writing resume in present tense

Should Your Resume Be in Past or Present Tense? Here’s How to Decide

Grammar and consistency are key when it comes to your resume . Uniform and error-free writing not only makes your resume easier for a recruiter or hiring manager to understand, but it also shows that you are conscientious, pay attention to detail, and care about your job search. (Don’t say you’re meticulous, then submit a typo-filled resume!) And the verb tense or tenses you use are one vital way to make sure your resume is professional and easy to read.

“Using proper tense is an essential detail for a well-organized resume that will help you stand out to future employers,” says Muse career coach Jennifer Smith . Resumes are primarily written in past or present tense. Past tense (think verbs ending in -ed , primarily) describes actions that are no longer happening, while present tense describes actions that are currently happening.

But overall, the most important resume rule for verb tenses is to be consistent. When Smith was a recruiter, she “would notice if a resume [was] a mix of present and past without any consistency.” Mixing tenses inappropriately makes resumes more difficult to read—which means you’re less likely to move to the next stage.

When to Use Past Tense on a Resume

Most of your resume should be in the past tense because the bulk of your resume space is taken up by past work experiences . “Use past tense for sections of your resume you are no longer doing,” Smith says. This means your previous jobs, completed accomplishments, volunteering or other activities you’re no longer participating in, awards you’ve won, certifications you’ve earned, or education you’ve completed.

A bullet point for a past job might look like this:

• Conceived, planned, scheduled, and wrote copy for 20+ social media posts weekly for Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook

When to Use Present Tense on a Resume

You’ll use present tense on your resume anytime you’re describing something that’s currently happening. Present-tense verbs primarily belong in your resume summary and descriptions of your current job duties and ongoing accomplishments because those are about who you are and what you’re doing right now . If your resume headline has a verb or if there are any activities, volunteer work, or projects you’re currently working on outside of a full-time job, those should use the present tense as well. Basically, if the date range ends with “Present,” that’s a good indicator you should be using the present tense, Smith says.

Here’s an example resume summary that uses present tense:

Personable and motivated SaaS account manager who takes pride in finding the right solutions and products for every client through individual attention and relationship building. Team player who is always willing to help others and has a strong track record of reducing churn.

When You Can Mix Tenses

You should avoid mixing your verb tenses within the same resume entry or section whenever possible. The one exception is in the entry for your current job or any current volunteer work or activities— if you want to highlight accomplishments that are fully completed and not ongoing.

When you have both past and present tense in the same entry, group the present-tense bullet points at the top of the entry and all of the past-tense bullet points at the end, Smith says. You might consider creating a “Key Achievements” or similar subsection under your current job and putting the past-tense bullets under that heading to make things even more clear for anyone reading your resume.

For example, a project manager might write this about their current job:

Project Manager | OrangeYellow Co | Cleveland, OH | August 2018–Present

• Lead the delivery of initiatives using Agile/Scrum methodologies
• Define timelines, budgets, KPIs, and milestones for each initiative
• Coordinate a cross-functional team of 20+, delegating duties and allocating resources using Asana, Google Workspace, and Airtable
• Communicate with key stakeholders from conception through completion

Key Achievements

• Oversaw the creation of a new $100k client portal, meeting all key milestones on time and coming in 5% under budget, leading to a 50% increase in customer satisfaction and 20% increase in client renewals year-over-year
• Won Manager of the Year 2020 for receiving the highest scores from direct reports in a company-wide survey on management styles and employee satisfaction

Still confused? There’s an easy fix: To keep things simple and ensure consistency, some people choose to keep every verb on their resume in the past tense, Smith says. So if you’re not sure, sticking to the past tense is a safe bet.

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• Resume and Cover Letter
• Past vs. Present Tense on...

Past vs. Present Tense on Resumes: Best Practices

9 min read · Updated on March 20, 2024

Should a resume be in the past or present tense?

How sick are you of hearing that you must proofread your resume? The reason that proofreading is brought up so much is that it is of the utmost importance. If you take hours or even days crafting the perfect document and never discover grammar , punctuation, and spelling errors, your time has been wasted. 

