A Greek CV isn't just an English CV translated
A common and understandable mistake is treating a Greek-language CV as a direct translation of an existing English one. While the underlying content — your experience, education, skills — carries over, the structure, expected length, and level of formality in a Greek CV (βιογραφικό σημείωμα, viografikó simíoma, often shortened simply to βιογραφικό) follow conventions worth understanding on their own terms, particularly if you're applying for a role in Greece itself rather than a bilingual role in Australia, where employers may be more flexible about format.
Structuring a Greek CV
Personal details
Greek CVs traditionally include more personal information at the top than is now standard in Australia — full name, date of birth, nationality, and contact details are commonly included, and a professional photo is still fairly common practice in Greece, unlike the now-standard advice against photos on Australian CVs. If applying for a role in Greece specifically, following local convention (including a photo, if you're comfortable doing so) tends to read as more professionally competent than a CV that looks unmistakably imported from a different country's format.
- Ονοματεπώνυμο (onomateponymo) — Full name
- Ημερομηνία γέννησης (imerominía yénisis) — Date of birth
- Υπηκοότητα (ipikoótita) — Nationality
- Στοιχεία επικοινωνίας (stichía epikinonías) — Contact details
Professional summary
A brief opening statement — two to three sentences summarising your professional profile and what you're looking for — is common practice, similar to an Australian CV's summary section, but tends to be phrased slightly more formally in Greek.
Επαγγελματίας με πενταετή εμπειρία στον τομέα της φροντίδας ηλικιωμένων, με άριστες επικοινωνιακές δεξιότητες στα ελληνικά και αγγλικά, αναζητά θέση με δυνατότητες επαγγελματικής ανάπτυξης.
(A professional with five years of experience in aged care, with excellent communication skills in Greek and English, seeking a role with opportunities for professional development.)
Work experience
- Επαγγελματική εμπειρία (epagelmatikí embiría) — Work experience
- από ... έως ... (apó ... éos ...) — from ... to ...
- κύριες αρμοδιότητες (kíries armodiótites) — main responsibilities
- επιτεύγματα (epitévgmata) — achievements
Describe roles and responsibilities using clear, active language, similar in spirit to strong English CV writing — Greek CVs value the same kind of specific, concrete description of what you actually did and achieved, rather than vague general statements.
Education and qualifications
- Εκπαίδευση (ekpédefsi) — Education
- Πτυχίο (ptichío) — Degree / diploma
- Πιστοποιητικό (pistopiitikó) — Certificate
If you hold an Ellinomatheia certificate, HSC or VCE Greek results (as covered in HSC Modern Greek and VCE Greek), or NAATI certification, listing these explicitly under your qualifications section gives a Greek-speaking employer an objective, recognised benchmark of your language ability, rather than leaving them to guess based on the CV's own writing quality alone.
Language skills
Greek CVs commonly list language skills with a specific proficiency level attached, ideally using the CEFR framework already familiar from Greek Lessons — stating "Greek: B2" or "Greek: C1" is considerably more informative and credible to an employer than a vague "conversational" or "fluent" self-assessment with no external reference point.
- Γλωσσικές δεξιότητες (glosikés deksiótites) — Language skills
- Μητρική γλώσσα (mitrikí glósa) — Native language
- Άριστη γνώση (áristi gnósi) — Excellent knowledge (i.e., near-native)
- Πολύ καλή γνώση (polí kalí gnósi) — Very good knowledge
- Καλή γνώση (kalí gnósi) — Good knowledge
- Βασική γνώση (vasikí gnósi) — Basic knowledge
Writing a Greek cover letter
A Greek cover letter (συνοδευτική επιστολή, sinodeftikí epistolí) follows a fairly formal structure, closely related to the general professional email conventions covered in Business Greek.
Αξιότιμοι κύριοι/κυρίες,
Με το παρόν, θα ήθελα να εκδηλώσω το ενδιαφέρον μου για τη θέση [τίτλος θέσης] που δημοσιεύσατε στο [πηγή αγγελίας]. Με πενταετή εμπειρία στον τομέα [τομέας] και άριστη γνώση της ελληνικής γλώσσας, πιστεύω ότι διαθέτω τα προσόντα που αναζητάτε.
