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Chinese Resume Format: How to Write a Chinese Resume (2026)

The Chinese Resume Format is the first impression you make on Chinese employers. Getting the details right, from the photo rule to the date format, signals that you understand the local market and its expectations.

Length is a key signal in China: 1–2 pages; 1 page for graduates and junior roles, up to 2 for experienced professionals..

Chinese recruiters value concise, information-dense resumes.. The photo rule is Expected. A professional headshot is standard on Chinese resumes, especially for local companies.

a formal, recent photo on a plain background is the norm. Multinational and tech firms may omit it.. Dates follow Year.Month (YYYY.MM, e.g. 2025.06) or YYYY年MM月 in Chinese. Month-year precision is enough for most roles.. These are the details recruiters notice first, so they anchor this guide.

Personal details follow a clear local standard: Name (surname first in Chinese), phone (with +86 from abroad), professional email, city, and often date of birth, gender, and marital status (traditional but declining)..

Never include your ID number (身份证号), bank details, or religion.. Section order matters too: Contact details + photo → Professional summary or objective (2–4 lines) → Work experience (reverse-chronological) → Education → Skills (technical + languages) → Certifications → Projects → References (“Available on request” is accepted)..

Recent graduates may put Education before Work experience.. Each section below explains the reasoning behind the rule, not just the rule itself.

This guide covers the Chinese Resume Format end to end, with example content for software engineer at every career level. Use it to write a resume that passes the first screening.

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Chinese Resume Format at a Glance

Document type
resume: “简历” (jiǎnlì, resume) is the standard term in China. Applications are made in Chinese for most local roles and in English for multinational and tech companies. The reverse-chronological format is the norm.
Typical length
1–2 pages; 1 page for graduates and junior roles, up to 2 for experienced professionals. Chinese recruiters value concise, information-dense resumes.
Photo
Expected. A professional headshot is standard on Chinese resumes, especially for local companies; a formal, recent photo on a plain background is the norm. Multinational and tech firms may omit it.
Date format
Year.Month (YYYY.MM, e.g. 2025.06) or YYYY年MM月 in Chinese. Month-year precision is enough for most roles.
Paper size
A4.
Personal details
Name (surname first in Chinese), phone (with +86 from abroad), professional email, city, and often date of birth, gender, and marital status (traditional but declining). Never include your ID number (身份证号), bank details, or religion.
Section order
Contact details + photo → Professional summary or objective (2–4 lines) → Work experience (reverse-chronological) → Education → Skills (technical + languages) → Certifications → Projects → References (“Available on request” is accepted). Recent graduates may put Education before Work experience.
ATS friendliness
High at foreign and large Chinese companies (Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, Huawei, plus Google and Microsoft Beijing offices) which screen with ATS. Use standard headings, a clean single column, and PDF export. Mirror keywords from the job description.

Chinese Resume Examples

Real Chinese Resumes written to these conventions across three experience levels. Switch tabs to review each, then load it straight into the builder to make it your own.

W

Wei Zhang

Software Engineer (Graduate)

Entry Level [email protected] Beijing, China

Professional Summary

Entry Level software engineer (graduate) with experience at Baidu (Beijing) and ByteDance (Beijing) in Beijing, China. Skilled in Go, TypeScript and React, with a focus on reliability and clean architecture. Following the standard Chinese Resume Format.

Work Experience

Software Engineer (Graduate)
07/2025 – Present

Baidu (Beijing) · Beijing, China

  • Ship customer-facing features in the search using Go, TypeScript and React, following team code review and CI/CD practice.
  • Reduced API response time by 22% by introducing response caching in a search endpoint.
  • Fixed 40+ production issues across two quarters, maintaining a 99.9% service uptime record.
  • Pair with senior engineers on system design and observability, contributing to the team's on-call rota.
Software Engineering Intern
01/2025 – 06/2025

ByteDance (Beijing) · Beijing, China

  • Built a reporting dashboard in React and Python that cut weekly report generation from 3 hours to 20 minutes.
  • Wrote 60+ unit and integration tests, raising feature coverage on the module to 92%.
  • Presented the project to 150+ staff at the local office; offer extended.

