A US resume translated into Portuguese is still a US resume: one page, no photo, no personal data, "Education" and "Experience" in the expected order. That is not quite what a recruiter in São Paulo expects to open. The Brazilian currículo has a section that does not exist in English, tolerates a photo, names degrees on a system that does not map to Bachelor's and Master's one to one, and uses a seniority scale with three levels instead of two.
This guide covers what changes when a resume becomes a currículo for Brazil: name and length, the Objetivo line, personal data and photo, degree equivalences, dates and numbers, verbs and headings, and the English calques that give a translation away. Portugal uses a different variety of the language and a few different conventions, flagged where they matter. The vocabulary question on the English side is covered in the resume vs. CV guide.
In this guide
Currículo, not resume: name, length, and paper
In Brazil the document is the currículo. "CV" is understood, but job boards and postings say currículo, and so should the file name and the email that carries it; resumo means summary. In Portugal, currículo and CV coexist, and the Europass format is sometimes requested there and never in Brazil.
Length is one to two pages on A4 paper, experience first when there is any. The standard sections are Objetivo, Resumo profissional (optional), Experiência profissional, Formação acadêmica, Idiomas, Habilidades, and Cursos e certificações. The internal logic is the one in the general resume guide: measurable achievements, one line per fact.
The Objetivo line
The most visible structural difference is a one-line Objetivo placed right under the contact details. It is a widespread Brazilian convention: the target role or area, stated plainly, with no adjectives and no motivation statement.
- Objetivo: Analista de Marketing Digital
- Objetivo: Engenheiro de Dados Pleno
- Objetivo: Atuar na área de Controladoria
It is not the US "career objective" paragraph that fell out of use; it is closer to a job title header. Brazilian job boards such as Gupy and Catho have a dedicated field for it and use it to sort candidates, so the line should match the posting's title. Seniority in Brazil runs on three levels, Júnior, Pleno, and Sênior; "mid-level" translates as Pleno.
Personal data: what goes in and what stays out
Three rules. First: never an identity number: no SSN, no passport number, no Brazilian CPF or RG. Those are requested at hiring, and so are date of birth and marital status, which no longer belong on the document.
Second: the photo is optional, neither expected as in Spain nor a liability as in the US. Many large Brazilian employers ask for résumés without photos under diversity policies; when in doubt, leave it out. The photo on resume guide covers when it can help.
Third: one line on immigration status ("Cidadão americano com visto de trabalho em andamento") saves a question. The phone number keeps its country code (+1), and the address is reduced to city and state (São Paulo, SP) or, before relocating, city and country plus a note on availability to move.
Degree equivalences
The trap is the word licenciatura. It exists in Portuguese, but in Brazil it names a teaching qualification. The general undergraduate degree is the bacharelado, and "Bachelor's in Business" rendered as licenciatura em Administração turns a business graduate into a teacher.
| US degree | Brazil | Portugal |
|---|---|---|
| High school diploma | Ensino médio completo | 12.º ano / Ensino secundário |
| Associate degree (2 years) | Curso superior de tecnologia (tecnólogo) | CTeSP |
| Bachelor's degree | Bacharelado em (área) | Licenciatura em (área) |
| Teaching degree | Licenciatura em (área) | Mestrado em Ensino |
| Master's degree | Mestrado (pós-graduação stricto sensu) | Mestrado |
| MBA | MBA (a lato sensu specialization in Brazil) | MBA |
| Graduate certificate | Pós-graduação lato sensu / Especialização | Pós-graduação |
| PhD | Doutorado | Doutoramento |
Brazil formally distinguishes lato sensu (specializations and MBAs) from stricto sensu (academic master's and doctorates), and many application forms ask which one a program was. Note the reversal across the Atlantic: in Portugal, licenciatura is the Bachelor's. Institution names stay in English, with the country in parentheses when needed; GPA is not used. For regulated professions, the revalidação of a foreign degree is a separate procedure, and one line about its status avoids an assumption of ineligibility.
