Linguist resume template
A clean starting structure with example content grounded in what linguists actually do day to day, not generic filler. Download and replace the bracketed placeholders with your own details.
Which resume format should you use?
Reverse chronological
You have a steady work history. This is the format almost every recruiter and ATS expects by default.
Functional
You're changing fields or have gaps in your employment. Leads with skills rather than a job-by-job timeline.
Combination
You're early career or have worked consistently but for only a few employers. Blends a skills summary with a shorter chronological history.
This template uses the reverse chronological format: the one most linguists should default to, since most Australian recruiters and ATS software expect it.
Professional summary
Linguist with a focus on language documentation and applied language technology. Combines field research and corpus analysis with teaching and resource development. Works across academic, government and technology settings to make language data useful and accessible.
Key skills
- Data analysis
- Statistical modelling
- Machine learning
- Field research and sampling
- Teaching and instruction
- Praat
- ELAN
- Python
- R
- FieldWorks
- Written communication
- Attention to detail
Experience: example bullet points
- Documented a previously unrecorded language variety by recording and transcribing over 30 hours of speech with community members, producing a lasting archive for the community and researchers.
- Built a searchable corpus of 200,000 words using ELAN and Python, cutting manual annotation time for the research team from days to hours.
- Designed and taught an undergraduate linguistics unit, receiving positive student feedback and improving tutorial participation across the semester.
- Analysed phonetic data from 50 speakers using Praat, identifying a vowel merger that had not been described in the literature and presenting the findings at a national conference.
- Wrote policy briefs on language maintenance for a government department, informing a review of community language grants.
Education
A bachelor degree in linguistics or a related field is the common entry point, with postgraduate study common for research and academic roles.
Keywords an ATS is likely to scan for
Applicant tracking systems match your resume against terms in the job ad before a person ever sees it. Only include the ones that actually apply to your experience, but if a term below matches something you've done, use the same wording the job ad uses.
- Linguistics
- Phonetics
- Syntax
- Language documentation
- Endangered languages
- Indigenous languages
- Speech recognition
- Natural language processing
- Praat
- ELAN
- FieldWorks
- Python
- R
- Corpus linguistics
- Fieldwork
- Transcription
- Language policy
- Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
- Australian Linguistics Society
- Human Research Ethics Committee
- National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research
Getting past ATS screening
- Match the specific skills, certifications and terms used in the job ad, not just your own wording for the same thing.
- Keep formatting simple: no tables, text boxes, columns, headers/footers or graphics. Parsers frequently drop content placed in these.
- Submit as .docx or PDF unless the job ad specifies otherwise.
- Use standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) rather than creative alternatives.
- List your core skills and technical competencies in their own section so a keyword scan can find them instantly.
This is a starting point, not a guarantee of interviews. Tailor every bullet point to your own real experience and the specific job ad.