Nancy writes:
Hi, I have a question on present vs. past tense of strong verbs used for listing skills on your resume. I always thought you used present tense for resumes, but a career -development teacher checked my resume and said to use past tense. Just wondering what you thought or know employers prefer or what is the correct tense. Example:
- supervised…
- coordinated….
The Career Doctor responds:
Strong verbs, or action verbs as I call them, are a vital part of a good resume. For your current position, the verbs should be present tense (negotiate, resolve, conduct, provide, etc.). For all your past positions, the verbs should be past-tense (monitored, researched, collected, etc.). Another key issue besides action verbs is that you should list achievements or outcomes of your positions, rather than simply duties. You “achieved a $100,000 increase in sales” rather than “managed client relations and sales.”
For a pretty complete list of action verbs, visit Quintessential Careers: Action Verbs.