Education

BSc Computer Science
2021 – 2025

Tsinghua University · Beijing

Focused on computer science fundamentals, distributed systems, and software engineering.

Skills

TypeScript & JavaScript (Experienced) React & Node.js (Experienced) Python (Skillful) SQL (PostgreSQL) (Skillful) AWS (S3, Lambda) (Skillful) Git & CI/CD (GitHub Actions) (Experienced)

Certifications & Links

  • AWS Cloud Practitioner Essentials
  • GitHub portfolio with 25+ public repositories
  • LinkedIn profile linked in the header
Use This Example

How to Write a Chinese Resume: Step-by-Step

1

Open With Contact Details, a Photo, and a Short Professional Summary

Start with your name (surname first in Chinese), phone (use +86 from abroad), a professional email address, city, and LinkedIn URL.

Include a formal, recent professional headshot;

it is standard on Chinese resumes.

Never include your ID number (身份证号), bank details, or religion.

Date of birth, gender, and marital status are traditional but increasingly dropped.

Follow with a 2–4 line professional summary.

Example

"Software Engineer with 3 years' experience building e-commerce platforms in Beijing. Skilled in Java, Kotlin, and AWS, with a focus on reliability and clean architecture."

Entry Level

Keep the summary to 2–3 lines: your degree, internships, and core languages.

Mid Level

Lead with years of experience, your stack, and the products or teams you have shipped for.

Senior Level

Summarise scope: systems owned, team size led, architecture decisions, and business impact.

2

List Work Experience Reverse-Chronological With Quantified Achievements

List roles most recent first with job title, company, city, and dates in YYYY.MM or month-year format.

Write 3–5 achievement-led bullets per role;

"cut API response time by 40% by introducing caching" beats "responsible for backend development".

Chinese recruiters want results, not responsibilities, so quantify impact in every bullet.

Example

"Software Engineer. ByteDance, Beijing, 2022.06 – Present. Migrated a payments service to Kubernetes, cutting deployment time from 40 to 8 minutes and improving on-call resolution by 30%."

Entry Level

Detail internships, thesis projects, and open-source contributions with measurable outcomes.

Mid Level

Quantify features shipped, systems owned, uptime or latency improvements, and team collaboration.

Senior Level

Highlight architecture decisions, team leadership, mentoring, and business impact in revenue or efficiency.

3

Place Education With Chinese Institutions Prominently

Chinese employers recognise Tsinghua University, Peking University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

List your degree, institution, dates, and grades where strong.

Recent graduates place education before work experience;

experienced engineers keep it after.

Mention certifications (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud, CKA) in a separate line.

Example

"MSc Computer Science, Tsinghua University, 2018–2020. Thesis: 'Scalable stream processing for e-commerce analytics'."

Entry Level

Lead with your degree, grades, and thesis or capstone project.

Mid Level

Add professional certifications and any continued education alongside the degree.

Senior Level

Keep education brief; lead with certifications and any leadership training.

4

Show Key Skills and a Projects Section

Use a skills section with 8–12 competencies mirroring the job description:

languages (Java, Kotlin, Go, Python, TypeScript), frameworks (React, Spring), and platforms (AWS, Alibaba Cloud, Kubernetes).

A short projects section (2–3 entries with links) is common on Chinese resumes and strengthens the ATS keyword match, especially for freshers and mid-level candidates.

Example

"Java · Kotlin · Go · Python · React · Spring Boot · Alibaba Cloud + AWS · Kubernetes · Terraform · CI/CD (GitHub Actions) · SQL (PostgreSQL)."

Entry Level

List languages and frameworks from coursework and projects; include GitHub links.

