<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The words you use on your CV signal how you think.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A designer who writes "I made the app easier to use" is describing an activity. A designer who writes "conducted three rounds of usability testing and iterated based on task completion data" is speaking the professional language that hiring managers — local and international — are listening for.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This is not jargon for the sake of it. These terms exist because they describe specific, meaningful things. Knowing them, using them correctly, and being able to speak to them in an interview is part of what separates a designer who gets taken seriously from one who doesn't.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Here are four of the ten terms covered in the course glossary.<h2 id="a7600b6c-3be2-42bf-a01b-7d35aa7e4701" data-toc-id="a7600b6c-3be2-42bf-a01b-7d35aa7e4701" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Usability testing</h2><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not the same as getting feedback from friends. Usability testing is a specific research method where real users attempt to complete tasks using your product or prototype while you observe — without helping, prompting, or explaining.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On your CV, be specific. Not "conducted user testing" — but "ran two rounds of moderated usability testing with five participants each, identifying three critical navigation failures before handoff."<h2 id="0e60f004-78c6-4350-9e2d-59f871263172" data-toc-id="0e60f004-78c6-4350-9e2d-59f871263172" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">KHQR</h2><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cambodia's national QR code payment standard. Designing for KHQR payment flows is a genuine UX specialism — one that requires understanding trust, payment anxiety, low digital literacy, and the specific interaction patterns of Cambodian users transacting digitally for the first time.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you have designed for KHQR, name it explicitly on your CV. Most designers outside Cambodia cannot claim it.<h2 id="b3bf19fa-5229-4f46-b5de-0d73e370916c" data-toc-id="b3bf19fa-5229-4f46-b5de-0d73e370916c" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Design debt</h2><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The accumulation of design decisions made quickly, under constraint, or without proper consideration — that now create inconsistency, confusion, or friction in the product. Identifying and communicating design debt is a senior-level skill that rarely gets articulated on CVs.<h2 id="a8b6915b-7ac8-4dcd-8613-c81ee61a2408" data-toc-id="a8b6915b-7ac8-4dcd-8613-c81ee61a2408" style="font-size: 24px; line-height: 1.2;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ats (applicant tracking system)</h2><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Software used by many companies to screen CVs before a human reads them. ATS systems scan for keywords and can fail to parse heavily designed or image-heavy layouts. Clean formatting and relevant keywords are your practical defence — especially important for Cambodian designers applying to international companies, NGOs, or regional tech firms.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These are four of the ten terms covered in the full course glossary — terms that span hiring process language, regional specialisations, and the professional vocabulary that distinguishes designers who understand the industry.<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.swchon.com/en/course-detail/nextjob/41778/"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Getting Your Next Job</a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> course includes the full Cambodian designer's glossary — ten terms, how to use each one on your CV, and what they signal to a hiring manager.

KHQR. ATS. IC. Design debt. These are the terms that appear in job descriptions — and on strong CVs. Here's what they mean and how to use them.

The Cambodian Designer's CV Glossary: Terms Every Hiring Manager Expects You to Know

Ten professional design terms every Cambodian designer needs on their CV — including local market terms like KHQR and Telegram Mini Apps that most global guides miss.

Design CV Glossary for the Cambodian Market

The Cambodian designer's CV glossary: terms every hiring manager expects you to know

Read articles, tips, and resources to help you learn, grow, and succeed. Explore our latest posts covering education, community, and personal growth

Blog – Insights, Tips & Resources for Learning and Growth

Explore articles, tips, and insights to help you succeed in learning, community building, and personal development.

The Cambodian designer's CV glossary: terms every hiring manager expects you to know

The Cambodian designer's CV glossary: terms every hiring manager expects you to know

Related Posts

The remote design career starts before anyone hires you

The portfolio link problem every Cambodian designer ignores

How to talk about NDA work on your CV without betraying your client

Stop listing tools. Start showing thinking.

What senior actually means — and why your CV doesn't show it