Resume Writing FAQs: Tense, Headlines and Promotions
Quick answers to resume writing questions beyond the basics: tense, using "I", periods, buzzwords, headlines, promotions and contract work.
These answers go past the Resume Writing section of our Resume & Career FAQs, covering the wording and job-history questions that come up once a first draft is on the page. Each answer stands on its own, with a link to a related answer or a longer guide where we have one.
Questions and answers
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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