There's more to proofreading than just using spell check, though. Your verb tense is also important for your overall resume writing style. Of course, that raises an important question: should your resume be in past tense or present tense?

The short answer is, “It depends.” 

In this post, we'll explore each of these tenses, examine the best practices for using each type, and offer some helpful tips you can use to ensure that your resume narrative is delivering the right message to employers.

What is past tense? What is present tense? 

First, let's have a review of what past and present tense means. Is your sentence describing something that's happening now, or did it already occur? 

Past tense is anything that's already happened. The verbs that describe past tense often end with -ed. Of course, there are some exceptions like “oversaw.” Reminder: every sentence of your resume should start with a verb.

Present tense is anything that's happening now. You'd use present tense in the summary paragraph at the top and in the bullets that you use to describe your current job. 

Pro tip: The gerund form of present tense verbs often adds an -ing at the end. There is some debate as to whether the use of the gerund is appropriate for a resume. With that said, you should avoid using it.

Related post : 11 Key Things to Put on Your Resume

Should I use past tense or present tense on my resume? 

You will likely use both the past and the present tense in your resume. However, it can get tricky because you don't want to mix both in the same section. If you have one-off achievements like successfully completing a project in your current role, you shouldn't talk about that in the present tense because it already happened. 

In the spirit of being consistent, here are some rules to help you recognize when to use past or present tense:

When to use past tense on your resume

Describe your education, past jobs, awards, and accomplishments using the past tense. You aren't in school anymore, and you no longer work at your previous jobs. Therefore, they belong in the past. For example:

Championed a 20% increase in sales by onboarding 30 new customers each month.

Architected complex algorithms that improved the efficiency of gathering, scrubbing, and merging data from more than 20 disparate sources.

Engaged in real-time troubleshooting with approximately 40 customers per day and achieved an 85% first-call resolution rate.

When to use present tense on your resume

While much of your resume will be in the past tense, there are certain sections that should focus on the present. These include the resume headline, resume summary, and the first entry in your work experience section if you're describing your current position. Let's look at each one of these critical sections and examine why it's important to use the present tense to describe your skills and ongoing achievements.

Related post : Seven Key Resume Sections and How to Organize Them

1. Resume headline

Your resume headline should always be written in the present tense since you want to ensure that the employer understands that you're actively engaged in your role. Remember, the headline is a brief description of your job title and key specialties, so make it as compelling as you can. For example:

Creative Marketing Manager Focused on Data-Driven Results in Branding and Client Engagement

Solutions-Oriented Project Manager with 10+ Years of Team Building and Client Management Success

Innovative Software Engineer with 5 Years of Experience Developing Industry-Leading Gaming Apps

Related post : 27 Great Resume Headline Examples to Stand Out

2. Resume summary

Your summary goes right below your resume headline and should provide employers with a brief elevator pitch to sell your qualifications. Include three or four sentences that highlight your experience, skills, and notable achievements. The goal here is to emphasize your qualifications in a way that shows you're prepared to provide real value to any employer who hires you. Here's an example:

Ambitious IT specialist with more than seven years of experience in network management and systems analysis. Expert troubleshooter and project lead with expertise in cloud platform, data migration, and client support. Proven track record of success in reducing network delays by 80+%, with 95+5 reported satisfaction rating on troubleshooting calls. Resilient problem-solver, capable of working both independently and in collaboration with colleagues and clients.

Related post : Resume Profile Explained (with Examples)

3. Work Experience

When you list your current job in your work experience section, it should always be in the present tense. The skills you list in this prominent section of your resume are skills you use all the time. This is the it-can-get-tricky part because you can also talk about your current position in the past tense – more on this in just a bit. Here are a couple of examples:

Direct full-cycle hiring processes, including telephone interviews, to ramp up department operations.

Source, interview, hire, and onboard a new team of 7 developers. 

Train 6 associates and 2 clerks to ascertain the needs of clients and improve customer satisfaction.

