False Friends - Taschen Guide

searching for a new job, it is likely that you will see under the list of requirements for the position: gute (or perhaps hervorragende, maybe verhandlungssichere) Englischkenntnisse. What sort of things should you be aware of when you apply?
    Example 1: letter of application containing false friends
    Dear Sir/Madam
    I am applying for the job of photograph which you advertised in the Daily Times on Friday 3 September 2010.
    Enclosed is my CV. You will see that I started to study to become an advocate, but I discovered a love of cameras and decided to become an undertaker instead and started up my own photo studio …
What needs improving?
The German word is Fotograf and the English for this is ‚photographer‘ . This applicant has just described himself as a photo. ↓
An advocate is someone who supports, for example, an idea, e.g. ‚he is a strong advocate of renewable energy‘. It is not the same as Advokat, which in English is ‚lawyer‘ or ‚attorney‘ . ↓ ↓
If only the English for Unternehmer were undertaker – life would be so easy! An undertaker is, as already mentioned, Bestatter, and the word the applicant should have used is ‚entrepreneur‘ or ‚business owner‘ . ↓ ↓ ↓
    Example 2: letter of application with some false friends
    Dear Sir/Madam
    I have been following the developments of your company for a while now with great interest. It is my wish to work for a globally successful company and so I am sending you my CV in case you actually have a vacancy for someone with my qualifications.
    I was an executive assistant in the direction of a medium-sized German company for three years and am a very engaged team worker. My former chief was very satisfied with me and I am enclosing the reference that he wrote …
What needs correcting?
The German adverb aktuell and the English ‚actually‘ are very similar but they mean different things. Aktuell translates as ‚currently‘ . The English adverb ‚actually‘ means eigentlich . ↓
The applicant says she worked ‚in the direction‘, which means in der Richtung … What she should have writtenwas, for example, ‚in the office of the board of directors‘ or ‚at head office‘ . ↓ ↓
Last but not least we have the classic false friend Chef. Although there are titles such as ‚Chief Accountant‘ (Hauptbuchhalter) and ‚Chief of Staff‘ (Generalstabschef), ‚chief‘ also means Indianerhäuptling ! The correct translation for mein Chef is ‚my boss‘ or ‚my manager‘ . ↓
    Example 3
    Dear Ms Terry
    With regard to your announcement in the Good Thinking magazine on 15th January I would like to apply for the job of Sales Assistant.
    I enclose my CV which shows that I have worked in the sales resorts of several companies. I read about your fusion with Alex plc and I am sure that a fresh and competent face in your sales department will bring your company many benefits …
What's not right?
Announcement. Annonce is so similar to this. However, ‚announcement‘ means Ankündigung. The correct thing to say in the case above is ‚ advertisement‘ . ↓
We speak of ‚holiday resorts‘ in English (Ferien- / Urlaubsort) but not of sales resorts or personnel resorts. The right word for this is ‚department‘ . ↓↓
The applicant mentions a ‚fusion‘ of Alex plc and the company she is writing to. Does she know that she has usedthe translation of Verschmelzung? The word that describes the joining together of two companies is ‚ merger ‘. ↓
Useful vocabulary
    catch on
Schule machen; sich durchsetzen
recipient
Empfänger
opposite number
Gegenspieler; Verhandlungspartner
cringe
schaudern
    Your CV
    This is an interesting challenge: trying to fit the details of a large part of your life on just one or two pages. That is why it pays to get it right first time. There is not much you can do wrong with your personal details, but things like your education and work experience need a little care.
    Example 1: CV containing false friends
Education
    1992 – 1994
Promotion in Business Administration, University of Bayreuth
1987 – 1991
Diploma in Business Administration, University of Bayreuth
1979 – 1986
Unting Gymnasium
Be careful!
When you talk or write about the achievements in your educational history, do find the correct translation. The English word ‚promotion‘ means Beförderung in German. The qualification you gained was in fact a ‚doctorate‘ or ‚PhD‘ . ↓ ↓
‚Diploma‘ is a universal word. It can be