Past or present tense in a resume?

When is it better to use past or present tense in a resume?

This is one of the most popular questions about resume writing.

What tense should be used in a resume?

The other very common question goes with this one. Which person to write your resume in – first person or third person voice in the resume.

Should you write your resume in first or third person

Your resume should be written in the first person but “I” implied. This means that you don’t use the “I” but the voice sounds like you did. Rather than writing John strategically created the alignment to the business plan and I hope if you are John, you wouldn’t write in the third person. You would say: Strategically created the alignment to the business plan.

You didn’t write ‘I” but it is implied.

Next on to the past or present tense in a resume

First, you need to define what past or present tense in a resume means and how it is used.

For the non-English majors, most of the time, past tense is when you add the “ed” to a verb. Resumes are filled with action verbs but the past tense would be words like these:

• Engineered
• Designed
• Created
• Streamlined
• Propelled
• Cultivated
• Centralized
• Diversified
• Enhanced
• Except for some tricky ones like “wrote”

What is your resume current job tense?

The best tense for your resume’s current job is present tense is the verb by itself without any “ed”s added. Like this:

• Brainstorm
• Champion
• Strategize
• Pinpoint
• Pioneer
• Reinvent
• Spearhead
• Accentuate
• Document
• Educate
• Eliminate
• Write

Clients come to me perplexed because “someone” told them they are doing it wrong even when I wrote the resume for them. Here’s my rule: In a past position, the action verb is always in the past tense. You are not in the job anymore, it is in your past.

Current job: past or present tense in a resume?

Here’s the kicker! In your present job or position, you may have a mix of past and present tense in your resume. Huh? You’re thinking, that’s impossible!

What is the resume tense for completed projects in your current job?

Here are my thoughts: in your present job, there are some things you have completed and will never do again. If you researched and wrote the new sales training manual, you completed the project, hence the past tense verbs: researched and wrote. If you facilitated the merger of two organizations or companies, you completed the task. This leads us to the next question.

Am I still doing the task or action?

In your present position, you may still enhance and solidify client relationships or analyze client expenditures and create realistic budgets. You may also consistently evaluate productivity.

In my view, if you still do it, it belongs in present tense. In your past jobs, ensure everything is past tense. When you update your resume and add a new position, be sure to check your verb tense. Once you add the new one, double-check the past or present tense in a resume and change all of the verb tense to past.

This way when you are ready to move on, your resume will be too.

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