Writing a Professional Resume

Your resume is often your first chance to impress potential employers. Perfect grammar and clear formatting are essential. Here's how to write a resume that showcases your professionalism.

Grammar Essentials for Resumes

1. Use Action Verbs

Start bullet points with strong action verbs:

• ✅ "Managed a team of 12 employees"
• ✅ "Developed new customer service protocols"
• ✅ "Increased sales revenue by 35%"

Avoid weak phrases:

• ❌ "Was responsible for managing..."
• ❌ "Duties included..."
• ❌ "Worked on projects..."

Powerful action verbs to use:

• Leadership: Led, Directed, Supervised, Managed, Coordinated
• Achievement: Achieved, Exceeded, Improved, Increased, Reduced
• Creation: Created, Designed, Developed, Established, Founded
• Communication: Presented, Communicated, Negotiated, Collaborated

2. Tense Consistency is Critical

Current positions use present tense:

• ✅ "Manage daily operations"
• ✅ "Develop marketing strategies"
• ✅ "Lead cross-functional teams"

Past positions use past tense:

• ✅ "Managed daily operations"
• ✅ "Developed marketing strategies"
• ✅ "Led cross-functional teams"

Never mix tenses in one position:

• ❌ "Managed team and develop strategies" (mixing past and present)
• ✅ "Managed team and developed strategies" (consistent past)

3. Parallel Structure in Lists

Keep bullet points grammatically parallel:

❌ Wrong (not parallel):

• "Managed social media accounts"
• "Content creation for blog"
• "Analyzed website traffic"

✅ Correct (parallel):

• "Managed social media accounts"
• "Created content for company blog"
• "Analyzed website traffic patterns"

4. Articles: When to Use Them

Omit articles for brevity:

• ✅ "Developed training program for new hires"
• ❌ "Developed a training program for the new hires"

Exception - keep articles when needed for clarity:

• ✅ "Created the company's first customer loyalty program"

5. Numbers and Quantification

Use numerals, not words:

• ✅ "Managed team of 15 people"
• ❌ "Managed team of fifteen people"

Include specific metrics:

• ✅ "Increased sales by 40% in first quarter"
• ✅ "Reduced costs by $50,000 annually"
• ✅ "Processed 200+ customer inquiries daily"

Common Grammar Mistakes in Resumes

❌ Wrong → ✅ Correct

Its vs It's (never use it's in resumes):

• ❌ "Improved it's efficiency by 30%"
• ✅ "Improved its efficiency by 30%"
• ✅ "Improved efficiency by 30%" (better - more concise)

Your vs You're (avoid "you" entirely):

• ❌ "Your company will benefit from..."
• ✅ "The organization will benefit from..."

Their/There/They're:

• ❌ "Exceeded there sales targets"
• ✅ "Exceeded their sales targets"
• ✅ "Exceeded sales targets by 25%" (better - more specific)

Then vs Than:

• ❌ "Managed more then 20 projects"
• ✅ "Managed more than 20 projects"

Led vs Lead:

• ❌ "Lead a team of developers" (present tense in past job)
• ✅ "Led a team of developers"

Apostrophe Errors:

• ❌ "Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration's"
• ✅ "Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration"

Resume-Specific Grammar Rules

1. No First-Person Pronouns

Never use "I," "me," "my," "we," "our":

• ❌ "I managed a team of 10 people"
• ✅ "Managed team of 10 people"

Implied subject:

• The subject is always "I" - you don't need to write it

2. No Complete Sentences

Use sentence fragments starting with verbs:

• ✅ "Developed new marketing strategy"
• ❌ "I developed a new marketing strategy."

