I live in a non-English speaking country and work on the trading floor. Unfortunately the exact translation of my division is "Directorate of Operations" which sounds ver back office. It is short for "market operations" or something of that sort. Can I just say I work in the Trading Division without getting into trouble?

directorate of operations means nothing to me. Is it actually the trading division?

I'm with DF on this: what does the division actually do ?

Trading floor and we buy stuff from the central bank. It is short for "buy-side of open market operations".

Why can't you put Open market operations, and explain that it is buy side in your CV. If you get an interview and your are BSing they will find out pretty quickly.If you are not BSing and you know your stuff, then the only time there will be a reconcilation is when/if HR ask for a reference. At that point it will be a obvious you are a good candidate so what the direct translation of your division doesn't matter.

a friend of mine once told me that when on a date, he always says that he's a "stock broker". it sounds cool and you don't have to go into a long tirade explaining what is exactly you're doing. just write "stock broker".

I wonder if Capfan introduces himself as a miner...

QuoteOriginally posted by: AnomanderisI wonder if Capfan introduces himself as a miner...No sir I introduce myself as an IT guy.A typical conversation goes like thisNew Acquaintance - So Capafan what do you do?Capafan2- Oh - I do IT stuff?New Acquantance - Oh!! (Uncomfortable silence, no one knows what to say next), Capafan moves on in quest of his next vitim.

QuoteOriginally posted by: QuantVaderI live in a non-English speaking country and work on the trading floor. Unfortunately the exact translation of my division is "Directorate of Operations" which sounds ver back office. It is short for "market operations" or something of that sort. Can I just say I work in the Trading Division without getting into trouble?The problem with your exact translation comes down to the words "directorate" and "operations". "of" is a perfectly fine word that needs not be eliminated, unless required by context. No English language company with a trading desk has a directorate of anything -- division may work, but department, group or desk (depending a bit on the size of your directorate) are probably even better. The problem with "operations" is the opposite -- every English language company with a trading desk has people in operations, and they tend to be the rather low ranking sort that you don't want to be incorrectly identified with. So, I would go with something like Trading, Trading Desk or Department of Trading.

Why to put department anyway on your profile. Just say you are working as a buy-side trader and put whatever hunky-dory department exists in English speaking world. I have come across numerous CVs like that. One guy was working in day-to-day FX Sales monitoring and validations with excellent profile . And his department was actually compliance.

you say "trader in open market transactions desk"

Thank you for all your feedback guys.

I think ArthurDent is right here.