Arabic to English Job Titles: Correct Translations for Your CV

Your job title is one of the first things a recruiter reads and one of the most important keywords an ATS looks for. Many people translate their title literally from Arabic, producing a title that is not used in English or that means something else. This table lists common job titles in Egypt and the Gulf with their correct CV equivalents, grouped by field. The Arabic column is kept so you can find your title quickly or check a colleague's translation.

How to use the table

• Find your title within your field.
• If there is more than one equivalent, choose the one that appears most often in the ads you are applying to.
• If your company uses an unusual internal title, write the official title with a clarification, such as Business Support Officer (Accounts Payable).
• Keep your CV title consistent with LinkedIn and your experience certificate wherever possible.

Accounting and Finance

In accounting, seniority matters: Accountant, then Senior Accountant, then Chief Accountant or Accounting Manager. Use your real grade.

Sales, Marketing and Customer Service

Salesman is dated and not gender-neutral; prefer Sales Representative or Sales Executive. In the Gulf, Executive usually means a mid-level employee, not a senior executive.

HR, Administration and Procurement

An executive secretary supporting a senior manager is usually an Executive Assistant. In the Gulf, a government relations representative is commonly called a PRO.

Engineering and Construction

Do not put Eng. before your name at the top of the CV; your job title is enough. Technical office and quantity surveying roles have standard English titles, so use them.

IT and Design

Programmer is still understood, but most ads now say Software Developer or Software Engineer. Choose the one that matches your real title or closest duties.

Education and Healthcare

Egyptian university ranks differ from US ones: Modarres is Lecturer and Ostaz Mosaed is Associate Professor. When applying abroad, you can add a brief clarification in brackets.

General and Senior Roles

A general manager of a small company can be General Manager, but do not inflate titles. If you led a small team, Head of or Supervisor is more accurate than Director.

Common translation mistakes

These are mistakes we often see on CVs translated from Arabic, and how to fix them:

Specialist, Officer or Executive?

These words are often confused:

• Specialist: someone with specialised expertise in a defined area, such as HR Specialist.
• Officer: common in banks, government entities and the Gulf, meaning an employee responsible for specific duties, such as Compliance Officer.
• Executive: in the Gulf and Egypt this usually means a mid-level role in sales or marketing, such as Sales Executive, not a senior executive.
• Coordinator: someone who coordinates between parties or departments.

Use the word your company itself uses if it has an English title, or the one closest to job ads in your field.

Titles and seniority

These words show your level: Junior or Assistant at entry level, then the plain title, then Senior, then Lead, Supervisor or Head, then Manager, then Director. Use the level you actually hold. If you were promoted within the same company, list both titles under the company name with dates; it shows your progression.

Translate the whole CV, not just the titles

If your whole CV is in Arabic, use the CV translator to convert it to English, then check the titles against this table. To see how a title is used in a complete CV, browse our CV examples by job, such as accountant, HR and civil engineer. When you are done, run your CV through the CV checker, or start fresh in the free CV builder.