Resume Writing FAQs: Tense, Headlines and Promotions
Summaries, objectives, bullet points and action verbs, plus tailoring, employment gaps, promotions and freelance or contract work.
The questions that come up once you start writing: summaries and objectives, bullet points and action verbs, tailoring to a job, employment gaps, and how to list freelance, gig, volunteer, contract and temp work. Browse the other topics in our Resume & Career FAQs.
Questions and answers
How do I write a resume summary?
A resume summary is a few sentences at the top that say what you do, your strongest skills for this job and one result or credential that proves them. Write it last, so every claim points to something further down the page.
Do I need a resume objective?
Usually not: most experienced applicants are better served by a summary. A resume objective earns its place when your work history doesn't yet show the job you want, such as a first job, a career change, a return after a break or a move to a different role at your company.
How many bullet points should each job have?
Spread your bullet points per job by relevance: recent, relevant jobs get the most, older or unrelated jobs fewer. Cut any bullet that repeats another or describes a routine duty instead of what you achieved.
How do I write accomplishment bullets?
Start with a specific action verb, say what you improved, built or delivered, and add a number for scale or result when you can back it up. A strong bullet shows the impact of your work, not just the duty.
What action verbs should I use on a resume?
Use specific action verbs, such as built, analyzed, reduced, coordinated, resolved or implemented, instead of phrases like "responsible for."
How do I tailor a resume to a job description?
To tailor a resume, read the posting for the skills, tools and results it asks for, then reorder and reword your real experience so the closest matches are easy to find. Change the emphasis, not the facts.
How do I explain an employment gap on a resume?
If you're returning to work after a break, keep accurate dates and, if it helps, add a one-line entry such as "Family caregiver" with its dates. Put any courses or volunteer work from that time under the skills they built.
How do I put freelance work on a resume?
List it like a job, with a clear title such as Freelance Graphic Designer, your dates and the kinds of clients you served, then bullets for your biggest projects and results. Group many short projects under one entry so your timeline stays easy to follow.
How do I put DoorDash or gig work on a resume?
Put DoorDash or other gig work under experience with an accurate title such as Delivery Driver (Independent Contractor), the platform and your dates. Then describe the skills that carry over, such as route planning, time management and customer service, with any ratings or delivery counts you can verify.
How do I list volunteer experience on a resume?
Treat substantial volunteer work like a job: list the organization, your role, the dates and bullets that show what you achieved. Put it with your work experience when it's relevant to the job, or in its own section when it isn't.
How do I show a promotion on my resume?
List the employer once, then stack each job title under it with its own dates, newest title first, so the step up is visible at a glance. Give the current title the most bullets, and use the earlier title's bullets for what you achieved before the promotion instead of repeating the same duties. If your duties grew without a new title, show that in a bullet, such as "Took over weekend scheduling and training for new hires." A move to another team at the same employer is listed the same way.
What is a resume headline, and do I need one?
A resume headline is a single line under your name that names the job you're targeting and your strongest qualification, such as "Bilingual Medical Receptionist | Insurance Verification and Scheduling." It's optional, and it helps most when your current job title doesn't match the role you're applying for. Use the posting's job title where it honestly fits, then let a short resume summary below it supply the detail.
Should a resume be written in past or present tense?
Use present tense for the job you have now and past tense for jobs you've left. A current role reads "Train new hires and build the weekly schedule," while a past role reads "Trained new hires and built the weekly schedule." If a project in your current job is finished, past tense is fine for that one bullet, such as "Launched a new patient check-in process."
Can I use "I" on my resume?
Leave out "I," "me" and "my," and start each bullet with a verb instead: "I trained new cashiers on the register" becomes "Trained new cashiers on the register." Your summary can skip the pronoun too, opening with "Customer service lead who…" rather than "I am a customer service lead who…". Save full first-person sentences for your cover letter. Our tailoring guide shows a first-person paragraph rewritten as short bullets.
Should resume bullet points end with periods?
Either style is fine as long as you use it the same way across the whole resume. Most bullets are short fragments that read cleanly without a period, but if any bullet runs to two sentences, end every bullet with one. A summary written as a short paragraph takes periods even when your bullets don't.
Which buzzwords should I cut from my resume?
Cut self-descriptions a reader can't check, such as "results-driven," "detail-oriented," "hardworking," "team player" and "go-getter." Replace each one with the evidence behind it: instead of calling yourself detail-oriented, name an error you caught or a process you made more accurate. Skills and job titles the posting asks for aren't buzzwords, so keep those where they're true.
How do I show results if my job had no numbers?
Describe the change your work made in words: what became faster, easier, more accurate or better received because of you. "Reorganized the supply room so nurses stopped running out of gloves mid-shift" shows a result without a figure. Scope counts too, such as who you served or what you were trusted to handle, but don't estimate a percentage you can't back up. Then shape each line with our basic formula for accomplishment bullets.
How do I list contract or temp agency work on a resume?
List the job title, the company where you did the work and your dates, and label the arrangement, such as "Payroll Clerk (Contract), Client Company, via Agency Name." If you took several short assignments through one agency, group them under the agency as one entry and name the main clients in your bullets, so your timeline doesn't read as a string of short jobs. If you worked for yourself rather than through an agency, list it the way you would freelance work.
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