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Proper Resume Grammar

While following these rules, using proper grammar on your resume can do nothing but positive things to improve your chances of obtaining a job. This article does not guarantee that by fixing these mistakes, you will obtain a position sooner or have a more successful interview. You must hold the proper qualifications and possess the interview skills required to get the job. However, avoiding these mistakes and correcting them can benefit you.

• Elements of Grammar to Avoid
  There are countless elements that are actually correct, but not suited for this environment.
  
  
  • Articles
    The first example is the use of articles. Articles are short filler words that typically describe nouns (a, the, an). During resume writing, it is best to avoid using these words because they tend to crowd out the sentences and prevent the reader from getting to the point of your skills. For example, instead of saying "worked closely with the employees," shorten the sentence by stating "worked closely with employees."
  • First-Person Tense and Pronouns
    The next element of grammar to avoid is first-person tense and pronouns. The pronouns like "I, we, and us" are superfluous. Since this document is all about you and your career, including words about yourself is obvious and a waste of precious space.
  • Shifting Tenses
    Make sure that when you are writing, you avoid shifting tense. Pick a tense and stick to it, depending upon on which section you are working. If you are presently employed, only use the present tense to describe it. Additionally, when you describe previous employment, remain strictly in the past tense.
  • Complex Sentences
    One of the most difficult elements of grammar to be avoided is the use of complex sentences. It would help if you kept the resume writing simple and avoid becoming tongue-tied. An example of this is as follows:
    
    Complex Sentence: "Greatly reduced the overall costs by 50% by instituting a wide-range, two-step program throughout the company in which the employees would fund their own benefits program, and yet still get better coverage than in previous years."
    
    To correct his sentence, avoid including every single detail of what you are trying to say. You will be able to not only shorten the sentence, but keep the reader's attention longer by keeping it simple, and following the rules that are listed above as well.
  • Too Much Information
    The last mistake to avoid throughout the writing process is overwriting or including too much information. Make sure that when you are composing your resume that you include the least amount of information possible. Write so that it still contains a complete description of everything you want the employer to know. Say everything you need to say using as few words as possible.
  Additionally, you want to impress the reader, but make sure you understand what you are writing. Don't be afraid to use your voice. It is not helpful if you are attempting to impress your readers with fancy language and styles, and you don't understand the meaning of what you are writing. Write with language that you use and understand so that way when you have an oral interview, the recruiter is up to speed with your passions and goals for the company.
• Commonly Misused Words
  Following is a list of words that are commonly misused. If you would like to have proper grammar on your resume, you must learn how to use each of these words correctly.
  
  These words are some of the most common to be misspelled:
  Guarantee, recommend, miscellaneous, truly, maintenance, judgment, reference, bureau, calendar, and accommodate.
  
  The following words each have different meanings and are often misused:
  Its vs. it's - It's is a contraction meaning "it is" and its is possessive describing a noun.
  
  Their vs. there vs. they're - their is a possessive form describing a plural noun, there describes a place or direction, and they're is a contraction meaning "they are." Your vs. you're - your is a possessive word describing a noun in the second person, and you're is a contraction meaning "you are."

Take the time and comb through your resume to correct mistakes and use proper resume grammar. These corrections can make a world of difference when it comes to the job interview process. There is more to this document than your skills and accomplishments, it is important to ensure that you take care of the details and project an image of being well-educated. We have a section with job and career help to provide additional assistance with your writing.