Mid Level

Add depth: cloud certifications, distributed systems, observability, and testing practice.

Senior Level

Focus on architecture, scaling, security, and leadership skills (system design, incident command, mentoring).

5

Close With Certifications and References Available on Request

Chinese convention is to write "References available on request";

never list referee contact details without permission.

For international applications, add a right-to-work line where relevant.

For domestic Chinese roles, no right-to-work line is needed.

Example

"References available on request. Open to relocation and remote work."

Entry Level

Use your university careers office and a thesis supervisor or internship mentor as referees.

Mid Level

Prefer two professional referees: a current engineering manager and a senior colleague.

Senior Level

List a director of engineering and a peer tech lead who can verify leadership outcomes.

6

Use Chinese or English, A4, and an ATS-Clean Layout

Chinese is standard for local roles;

English is standard for tech and multinational companies.

Write in the language of the job ad.

Use A4 with a clean 10–11pt font and 2.54cm margins.

Save as a PDF named Xingming_Resume.pdf.

Use a single column;

large Chinese companies run ATS and multi-column layouts parse badly.

Proofread carefully.

Example

"Save as Zhang_Wei_Resume.pdf and mention relevant keywords from the job description."

Entry Level

Have your university careers office review the resume before applying.

Mid Level

Check every date and certification is exact; gaps read as hiding something.

Senior Level

Verify all certifications and permits have current dates; keep it to two pages.

What Makes the Chinese Resume Different

The Chinese Resume Format stands apart from its neighbours in a few concrete ways.

The length rule (1–2 pages;

1 page for graduates and junior roles, up to 2 for experienced professionals.

Chinese recruiters value concise, information-dense resumes.), the photo stance (Expected.

A professional headshot is standard on Chinese resumes, especially for local companies;

a formal, recent photo on a plain background is the norm.

Multinational and tech firms may omit it.), and the date convention (Year.Month (YYYY.MM, e.g.

2025.06) or YYYY年MM月 in Chinese.

Month-year precision is enough for most roles.) all signal local awareness.

Write every experience bullet with numbers.

Chinese recruiters compare candidates on measurable outcomes:

latency reduced, revenue grown, costs cut.

Each bullet should start with a strong action verb and end with a quantified result.

Finally, tailor the document to the specific job ad.

Identify the top three requirements and mirror them in your summary, skills, and experience bullets.

Generic CVs are screened out quickly in this market.

Beijing and Shanghai software engineer salaries in 2026 run roughly ¥200k–¥300k for juniors, ¥300k–¥450k for mid-level, and ¥450k–¥600k+ for senior roles (WhatIsTheSalary, 2026), and both cities host Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, and Huawei engineering offices.

Key Skills Valued in China

Technical Skills

Programming languages relevant to the roleCloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure)Container orchestration (Kubernetes, Docker)CI/CD and IaC (GitHub Actions, Terraform)Databases and data pipelines (PostgreSQL, Kafka)Observability (Prometheus, Grafana)

Soft Skills

Clear written and verbal communicationTeam collaboration and code reviewProblem-solving under pressureTime management and delivery focusStakeholder communicationContinuous learning

Keywords and Terminology for Chinese Resumes

Using the right keywords is the only way to pass an ATS screen and reach a human recruiter.

Extract them from the job description and mirror the exact wording:

job title, required skills, and tools.

Job-ad keywords (mirror the wording exactly)Languages and frameworks the team usesPlatforms and tools (cloud, CI/CD, databases)Practice terms (agile, testing, observability)Local qualification and certification terms

How Experience Is Presented in a Chinese Resume

Experience is the core of the document, written reverse-chronologically with the most recent role first.

Each role shows the job title, company, city, and dates, followed by achievement-led bullets with numbers.

Entry Level

Focus on internships, projects, and transferable skills; show reliability and a fast learning curve.

Mid Level

Show ownership: features shipped, systems run, and improvements measured in numbers.