Of course, when you're listing achievements in your work experience section, you're primarily going to focus on things that you've already done. After all, if one of those achievements involved designing a new sales program that boosted revenues by 30% over two quarters, that's a one-time achievement, right? Obviously, that accomplishment needs to be presented using the past tense.

Confused? Don't be. We'll explain how to handle that situation in our next section.

When to use both past and present tense

Your resume is supposed to be a customized career marketing document that demonstrates you're the best candidate for a specific position. You sell yourself to new companies by highlighting career accomplishments. 

So, how do you handle talking about past and present items in the description of your current role if you shouldn't mix past and present tense within the same section of your resume? 

Take that example that we cited above. How would you include that type of achievement in the work experience listing for your current job? It's easier than you might imagine.

The best way to deal with that situation is to separate the bullet points under your current role into things you do every day first and achievements last. Write your daily responsibilities in the present tense and your achievements in the past tense. This is what that would look like:

Document, report, and present project milestones, performance KPIs, and status updates in weekly executive meetings attended by as many as 12 board members.

Implement and execute all standard operating procedures to ensure adherence to protocols, mitigate risk, and improve overall safety rating to 0 incidents per month. 

NOTED ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Saved more than $300K by tracking spending, identifying waste, and authoring/implementing new project metrics that reduced costs.

Nominated by leaders for the I'm-The-Greatest-Employee award, 2021. 

Another great way to manage this concern is to include a brief paragraph that highlights your ongoing achievements using the present tense while making sure that all your bullet point accomplishments are listed in the past tense. Below, we've provided an example of what that might look like:

Marketing Director, ABC Marketing, Anytown Anystate, 2014 to Present

Manage daily marketing operations, including strategic campaign development, overseeing multiple project teams, evaluating and monitoring staff, and managing client expectations. Collaborate directly with senior management, finance department, and sales team to facilitate operations and ensure that the company always remains on mission.

Designed and implemented training program credited with 42% reduction in staff onboarding times.

Developed multiple marketing and advertising campaigns that brought in $100+ million over a six-year period.

Redesigned more than 20 failing client projects, leading to results that exceeded expectations by an average of 20%.

Created company's innovative “Green Marketing” campaign that drew national exposure and led to 15% spike in new client acquisition.

Tips to get the most out of your use of past and present tense

The following tips can help you maintain your focus when you're creating achievement statements and highlighting your current qualifications.

Resumes are not like standard prose documents. You don't need to stick to just one tense since you'll likely be highlighting both present skills and past achievements. Just remember to make sure that your reader can easily follow any tense changes that occur throughout your resume narrative.

If you find yourself asking, “Should this part of my resume be in past tense or present tense” just take a moment and consider the message you're trying to deliver with that statement. If you're attempting to focus attention on specific skills and qualifications, then you'll probably want to use the present tense. If you're demonstrating value by highlighting an accomplishment from a previous job, use the past tense.

Try to avoid mixing your tenses within any given bullet point section. Again, be consistent in different areas of your resume to avoid reader confusion.

If you're struggling to decide how to use the different tenses within the same resume, try a different and simpler approach. Instead of using the present tense, simply present all your information using the past tense. Most employers are used to seeing past tense used in resumes and won't be put off by that approach.

Related post : 17 Resume Tips to Get Seen and Hired Faster

Knowing if your resume should be in past tense is easy

The next time you're wondering whether your resume should be in past tense or present tense, take a deep breath and focus on your narrative. Sometimes, reading your own resume a few times can help you gain insight into the message that you're delivering. Just keep things simple and remember what each tense is designed to convey to the reader. If you can successfully do that, you'll have a better chance of choosing the right tense and making the best possible impression on employers.

Are you still confused about which resume tense you need to use? Get a free resume review from our team of experts today!  

“This article was originally written by Marsha Hebert and has been updated by Ken Chase.”

Recommended reading:

• 5 Powerful Verbs to Pump up Your Resume
• Proofreading Tips to Improve Your Resume and Cover Letter
• How to Make Your Resume Stand Out With Action Verbs

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ISTP Personality Type: Understanding Traits, Strengths, and Career Paths

7 Best Personal Skills for Your Resume (With Examples)

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