Using Present Tense in Your Resume

Using Present Tense in Your ResumeResume writing present tense or past tense is about using the past tense when describing your job and experiences. Using the present tense means you are talking about your current position, usually speaking of your last position or the position you currently hold. It is also used in address messages and first sentences of emails.During job hunting many candidates will use a work history resume to show how long they have been employed and some say that an employment history demonstrates qualifications. There is nothing wrong with a work history resume but you should be aware that resumes that contain only a work history could be misleading. A job description can do that. Resumes with a work history on them may be more convincing, but it is important to provide something useful to describe your role at the company or work you have done for the last year.Using present tense in a resume may also be best when you are searching for an entry level position. This is not to say that an entry level position has no advancement opportunities. It could even indicate you are eager to learn new skills. It is to indicate that you have learned the skills needed and no longer need to learn new skills in order to obtain the position. A new entry level job could mean that you could move up faster if you were a very capable person.Using past tense can also be effective when talking about educational qualifications and experiences. It can also refer to facts such as your last college degree. If you don't have a college degree right now, then you can put a degree statement in the beginning of your resume that includes your major as well as the number of credits you earned. In this way it will appear that you have not received a degree in the current academic year but did earn a degree in the previous academic year.The past tense is best when describing the present. It can be good to include a list of accomplishments from the past in your resume. The challenge is that most people would look back and think, 'Wow, how did you get so far so fast?' Listing achievements from past years that seem impressive may be important, so it is best to spell out the specifics of the accomplishments.If you use past tense in the middle of a statement, you must type it in bold face or italics. It is usually better to leave out the present tense because you want your reader to see that you have not changed any of your skills over the past year. The current year is the only year you are obligated to update your resume.If you include positive statements like 'Incoming'Upcoming' in the beginning of your resume, your employer will be tempted to look at the rest of your resume. He or she will see that you are also including educational accomplishments or are currently in a position that is similar to what you're trying to achieve. Therefore, it is important to list those in the beginning of your resume and, of course, use past tense as you do so.There ar e many ways you can write your resume using past tense. They all depend on your goals for your resume. It may be helpful to write a future-looking resume to describe a potential job and experience that are somewhat upcoming and somewhat past tense.