Dates, numbers, and headings
Dates follow day/month/year, and experience entries use a three-letter lowercase month and the year: mar/2022 – atual. The word for a current position is atual, not presente. Month abbreviations are jan, fev, mar, abr, mai, jun, jul, ago, set, out, nov, dez.
Numbers use a period for thousands and a comma for decimals (R$ 1.250.000,00). Results are best left as percentages or in the original currency (USD 400 mil), since a conversion to reais goes stale. Portuguese does not capitalize job titles (analista de dados).
Verbs and calques
Experience bullets open with a first-person past-tense verb and no pronoun (never eu), exactly as English bullets drop the "I":
- Results: aumentei, reduzi, ampliei, alcancei, superei ("Reduzi o prazo de fechamento contábil de 10 para 6 dias").
- Management: liderei, gerenciei, coordenei, supervisionei, treinei ("Liderei uma equipe de 8 vendedores").
- Building: desenvolvi, implementei, criei, lancei, estruturei, automatizei.
- Analysis: analisei, mapeei, identifiquei, projetei, otimizei.
"Responsável por" is the exact equivalent of "responsible for" and has the same defect: task, not outcome. Workplace vocabulary also shifts: the opening is the vaga, the position is the cargo, the team is the equipe (time is colloquial), and revenue is faturamento. An employee is hired em regime CLT and a contractor works como PJ, two abbreviations that appear in nearly every posting.
The calques below look right, exist in Portuguese, and mean something else:
| Avoid | Better |
|---|---|
| Apliquei para a vaga de analista. | Candidatei-me à vaga de analista. (aplicar is to apply a substance or a rule) |
| Suportei o time de vendas. | Dei suporte à equipe de vendas. (suportar is to put up with) |
| Liderei 8 reportes diretos. | Liderei uma equipe de 8 pessoas. (reporte is not a person) |
| Eventualmente assumi a gerência. | Por fim, assumi a gerência. (eventualmente means occasionally) |
| Licenciado em Administração. | Bacharel em Administração. (licenciado is a teacher, in Brazil) |
| Introduzi o produto no mercado. | Lancei o produto no mercado. (introduzir is to insert) |
| Experiência extensiva em vendas. | Ampla experiência em vendas. (extensivo describes land or farming) |
| Senior Manager left in English | Gerente Sênior (titles are translated) |
The cheapest check before sending: open three LinkedIn profiles of people with the target title in Brazil and compare vocabulary. Terms none of them use are probably calques.
Translating with the tool and what to review by hand
A generic machine translator handles the grammar and misses everything above: it does not add the Objetivo line, renders Bachelor's as licenciatura, keeps US date format, and cannot know whether Pleno or Sênior fits. A resume translation tool applies those conventions along with the language and leaves the result in the editor for the choices a machine cannot make.
Either way, the final review covers six points: an Objetivo line that matches the posting, no identity numbers, photo only if it helps, degrees converted with the Brazilian term, dates with atual, and bullets that start with an action verb and carry a number. Market specifics are in the guide to jobs in Brazil, and the same process for Spanish-speaking countries is in the resume in Spanish guide.
Frequently asked questions
What is a resume called in Portuguese?
In Brazil, currículo; in Portugal, currículo or CV. "Resume" untranslated means nothing, and resumo means summary. The file name and any email should use currículo.
What is the Objetivo section on a Brazilian resume?
A one-line statement of the target role or area placed right under the contact details, with no adjectives or motivation: "Objetivo: Analista Financeiro Pleno". Brazilian job boards have a dedicated field for it, so it should match the posting's title.
Does a Brazilian resume need a photo?
No. It is optional: not expected as in Spain, not a liability as in the US. Many large employers ask for résumés without photos, so leaving it out is the safe default. Identity numbers never go in.
How do I translate "Bachelor's degree" into Portuguese?
For Brazil, as bacharelado em followed by the field. Never as licenciatura, which in Brazil is a teaching qualification. In Portugal it is the opposite: licenciatura is the Bachelor's. A Master's is mestrado in both countries; a PhD is doutorado in Brazil and doutoramento in Portugal.