11 languages on CV

When I list the languages I have knowledge of (eleven of them) on my resumé, I indicate my proficiency for each in bracket. Out of the 11, two are of native proficiency, one is conversational while the rest are either basic or elementary. Would the fact that I specify that eight out of the 11 are basic/elementary be irritating?

I know that some people would advise only listing the three that are conversational or native, but I feel there is always the slight possibility that listing all the 11 (and specifying 8 of them as basic-proficiency level) could be beneficial if my basic knowledge of one of the languages could resonate with the person deciding whether or not I get an interview – for instance listing a basic knowledge of Latin and Greek could catch the attention of a banker/recruiter who loves Classics or finished with a Classics degree, basic knowledge of Arabic could resonate with someone from a muslim or middle eastern background.

TLDR: Would it hurt my chances of GETTING INTO THE INTERVIEW STAGE if I list 11 languages while 8 of them are labelled as "basic proficiency" on the CV? Or is it wise to list all the 11 in the hope that maybe one or two of the languages would resonate with the person who would spend 15 seconds looking at the resume?

What would you advise me to do: list 11 or list only the 3 that are conversational and native?

6 Comments
 

I wouldn't list out 11 separate bullet points or words for each language. I would do something like a bullet at the bottom

  • Languages: Native Proficiency in French, Italian, Spanish & English. Conversational proficiency in 6 additional languages spoken predominantly in LatAM / East Asia. 
 

Of course, they weren't bullets : )

It was a serial list with commas which only took up 2 lines on the CV

 

This is the correct answer. If you can't have a simple conversation in a language then you don't speak it well enough to merit putting on a resume.

You'll look like a try-hard jackass if you put 11 language on a resume, and at that point you're just asking for someone who speaks it better than you to test you on it. Insta-ding if someone does that and you can basically just say what your name is. 

 

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