(Dear Sirs/Madams, With this letter, I would like to express my interest in the [job title] position you advertised on [source]. With five years of experience in [field] and excellent knowledge of the Greek language, I believe I have the qualifications you're looking for.)
Αξιότιμοι κύριοι/κυρίες is a formal opening used when you don't have a named contact; if you do know the hiring manager's name, Αγαπητέ κύριε [επώνυμο] / Αγαπητή κυρία [επώνυμο] (Dear Mr/Mrs [surname]) is more personal while remaining appropriately formal.
Preparing for a Greek-language job interview
An interview is where all the general conversational and professional-register work from Greek Conversation and Business Greek gets tested directly, under real pressure, with a specific outcome riding on your performance.
Introducing yourself professionally
Ονομάζομαι [όνομα]. Έχω πενταετή εμπειρία στον τομέα [τομέας] και τα τελευταία χρόνια εργάστηκα ως [θέση] στην εταιρεία [εταιρεία]. Αναζητώ μια νέα πρόκληση όπου θα μπορέσω να αξιοποιήσω τις δεξιότητές μου.
(My name is [name]. I have five years of experience in [field] and in recent years worked as [role] at [company]. I'm looking for a new challenge where I can put my skills to use.)
Common interview questions
- Γιατί σας ενδιαφέρει αυτή η θέση; (yatí sas endiaféri aftí i thési?) — Why are you interested in this position?
- Ποια είναι τα δυνατά σας σημεία; (pia íne ta dinatá sas simía?) — What are your strengths?
- Πού βλέπετε τον εαυτό σας σε πέντε χρόνια; (pu vlépete ton eaftó sas se pénde chrónia?) — Where do you see yourself in five years?
- Περιγράψτε μια δύσκολη κατάσταση που αντιμετωπίσατε στη δουλειά. (perigrápste mia dískoli katástasi pu andimetopísate sti duliá) — Describe a difficult situation you faced at work.
- Έχετε ερωτήσεις για εμάς; (échete erotísis ya emás?) — Do you have any questions for us?
That last question deserves a prepared answer — arriving with no questions at all can read as a lack of genuine interest, and preparing one or two thoughtful questions in advance, rather than trying to improvise one under pressure at the end of the interview, is worth the small amount of preparation time it takes.
Talking about your Greek proficiency honestly
If your Greek is strong but not native-level, it's worth having a brief, confident, honest way of framing this rather than either overstating your ability or undermining yourself unnecessarily.
Τα ελληνικά μου είναι πολύ καλά, αν και δεν είναι η μητρική μου γλώσσα. Έχω πιστοποίηση επιπέδου [επίπεδο] και συνεχίζω να βελτιώνομαι.
(My Greek is very good, although it's not my native language. I hold a certification at [level] and I continue to improve.)
Mentioning a specific, objective credential here — an Ellinomatheia level, HSC or VCE results — gives the interviewer something concrete to weigh, rather than leaving them to judge your level purely from a few minutes of interview conversation, which can understate genuine ability under the pressure of the moment.
Handling a question you don't fully understand
It's far better to ask for clarification than to guess at a question and answer something different from what was actually asked.
- Συγγνώμη, μπορείτε να επαναλάβετε την ερώτηση; (signómi, borite na epanalávete tin erótisi?) — Sorry, could you repeat the question?
- Θέλετε να πείτε ότι...; (thélete na píte óti...?) — Do you mean that...?
- Μπορώ να απαντήσω σε αυτό στα αγγλικά, αν χρειαστεί; (boró na apandíso se aftó sta angliká, an chriastí?) — Can I answer this in English, if needed?
That last phrase is a genuinely reasonable fallback to have ready, particularly for a bilingual Australian workplace where the interviewer likely speaks both languages fluently — using it occasionally for a genuinely complex answer doesn't undermine an otherwise strong Greek-language interview performance.
References and referee conventions
Greek CVs typically don't list referee names and contact details directly on the document itself, unlike the more common Australian practice — instead, it's standard to simply note that references are available on request.
- Συστάσεις διαθέσιμες κατόπιν αιτήματος. (sistásis diathésimes katópin etímatos) — References available upon request.
If you're applying for a role in Australia where a Greek-speaking employer may still expect Australian-style referencing conventions, it's worth clarifying which format they'd prefer rather than assuming either convention applies by default.