No periods at end of bullets (optional - be consistent):

• ✅ "Increased revenue by 30%"
• Or: "Increased revenue by 30%" (no period)

3. Abbreviations and Acronyms

Spell out on first use, then abbreviate:

• ✅ "Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Computer Science"
• ✅ "Certified Public Accountant (CPA)"

Common acceptable abbreviations:

• B.A., B.S., M.A., M.S., MBA, PhD
• CEO, CFO, VP, HR, IT, PR, R&D

4. Dates and Formatting

Use consistent date format:

• ✅ "June 2020 – Present"
• ✅ "06/2020 – Present"
• ❌ "June 2020 – current" (inconsistent capitalization)

Hyphen vs Dash:

• ✅ Use en dash (–) for date ranges: "2020–2023"
• ❌ Don't use hyphen (-): "2020-2023"

Section-Specific Grammar Tips

Professional Summary

Keep it active and achievement-focused:

• ✅ "Results-driven marketing professional with 8+ years of experience driving brand awareness and revenue growth. Proven track record of increasing customer engagement by 45% through innovative digital campaigns."

Avoid generic statements:

• ❌ "Hardworking professional seeking opportunity to utilize skills"

Work Experience

Follow this formula:

• Action Verb + What You Did + How/Why + Result

Example:

• ✅ "Spearheaded social media campaign that increased follower engagement by 60% and generated $100K in new sales"

Education

Correct format:

• ✅ "Bachelor of Arts in English Literature"
• ✅ "Master of Business Administration (MBA)"

Include relevant details:

• GPA (if 3.5 or higher): "GPA: 3.8/4.0"
• Honors: "Graduated Summa Cum Laude"
• Dean's List, scholarships, relevant coursework

Skills Section

Use parallel structure:

❌ Wrong:

• "Python programming"
• "Fluent in Spanish"
• "Can use Adobe Creative Suite"

✅ Correct:

• "Python Programming"
• "Spanish (Fluent)"
• "Adobe Creative Suite"

Punctuation Guidelines

Commas

Use in series:

• ✅ "Proficient in Excel, PowerPoint, and Word"

After introductory phrases:

• ✅ "As team leader, increased productivity by 25%"

Between independent clauses with conjunction:

• ✅ "Managed operations, and developed staff training programs"

Hyphens

Compound adjectives before nouns:

• ✅ "Full-time position"
• ✅ "Entry-level role"
• ✅ "Cross-functional team"

No hyphen after "ly" adverbs:

• ✅ "Highly motivated professional"
• ❌ "Highly-motivated professional"

Power Words for Impact

Instead of "responsible for":

• Managed, Oversaw, Supervised, Coordinated, Administered

Instead of "helped":

• Assisted, Supported, Facilitated, Contributed, Collaborated

For achievements:

• Achieved, Accomplished, Attained, Exceeded, Surpassed

For improvements:

• Enhanced, Improved, Optimized, Streamlined, Upgraded

For creation:

• Launched, Pioneered, Established, Initiated, Founded

Final Grammar Checklist

Before submitting your resume:

• All verbs are in correct tense (present for current, past for previous)
• No first-person pronouns (I, me, my, we, our)
• Bullet points start with action verbs
• Parallel structure in all lists
• Numbers are numerals, not spelled out
• Consistent date formatting throughout
• No spelling errors (use spell check + manual review)
• All company names, job titles correctly capitalized
• No periods at end of bullet points (or all have them - be consistent)
• No contractions (don't, can't, won't)
• Professional email address included
• Contact information has no errors

Common Capitalization Rules

Always capitalize:

• Proper nouns: company names, software names, certifications
• Job titles when they precede a name: "Marketing Manager Jane Doe"
• First word of each bullet point

Don't capitalize:

• Job titles when used generally: "Served as marketing manager"
• Generic terms: "bachelor's degree" (unless part of full title)

Proofread Like a Pro

Three-pass method:

1. First pass: Read forward for content and flow
2. Second pass: Read backwards sentence by sentence for spelling
3. Third pass: Read out loud to catch awkward phrasing

Get a second opinion:

• Have someone else review for errors you might miss
• Use grammar checking tools (but don't rely on them completely)

Remember

Your resume is a marketing document, not an autobiography. Every word should demonstrate value to potential employers. Perfect grammar shows attention to detail and professionalism - qualities every employer seeks.

Key takeaway: Less is more. Be concise, be specific, be error-free.