Senior Level

Show scale: teams led, architectures owned, budgets or revenue impact, and mentoring outcomes.

Tailoring Your Resume to Chinese Employers

Tailoring means adjusting the lens, not rewriting your history.

Identify the top three priorities in the job ad and make sure they appear in your summary and your first skills.

Match the ad's language exactly.

Common Chinese Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Avoid these errors that regularly get applications rejected in China:

1. Getting the length wrong: 1–2 pages; 1 page for graduates and junior roles, up to 2 for experienced professionals. Chinese recruiters value concise, information-dense resumes. is the local standard.

2. Ignoring the photo rule: Expected. A professional headshot is standard on Chinese resumes, especially for local companies; a formal, recent photo on a plain background is the norm. Multinational and tech firms may omit it.

3. Using the wrong date format: use Year.Month (YYYY.MM, e.g. 2025.06) or YYYY年MM月 in Chinese. Month-year precision is enough for most roles. consistently.

4. Including personal details that local practice excludes: Name (surname first in Chinese), phone (with +86 from abroad), professional email, city, and often date of birth, gender, and marital status (traditional but declining). Never include your ID number (身份证号), bank details, or religion.

5. Listing duties instead of achievements; quantified results win every time.

China Job Market and Salary Outlook

The China job market in 2026 remains active for software engineers, with demand concentrated in the major cities.

Understanding the typical salary brackets for your level helps you calibrate your examples and negotiate with confidence.

LevelTypical annual salary (CNY)Typical resume length
Entry Level¥200,000–¥300,0001 page
Mid Level¥300,000–¥450,0001–2 pages
Senior Level¥450,000–¥600,000+2 pages

Source: WhatIsTheSalary + Glassdoor Shanghai Chinese software engineer salary data, 2026 (approximate gross ranges, see sources)

Key Tips for Writing a Chinese Resume

  • Tip 1: Save as a clean, selectable PDF named FirstName_LastName_Role_Resume.pdf.
  • Tip 2: Use a professional email address; never a personal-sounding handle.
  • Tip 3: Include the correct international dialling code on your phone number.
  • Tip 4: Keep the length to the local standard: 1–2 pages; 1 page for graduates and junior roles, up to 2 for experienced professionals. Chinese recruiters value concise, information-dense resumes..
  • Tip 5: Mirror the job ad's keywords verbatim for ATS screens.
  • Tip 6: Have a careers service or a trusted colleague proofread before sending.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a photo on my Chinese resume?

Yes, generally. A formal, recent professional headshot on a plain background is standard on Chinese resumes, especially for local companies. Multinational and tech firms may omit it, so follow the job ad and company style.

Should I include my date of birth, gender, or ID number on a Chinese resume?

Date of birth, gender, and marital status are traditional on Chinese resumes but increasingly dropped in modern ones. Never include your ID number (身份证号), bank details, or religion on a resume, as they are sensitive personal data.

How long should a Chinese resume be?

One to two pages: one page for graduates and junior roles, up to two for experienced professionals. Chinese recruiters value concise, information-dense resumes, so every line must earn its place.

Can international applicants work in China and how do I show it on my CV?

Yes, foreign professionals need a work visa (Z visa) and work permit, usually sponsored by the employer. Show your eligibility clearly when asked, and mention relevant language ability (Chinese HSK levels are a strong asset).

What does a software engineer resume look like in China?

A 1–2 page, ATS-clean single column with a professional photo: contact details, a short professional summary, work experience reverse-chronological with quantified achievements, education (Tsinghua, Peking, Fudan, ZJU), a keyword-matched skills and projects section, and "References available on request".

Beijing and Shanghai tech salaries run roughly ¥200k–¥300k at entry, ¥300k–¥450k mid, and ¥450k–¥600k+ for senior roles, so tailor your examples to the level you are applying for.

Conventions verified for 2026 and based on well-established Chinese recruitment practice.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the following authoritative sources.

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