazilian CV to the international resume?
Think less about translating and more about rewriting for a different reader. The changes concentrate on a few high-impact points.
- Remove: photo, age, marital status, CPF, full address. Keep city/country and professional contacts.
- Short professional summary at the top focused on the value you deliver, not a generic “objective.”
- Experiences oriented to impact: past-tense action verb + result with numbers.
- Consistent international English (dates, job titles, spelling) and a clean format readable by ATS.
How to translate without just translating (focus on impact)?
The classic mistake is converting each sentence word for word. The approach is to take each responsibility and rewrite it showing the business effect, in the target market's language.
Example: from translated task to impact
Before: Responsible for the sales team and monthly reports.
After: Led an 8-person sales team and rebuilt the reporting routine, cutting the monthly close from 5 days to 1 and improving forecast accuracy by 30%.
What to remove from the resume for the foreign market?
Trimming is part of the job. Every line that doesn't prove value for that role competes for attention with those that do.
- Sensitive personal data (age, marital status, photo).
- Old experiences irrelevant to the international objective.
- Local jargon and company names without context (add a one-line description of what the company does if helpful).
- Obvious or generic skills that don't differentiate you (basic Microsoft Office, for example).
International resume checklist
Before applying to a foreign job, run through this review.
- No photo, age, marital status or CPF?
- Summary at the top focused on value, not a generic objective?
- Each experience starts with an action and ends with a numeric result?
- Consistent English and single-column format, ATS-readable?
- Fits one to two pages, with irrelevant content cut?
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a resume in English for an international remote job?
In the vast majority of cases, yes. International jobs expect a resume in English, following the format and conventions of foreign markets. Literally translating the Brazilian CV is not enough: the ideal is to rewrite with a focus on impact and remove fields that don't belong abroad.
Should I put a photo on the resume for an international job?
No. In international markets (U.S., Canada, much of Europe), photo, age and marital status are left out, partly due to anti-discrimination laws. A resume including those details looks misaligned and can hurt your application.
How many pages should the international resume have?
One page for early and mid-career; up to two pages for more senior profiles. The focus is on density of impact: detail the recent and relevant and cut the old and generic, keeping the document concise.