Discussing salary
Salary discussions in a Greek-language interview follow broadly similar diplomatic conventions to English-language ones, but a few specific phrases are worth having ready rather than improvising under the mild pressure of the topic.
- Ποιο είναι το εύρος μισθού για αυτή τη θέση; (pio íne to évros misthú ya aftí ti thési?) — What's the salary range for this position?
- Είμαι ανοιχτός/ή σε συζήτηση σχετικά με τον μισθό. (íme anichtós/í se sizítisi schetiká me ton misthó) — I'm open to discussion regarding salary.
- Με βάση την εμπειρία μου, περίμενα κάτι κοντά σε... (me vási tin embiría mu, perímena káti kondá se...) — Based on my experience, I was expecting something around...
As in English-language negotiations, it's generally wise to let the employer raise a specific number first where possible, using the first phrase above to invite that, rather than immediately naming your own figure.
Video interviews specifically
An increasing share of interviews, including for Greek-Australian organisations and for roles connected to Greece, happen over video call rather than in person, and this format has a few of its own specific considerations worth preparing for beyond the language itself.
- Test your audio and connection in advance — a call that keeps cutting out disrupts your ability to follow and respond naturally in a second language far more than it would in your first, since you have less spare cognitive capacity to fill in gaps or guess at missed words.
- Have a written note of key phrases nearby, out of camera view, particularly for the specific vocabulary you know you'll need — this is a genuinely reasonable accommodation to give yourself in a video format, in a way that wouldn't be practical in person.
- Speak slightly more slowly and clearly than feels natural, since video call audio quality and any accent unfamiliarity compound each other more than they would face to face.
Common mistakes Australians make in this process
- Submitting a direct English-to-Greek translation of an existing CV rather than restructuring it to Greek conventions — format and structural differences, not just vocabulary, are part of what makes a CV read as genuinely fluent and locally appropriate.
- Overstating language ability without a way to back it up, which risks an uncomfortable mismatch once the interview itself begins — anchoring your stated level to an objective credential, as covered above, avoids this specific risk.
- Underpreparing for the small-talk opening of an interview, assuming the "real" interview only starts once formal questions begin — as covered in Business Greek, Greek professional culture often treats this opening exchange as a genuine, evaluated part of the interaction, not idle chat to get through quickly.
Tailoring your application to the specific role
As with any job application in any language, a generic CV and cover letter sent unchanged to multiple roles is noticeably less effective than one genuinely tailored to the specific position and organisation. In a Greek-language context specifically, this tailoring can usefully extend to mirroring some of the exact terminology used in the job listing itself — if a listing for an aged care role uses φροντίδα ηλικιωμένων specifically, echoing that same phrase in your cover letter, rather than a slightly different synonym, signals close attention to the actual listing and often aligns well with how applications are filtered, whether by a human reader or an automated system scanning for specific terms.
Following up after applying
If you haven't heard back within a reasonable window — commonly one to two weeks for most roles, though this varies by organisation — a brief, polite follow-up is generally acceptable practice rather than being seen as pushy.
- Θα ήθελα να ρωτήσω για την πορεία της αίτησής μου για τη θέση [τίτλος θέσης]. (tha íthela na rotíso ya tin poría tis étisís mu ya ti thési [job title]) — I would like to ask about the progress of my application for the [job title] position.
- Παραμένω πολύ ενδιαφερόμενος/η για τη θέση. (paraméno polí endiaferómenos/i ya ti thési) — I remain very interested in the position.
After the interview
A brief thank-you message following the interview is good practice in Greek, as in English, and is worth sending within a day or two.
Σας ευχαριστώ για τον χρόνο σας σήμερα. Ήταν μια πολύ ενδιαφέρουσα συζήτηση και ανυπομονώ να μάθω τα επόμενα βήματα.
(Thank you for your time today. It was a very interesting discussion and I look forward to hearing about the next steps.)
Where to go next
This page assumes the professional-register foundation covered in Business Greek — worth reviewing first if workplace vocabulary still feels unfamiliar. And if you're still deciding which direction your Greek-language career path is heading, Working in Greece and Greek Jobs in Australia cover the two main directions this section addresses.