A few months back I was talking to a representative of the credential evaluation service World Education Services (WES). He told me that WES advises their clients to put a very short, WES-generated description of their degrees on their résumé, showing potential employers how each degree compares to a U.S. degree. He suggested that we should help people do the same thing with their TOEIC test scores.

 

As with credential evaluation of a degree, TOEIC test scores provide objective, external proof of what a person says on their résumé, in this case regarding their English language skills. If an applicant can provide a short description of what their scores mean along with their score, even employers who may not be too familiar with TOEIC tests can easily understand and appreciate these skills as well as knowing that the description comes from a reliable source.

 

So with help from ETS Canada and verification from the main ETS office that the descriptions were accurate, we’ve added a Web page to our site with TOEIC test score ranges and short descriptions of what each score level indicates.

 

I’d love to get some tips about other strategies our readers may have used to help non-native English speakers/immigrants explain their qualifications for job application success. Please share problems you’ve encountered as well as any ideas to solve them.