After working at a job search site for a while, I just realized I’d never written about what I have become most affluent in the Portuguese language: job search vocabulary!

Here’s my list of important vocab and sentences regarding the busca por emprego (job search)!

se candidatar para uma vaga

In Portuguese, you don’t “apply” for jobs. The word aplicar, means to invest yourself or your money or what have you in something or somewhere. You make yourself a “candidate” for a position. So when saying, “I am applying for a job,” in Portuguese you would say, “Estou me candidatando para uma vaga de emprego.” 

prestar processo seletivo 

Once you’ve had your first interview or have been called into an interview, you are officially a candidate for the position, and here you would be in the midst of the selection process. This term is also used when applying to schools/universities (remembering the definition of “aplicar”). So when you are going on to your interview at a company, you would say, “Estou prestando processo seletivo em uma empresa grande”. 

fazer entrevista 

To have an interview in Portuguese, uses the English translate of “to make.” So here, when you are going to be interviewed somewhere, you would say, “Vou fazer entrevista na empresa XYZ”.

carta de apresentação

Cover letters? Yeah, we have those too.

currículo

Despite popular belief, we no longer use, “CV,” or “curriculum” or even “curriculum vitae,” formally in Brazil. The proper word for resume is currículo.

objetivo

I had to learn this the hard way. When applying for a job, and asked to write your “objectives” at the top of your resume, in the US, it is encouraged you write a big fluffy sentence about what you want to put your skills up to etc. et al. In Brazil, you should write what job you are applying to. So instead of “I would like to save the world using my multilingual capacity and love for children,” you would say, “Objetivo: Professora”

área de atuação 

In Brazil, people tend to search for work in the field they majored in, or their área.  Área de atuação, is the field you work in. Minha área de atuação é marketing digital,  for example, is what I would say.

cargo

Cargo is the job title you’re looking for. Analista Financeiro, Professor, Gerente Comercial, etc. are all cargos. 

I think now you have a good start to learning job search vocabulary. Did I miss anything?!

Happy busca por emprego!