In this guide
Resumes and cover letters
How to translate jargon and acronyms on a resume
Find the internal jargon, system names and acronyms on your resume and rewrite them so an outside recruiter understands the work, with a translation table.
Why insiders miss their own jargon
After a few years in one organisation, its vocabulary feels like plain English. Team nicknames, system names, project codes and grades all make sense to colleagues, so they slip into resumes without a second thought. To a recruiter elsewhere, and to software searching for standard terms, they are noise.
A translation table
| Internal term | What an outsider sees | Rewrite |
|---|---|---|
| Ran the Q-Board for Ops North | Unknown board, unknown team | Ran the weekly quality review for the northern operations team |
| Super-user for Phoenix | Unknown software | Lead user and trainer for the company's in-house case management system |
| Delivered Project Kestrel | A code name | Delivered the move of 200 staff to a new office |
| Band 6 lead | An unfamiliar grade | Team lead (mid-level grade) supervising five staff |
| Handled 2nd-line tickets | Clear in IT, unclear elsewhere | Resolved escalated IT support cases that the first-line desk could not fix |
When to keep an acronym
- Keep it when it is standard across your industry or the job advert uses it, such as SQL, GDPR or HGV.
- Spell it out the first time, then use the short form: 'Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspections'.
- Replace it when only your employer uses it.
- Match the advert's form: if it says 'customer relationship management', write that alongside 'CRM' once.
A full bullet, before and after
Illustrative example
Public-sector jargon translated
Before
Led BAU for the RTA team, cutting WIP via the new DMS rollout.
After
Led day-to-day operations for the road traffic accident claims team, reducing the backlog of open cases by introducing a new document management system.
The rewrite is longer, but every word now carries meaning for an outside reader.
Systems with internal names
If you used a commercial system under an internal name, give the real product where you know it: 'Phoenix (the company's Salesforce instance)'. If the system was built in-house, describe the category: 'in-house booking system'. Recruiters look for transferable tool knowledge, and a recognisable product name can be a genuine match.
Read it as a stranger
- No team, project or system is named without saying what it is.
- Every acronym is either industry-standard or spelled out.
- Grades and bands are described by level and responsibility.
- The terms match the language of the job advert where my experience fits them.
- Someone outside my organisation has read it and understood every line.
Common questions
Will removing acronyms make my resume longer?
Slightly, but clarity is worth the space. Cut a weaker bullet elsewhere rather than keeping a line nobody outside your organisation can understand.
Should I name internal tools at all?
Name the real product if it is a known commercial tool, because that is a transferable skill. Otherwise describe what kind of system it was.
Put it into practice
See how Luceria helps with thisDrafted with AI assistance and checked against Luceria’s editorial standards. Examples are illustrative, not real people’s results. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.